much mush was disseminated about her witty take on sex roles. But both appraisals of her appeal were too narrow. "I don't fit in" is the true sentiment underlying every track on She's So Unusual. When she sang, "I want to be the one to walk in the sun," she sounded like someone who'd spent too much time in the darkness. Lauper wasn't a corporate contrivance: she really was unusual.

But Lauper knows that her persona is no longer as startling or novel as it once was. She couldn't very well title her long-awaited follow-up Hey, I'm Still Unusual! without its coming off as tired shtick. Like Madonna, a kindred artist whose similarly titled current album invites inevitable (though not inappropriate) comparisons, Lauper had to fine-tune the wacky elements of her presentation or be perceived as a limited performer, a rock & roll version of Leonard Nimoy.

So this time out, Lauper and coproducer Lennie Petze have turned to her voice, an asset as strong, idiosyncratic and instantly recognizable as her image. She's So Unusual was a producer's record, and as such, its mix emphasized the band's clean, delicate arrangements; True Colors is a singer's record, with Lauper's studied voice way out in front. Many rock singers are only as good as the songs they sing, but Lauper's singing can elevate ordinary material. On the new album's midtempo "Boy Blue," Lauper rescues hackneyed lines like "stolen your innocence but ... not your soul" with one shot of her controlled vocal fireworks. Another showcase is the ominous-sounding, remix-ready "Change of Heart," complete with a spat-out guitar solo by Nile Rodgers (this album is chock-full of celebrity cameos). Lauper's trademark hiccuped syllables rest on a cushion of harmonies supplied by the Bangles and transform what is little more than a sophisticated rhythm track with nominal lyrics into a heartfelt declaration of fidelity.

Another song that serves as an adequate vehicle for Lauper's supple shout is "Maybe He'll Know," the only track that features a "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" organ-synth line. She lets loose with airy melismas as Billy Joel lends background harmonies; though this is a remake of a tune Lauper did with her old band, Blue Angel, it wouldn't have sounded out of place on Joel's own retro An Innocent Man. Her surprisingly rough singing and a few well-arranged harmonies are all "Calm Ins