Customer Reviews: Cyndi Shebops The Blues!June 25, 2010 R. Mark Desjardins(Vancouver, B.C. Canada) 5 out of 6 found this review helpful
A dream Cyndi Lauper had whereby jazz pianist Oscar Peterson stated he liked her version of Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On" and suggested she should do some old songs and make them modern the way Janis Joplin did inspired her to make a blues record. Newly signed to Downtown Records, Lauper wanted to explore new musical direction with no compromises. Recorded in Memphis with legends such as Allen Toussaint, B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite, Ann Pebbles, Johhny Lang, and veteran Stax Records session players, Lauper wanted to make a record with a pure, live sound, and she got it right.
It takes a lot of chutzpa for a white girl from Brooklyn to take on attempting such a project, and during the recording sessions, Lauper admitted she heard this voice in her head whisper "You know everyone else will be more that good, but I might not be good enough." She needn't have worried because she more than does more than justice to the 12 classic blues songs served up in her unique vocal style, covered in Memphis Blues.
Standout tracks include the classic, "Romance In The Dark," penned and originally performed by Lillian "Lil" Green who died of pneumonia at age 34 in 1954, Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" and Rollin' And Tumblin' a duet featuring the legendary Ann Peebles.
Dedicated to Ma Rainy, mother of the blues and all the early blues artists who travelled through the cross roads, suitcases in hand, Cyndi Lauper hits the Blues and Jazz Festival circuit this summer to perform material from this standout recording and will surely win many new fans. Recommended listening and an excellent move forward from a recording artist who continues to surprise and thrill!
If sales from this recording warrant it, hopefully Lauper will give serious consideration to a companion volume paying homage to female blues singers like Ma Rainy, Big Mama Thornton, Alberta Hunter, Bessie Smith, etc and delving further in the songbook of Lillian "Lil" Green, all legends who need to be re-introduced to a contemporary audience. Sheboppin' the blues indeed!
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