Memphis Blues

Before deciding to buy this album, I read some reviews that had already appeared on Amazon.com, paying particular attention to some critical reviews by dedicated blues fans, including one who is also a fan of Cyndi's pop music. Their basic complaint appears to be that Cyndi doesn't have a voice to do the music justice. Certainly, Cyndi makes no attempt to adapt her voice to the music in any way, and why should she? On one level, I agree with them - if what you are looking for is raw, uncompromising blues music, this album doesn`t provide it. I enjoy that kind of music too, but having also read some of the more enthusiastic reviews, I sensed that for me at least, those criticisms don't matter. I knew just from the reviews, without hearing a single note, that I was likely to enjoy this album, and so it proved.

This album may lack some of the rough edges that are so characteristic of the music that dedicated blues fans love, but the absence of those rough edges gives the music a different kind of appeal - one that Cyndi's own fans, myself among them, can appreciate. For this album, Cyndi recruited a stellar cast of blues musicians including Allen Toussaint, B B King, Charlie Musselwhite, Ann Peebles and Jonny Lang, ensuring that the music itself is authentic.

Though Cyndi often writes her own songs, she did not do so for this album , opting instead to cover a selection of songs that are apparently well known among blues fans and musicians, but which I don't instantly recognize just by playing the album, though it`s very likely that I`ve heard at least some of these songs somewhere before; however, this album is likely to cause me to look for some of the originals in due course. Overall, the album contains a mix of tempos, beginning with the bouncy Just your fool. The UK edition (which I own) has an extra track not available on the standard US edition, that track being Wild women don't have the blues. I'm assuming it is a cover of the Ida Cox song from 1961, but as the credit for that song is not listed and as I haven't heard the song elsewhere, I can't confirm it.

Picking out highlights is tough on an album that features so much great music, but ultimately what you think of the album will depend on what you think of Cyndi Lauper recording a blues album. Personally, I think it's a wonderful album, but I can understand why others might have doubts. We don't all share the same tastes and it would be a dull world if we did.

A couple of years ago I saw Cyndi on TV on the Jack Dee show doing a slowed down soulful version of her song "True colours" with the show's house band - it was very good, Cyndi really sold the song and it made you realise both what a good song it actually is and what an excellent performer Cyndi is. In recent years I've also seen her doing more folky versions of her old songs playing a kind of lap steel guitar.

Here she's recorded an album of blues covers in Memphis with session musicians and guests including B.B. King, Alan Toussaint, Charlie Musslewhite, Ann Peebles and Johnny Lang. Cyndi sounds perfectly at home with this material and I was glad to see she sings and phrases in her normal (sic) voice rather than trying to sound black. However, I much preferred the ballads like "Shattered dreams", "Rommance in the dark" and "Down so low" to the straight blues like "Rolling and tumbling" and "Crossroads", which I wasn't convinced really worked. Her duo with B.B. King on "Early in the morning" certainly does work with both Cyndi and B.B.'s singing really swinging and B.B.'s guitar sounding great.

Cyndi may not have the voice of Bessie Smith or Aretha Franklin but she holds her own on the more soulful songs like "How blue can you get" and "Don't cry no more" (probably my favourite track) and just about gets away with the rest - especially when she duets with B.B. and Ann Peebles. I'm sure the album was great fun for her to make and it certainly sounds good with great playing and good production but I'm not sure that it really brings anything new to the genre - three and a half stars.

For this collection of classic blues tracks recorded with Scott Bomar producing "the Hillbilly Tom Petty" whose song writing credits includes "The Black Snake Moan" soundtrack in 2008.

Ms Lauper assembles some elder states people of the Blues genre including the guitarists B. B. King and Jonny Lang and the harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite and the pianist Alan Toussaint.

On the foot tapping track Rollin' and Tumblin' she duets with Anne Pebbles the personal where all personally chosen by Cyndi for album she says she has wanted to make for eight years, what she delivers is not only a dream come true for herself but the best album I have heard her record her vocal performances on all the tracks are not short of stunning such as her duet with Jonny Lang on the track "Crossroads", being a bit of a musical chameleon I personally hopes she makes another blues infused collection this album is a bit of a musical treat highly recommended...