Rollin’ and Tumblin’ with Eric, Cyndi and Muddy ….

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"Hey, look at this!"

"What?"

"Cyndi Lauper did a Blues Album."

"Get out ... really?!"

"Yep, and it got decent reviews.  Want to get it?"

"Oh yes, absolutely!"

As we dug a little deeper, we noticed that Cyndi did a cover of one of my favorite blues songs "Rollin' and Tumblin'" This made the CD really interesting since Eric Clapton has done versions of this song for decades, and Muddy Waters ... well he did, too (or he wrote it - depending on who you believe)

"Rollin' and Tumblin'"
by "Hambone" Willie Newbern?

So we organized a little contest between the three of them. Okay, not quite.  We're pretty sure Muddy Waters will wipe the floor with both Mr. Clapton and Ms. Lauper.  But in a situation like this, if either one of them don't embarrass themselves in front of the master, it is an achievement of sorts.  And who knows?  Perhaps we'll be surprised.

We decided to pick Eric Clapton's version from his album Unplugged.  Not only is it a great album - it is one of our references and one of my first purchases I bought after I got into audiophile stereo almost 10 years ago.  Cyndi Lauper's Memphis Blues and Muddy Water's After the Rain were dropped into our Amazon cart and sped to us in short order.

We rated them in 3 categories: Sonic Quality, Bluesiness, and Believability. 

Sonic Quality is just that - do instruments sound like real instruments, do voices sound natural, are the instruments in a balance with each other that sounds realistic to live music - and does it all hang together.

"Bleeding Gums Murphy: You know,
you play pretty well for someone with
no real problems.
Lisa: Yeah, but I don't feel any better.
Bleeding Gums Murphy: The blues
isn't about feelin' better. It's about
makin' other people feel worse and
makin' a few bucks while you're at it."

Bluesiness:  Does it sound like they have the blues?  For us, it has to seem like they have hit a patch of bad luck - sometimes bad fate, sometimes of their own making, but this tale of woe has to make you feel nearly as bad as they do!  Eric Clapton has a barrier as he's lived a rock and pop fuelled life.  Cyndi Lauper was a major pop star that has been taking a break to raise a family.  Ok.  Cyndi may have the blues from time to time...

Believability:  Eric Clapton is English and Loaded.  Cyndi Lauper is the ‘Girl who wanted to have fun.’  Can they pull it off and make us think they are singing their hearts out and mean it?

All ratings are out of 5 points, with 5 being perfection and 1 being worthy of a mulligan.

We fired up our reference system and started listening and taking notes.

Cyndi Lauper Memphis Blues “Rollin’ and Tumblin’”

Sound: ***

Bluesiness: ***

Believability: ***

While the sound was a bit congested and instrument levels gave too much emphasis to the drums - the band played with a lot of precision and never lost the beat.  It was a little compressed, but the song started minimalist and ended with a complex mixture that was starting to overcome the vocals.  With the complexity it seemed to become congested and hard to pick out individual instruments.

The song was more of a Duet between Cyndi Lauper and Ann Peebles, and it was fairly clear that while Cyndi was learning the techniques and could sing far better than most of us that would try, the real star was Ann.  It seemed that Cyndi’s instincts wanted to bring the music to a far more uptempo and happy place than a song about an abrupt breakup warranted.  She brought herself back to the song’s demeanor with Ann - and that was a good thing. 

Brent felt she has a bit of a Bonnie Raitt edge to her, but Kathy said she felt it was “the pop star sings the blues.”  But we both agreed she pulled it off, thanks to Ann Peebles.  We felt it was a great first effort. If you were a Cyndi Lauper fan, it is a must listen.  She is broadening her horizons and it is exciting to see her spread her wings.

Eric Clapton Unplugged "Rollin' and Tumblin'"

Sound: *****

Bluesiness:  ****

Believability: ****

Eric Clapton is a comfort zone for us, while not familiar with this particular song (after all it is song 14 on the CD we have, and we usually stop it at 5 or 6) it continues the first rate sonics the album is known for.

Eric brings an interesting energy to the song - you forget entirely he is a Brit, and it sounds more like a Southern guy from the States who has left his last one night stand, and he’s looking for his next one.  The Lecherousness of it comes across strongly and it is a great energy for the song.  The guitar work here was clearly the best of the three.

Despite his long history of singing and playing the Blues, and this is clearly his comfort zone, he is not phoning in the performance.  Brent got Goosebumps, and Kathy loved the rendition, though we both questioned the uptempo nature of the performance, but given the album and the audience, that may have driven it.

We recommend this album - but we’d recommend it even if this song hadn’t ended up being this good!

Muddy Waters After the Rain

Sound: ****

Bluesiness:  *****

Believability: *****

The sound wasn’t as good as Unplugged (not surprised), but it did not sound particularly compressed or altered.  It was missing the last little bit of resolution (was it compressed ever so slightly?) - but did not detract from the music in any way.

Who knew Muddy Water's
band was here?

The band had twangy twangy guitars and a rumbly bass - whose wailing is the sound of the blues. They sit in the pocket (they relax into it and play) and you can get a sense of them playing together rather than playing off of sheet music.  It was less frenetic than either of the others, but somehow more effective as your emotions and mind reel. The band seems to own the blues as if it is their native language, not something new, to be learned or studied. 

You can almost see him slinging a bag over his shoulder, walking out the door, shaking his head. Not broken hearted. Not angry. Resigned. See ya. This was far and above the most authentic sounding of the three, they hit you in the heart, not the head and you are carried away into the Blues, an accomplice in a string of bad decisions in the past and stretching out into the future for a moment.  Highly highly recommended.

Conclusions

You can probably guess that our favorite far and above was Muddy Waters.  But Eric Clapton and Cyndi Lauper both brought good things.  Eric had a flawless performance and it was a lot of fun - you felt part of a scam he uses to get the next sweet young thing.  Cyndi Lauper shows a prodigy like talent that will blow away people who only know her for her pop music. 

But we have to say, the gritty, bluesy, string-of-bad-decisions-with-no-end-in-sight champion is Muddy Waters.  Clearly the Master, Muddy Waters, carried the day.