I'll just come out and say it right away but I am what you could probably describe as a bit of a Cyndi Lauper geek. She and her music have had a special place in my heart since the 80's, which has led me to going the extra mile and adding her professionally filmed 80's concerts to this database, as in the case here which is one of the first performances from her 'True Colors' world tour at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo which was filmed for Japanese television. It makes for an interesting comparison to 'Cyndi Lauper in Paris' which was a widely released concert video of the very last gig of the world tour. As such, with the Paris concert both Cyndi and her band developed considerable chemistry and technical expertise, resulting in a concert film which is frankly outstanding in every way. With Budokan we have a chance to see a gig from the very early part of the tour. While it doesn't hit the level of the Paris gig, it would only be fair to say that this is still a very confident and powerful performance. One of the main differences is this one features the Canadian hard rocker Aldo Nova on guitar. He was best known for the hit song 'Fantasy' which had a heroically silly promo video with Nova in a leopard print suit and cowboy boots using his guitar as a laser gun to blow up a locked door! Anyway, this was one of his few performances with Cyndi Lauper, as not too long afterwards he was kicked off the tour after clashing with Lauper's manager David Wolff and immediately replaced with Rick Derringer who, of course, did stellar work on 'Paris'. Anyway, for what it's worth Nova looks like he is having a good time here and puts in some fine axe work.
The set-list is broadly similar to the 'Paris' gig but there are some key omissions which must have been edited out here for the TV run-time such as two classic tracks, the blistering Boy Blue and gorgeous All Through the Night. What we are left with, however, is still very good indeed. The show opens with a suitably strong rendition of the rhythmic and moody Change of Heart. This is followed by a nice surprise - I'll Kiss You, a song only performed on the Japanese leg of the tour. This is the only song that is unique to 'Budokan' and not 'Paris' and it's a great rendition of one of the lesser known tracks from the 'She's So Unusual' album. This is followed up by an excellent rendition of Good Enough from The Goonies (1985). We have certain tracks that always sound much better live compared to the studio versions - What's Going On, Iko Iko and Maybe He'll Know. With all being rootsy covers they tend to make more sense with an organic live sound, as oppose to the slicker album arrangements; here is no different. There are also a selection of confident and energetic performances of three tracks from the 'True Colors' album - Calm Inside the Storm, 911 and One Track Mind. The ballads highlight Lauper's range as usual, with beautiful renditions of True Colors and Time After Time. The pop factor is ramped up with 12" versions of She Bop and Girls Just Want to Have Fun upping the energy factor; with Cyndi messing up a line in the former which only goes to show that you really are getting a real performance here not a re-edited affair. Finally, a Lauper show just would not be a show without her going ballistic to the new wave rocker Money Changes Everything and here, once more we have yet another stellar rendition of this classic high energy track. The show is ultimately wrapped up with a delicate and emotional acapella reprise of True Colors.
Needless to say, Lauper is vocally fantastic throughout this concert and she never stops moving either. It should be reiterated again that she truly is one of the most under-rated live performers of the pop era. Sadly, the producers have removed virtually all of her inter-song banter which is a shame given how her amusing personality is a large part of who she is. Instead it tends to simply cut to the next song with the song title displayed on screen. The Japanese crowd are definitely different to what we are accustomed to in the west. They politely clap in unison non-stop for the entire gig, with one of the fans even handing Cyndi a bouquet of flowers at one point. Sadly, there is little in the way of audience close-up shots, which distances us from the excitement in the room a bit. However, Cyndi and the band themselves have been captured well with multiple cameras, while the sound has been well recorded. The result is a concert which any fan of Cyndi Lauper should try and track down. It isn't at the level of 'Cyndi Lauper in Paris' (but what else is in all honesty?) but it still showcases a fantastic live performer and band batter through an excellent set-list of material. Great fun.
The set-list is broadly similar to the 'Paris' gig but there are some key omissions which must have been edited out here for the TV run-time such as two classic tracks, the blistering Boy Blue and gorgeous All Through the Night. What we are left with, however, is still very good indeed. The show opens with a suitably strong rendition of the rhythmic and moody Change of Heart. This is followed by a nice surprise - I'll Kiss You, a song only performed on the Japanese leg of the tour. This is the only song that is unique to 'Budokan' and not 'Paris' and it's a great rendition of one of the lesser known tracks from the 'She's So Unusual' album. This is followed up by an excellent rendition of Good Enough from The Goonies (1985). We have certain tracks that always sound much better live compared to the studio versions - What's Going On, Iko Iko and Maybe He'll Know. With all being rootsy covers they tend to make more sense with an organic live sound, as oppose to the slicker album arrangements; here is no different. There are also a selection of confident and energetic performances of three tracks from the 'True Colors' album - Calm Inside the Storm, 911 and One Track Mind. The ballads highlight Lauper's range as usual, with beautiful renditions of True Colors and Time After Time. The pop factor is ramped up with 12" versions of She Bop and Girls Just Want to Have Fun upping the energy factor; with Cyndi messing up a line in the former which only goes to show that you really are getting a real performance here not a re-edited affair. Finally, a Lauper show just would not be a show without her going ballistic to the new wave rocker Money Changes Everything and here, once more we have yet another stellar rendition of this classic high energy track. The show is ultimately wrapped up with a delicate and emotional acapella reprise of True Colors.
Needless to say, Lauper is vocally fantastic throughout this concert and she never stops moving either. It should be reiterated again that she truly is one of the most under-rated live performers of the pop era. Sadly, the producers have removed virtually all of her inter-song banter which is a shame given how her amusing personality is a large part of who she is. Instead it tends to simply cut to the next song with the song title displayed on screen. The Japanese crowd are definitely different to what we are accustomed to in the west. They politely clap in unison non-stop for the entire gig, with one of the fans even handing Cyndi a bouquet of flowers at one point. Sadly, there is little in the way of audience close-up shots, which distances us from the excitement in the room a bit. However, Cyndi and the band themselves have been captured well with multiple cameras, while the sound has been well recorded. The result is a concert which any fan of Cyndi Lauper should try and track down. It isn't at the level of 'Cyndi Lauper in Paris' (but what else is in all honesty?) but it still showcases a fantastic live performer and band batter through an excellent set-list of material. Great fun.
