Cyndi Lauper - To Memphis With Love

Cyndi Lauper's journey with the blues began when she was just seven-years-old. In her film, "To Memphis, With Love," she recalls dancing around wildly with her sister and brother to some of her mom's blues records. Rather than presenting just the standard "live in concert" DVD, Lauper chose to intersperse documentary footage in between each of the musical numbers. This offers a back-story on the music, the workings of her tour and her own observations on the connection with this music. This creative decision makes for a truly enjoyable and more personal experience in "To Memphis, With Love."

Those who may scoff at Lauper's ability to "bring out the blues" with her voice should bite their tongues. Even if you had never heard of the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" singer, she easily creates a distinctive, emotionally charged and captivating delivery of each and every blues song. Her performance of "In the Dark" is just one shining example, where Lauper spills forth her acting skills in presentation as she exudes passion in every nuance of the sexually charged song.

Following that age-old philosophy of "if you're gonna do it... do it right," Lauper also has the very finest of players assembled with her, specifically for her stage performances on her tour. "Early in the Morning" is just one of the hearty jams where each member of her band, rides a stylin' rhythm groove of excellence. Esteemed singer and musician, Johnny Lang also joins her for two songs. He plays guitar with a fiery passion while he adds a rougher texture on the vocals on their duets of "How Blue Can You Get?" and "Crossroads." It's amazing stuff.

Cyndi Lauper even presents a few of her standards such as "She Bop" and "Change of Heart" but with a "twist of the blues" in the arrangements and vocal structure. "She Bop" is given the honky-tonk treatment while "Change of Heart" has a natural and bluesy tone. She also gets a kick out of the blues with... (hint? The song has the word "fun" in the title.) In all scenarios of "To Memphis, With Love" Cyndi Lauper clearly shines and it really shows that she is truly inspired in capturing the fever of "the blues." Of special note, this DVD also includes a CD of all the live selections performed last December at The Warehouse in Memphis. Who could ask for anything more!

"To Memphis, With Love"
Red General Catalog
$17.98
Available now