The album was originally conceptualized as a project called Kindred Spirit, due for release in October 1988, and was going to include the track "Hole in My Heart ", but when that song and the film it was featured in, Vibes, were unsuccessful, the album was reworked. The original Kindred Spirit tracklist included 10 songs, eight of which were eventually included on the final album. The two songs that were removed were "Hole in My Heart," which would only appear on Japanese CD editions of A Night to Remember, and "Don't Look Back," written by Lauper and John Turi, which remains unreleased. The songs "A Night to Remember", "Dancing With a Stranger" and "I Don't Want to Be Your Friend" were added to the tracklist later on after the release date was pushed back to 1989, with the other songs being remixed some time between their original 1988 planned release date and their eventual release. Some proof sheets of the original album artwork exist with the alternate title and track listing. "Unabbreviated Love," penned by Lauper, Dusty Micale and Franke Previte, was recorded for the album but only appeared on the B-side of the "My First Night Without You" single. The album's final cover artwork was taken at the intersection of Plymouth and Pearl Streets, just east of the Manhattan Bridge, in Brooklyn, New York.
Reception
The album sold moderately well but did not compare to the multi-platinum sales of her two previous albums, despite the success of the album's lead single, "I Drove All Night", which became a Top 10 hit, earning Lauper a Grammy nomination. In the UK, however, A Night to Remember was Lauper's highest charting album, peaking at No.9. Critically, the album was met with mixed-to-poor reviews, with Rolling Stone, The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times all singling out Lauper's voice as a strong point, while noting the material was inconsistent. Other reviewers were more harsh: The New York Times criticized A Night to Remember's "anonymous vocals, songs full of submissive cliches and slapdash production", while The Village Voice, in comparing the album to Lauper's previous work, declared "How embarrassing to have placed hope in this woman." Although the album is called A Night to Remember, Lauper jokingly preferred to call it A Night to Forget, given its poor reviews and disappointing sales, compounded by the problems she encountered with producer and boyfriend David Wolf during the production of the album. As of November 4, 1989 the album had sold 1,3 million copies worldwide.
Track listing
In 2013, the 2008 Japanese remaster was reissued on BSCD2 format, with the same 2008 track listing.
Tracks 13 and 14 are bonus tracks on the 2008 Japanese remastered mini-LP version, as well as its 2013 reissue.
