Cajun and Zydeco music reviews

After reading the reviews for this, I was soo excited to receive the cd. While I liked the idea of having narration introducing children to the music and the different instruments, I found the recordings themselves to be surprisingly flat. Where's the fun and excitement?? This is zydeco! This is zydeco for CHILDREN! The music and vocals didn't come from the heart, I felt no life in the recording. Even the Sesame Street zydeco song was better than this. My class (2 1/2 to 5 y/o) was not dancing around the room to it, either.

I grew up in Watson, Louisiana and can remember sitting on my daddy's knee while he sang the crawfish song and cotton fields to me. Then, in college, my friends and I went to the zydeco festivals to listen to the squeeze box of Buckwheat and eat pork chop sandwiches. How wonderful it is for me that Buckwheat decided to cut a record with two of my all-time favorite children's songs. The sound is authentic. The lyrics are fun for my child and me; I've been singing the cotton fields song in the shower all my life. I recommend this record for parents who have an interest in the Louisiana music of old. It really is fun to hear... again and again.

Absolutly my children's all-time favorite CD for the car! Children under three may be a bit young to appreciate it, but once they get to "sing-a-long" age they'll be hooked. My kids were three and five when we got it, and that was just about right. Though now getting to the "cool" ages of 10 and 12, they still pull this one out occasionally. The theme of the album is a musical journey through buyou country, MC'ed by the conductor of the "Zydeco Express." Between tracks he talks about the music and the songs. Some reviewers have felt that their children didn't like or appreciate this part, but I believe they soak in more of it than we realize, as evidenced by my kids' recall of some of details years later. It's a great introduction to a fun genre of music.

Although they're from New Orleans, The Wild Tchoupitoulas sounds almost like a hybrid of World Music and R&B. The excellent rhythm section drives the music in a wild mutation of New Orleans R&B, funk and what sounds like early Jamaican influences. The harmonies are great throughout and the songs all blend into each other in an undulating festive stream of sound. When listening, I often recall early R&B like Sugarboy Crawford's "Jock-O-Mo" that later became the standard "Iko Iko." But it's rough and raw vocals, very unlike the polished sound of the Neville Brothers on eg. their version of "Bird on a Wire." This is a joyful and seamless blend of styles that lifts the spirit.

Fine, fine, fine. If you own no other New Orleans music, own this.

When I first heard this as I wandered through the Harvard Coop, I thought my feet would stomp a hole in the floor, and I bought it at top speed. 25 years later, I am still stomping! You NEED this. it is music to which to go crazy, in the best possible way, and I suggest you wear feathers and paint. Be careful you do not hurt yourself dancing.

I first heard "One Kiss/coda: My French Blues (un Autre Baiser)" on SIRIUS. The next day, I went to iTunes, listened to the 30-second samples of each song, and could not download the whole thing fast enough. This recording is, simply, wonderful -- it will, variously, make you want to get up and dance, and cry. A "must-have" for anyone who appreciates virtuosity on display with every cut.

I first heard "Come On, Sheila" as a single on my local "progressive rock" station and promptly went out and bought the CD. What a wonderful surprise! In my opinion, this may be one of the most underrated disk in many years. Zach goes from strength to strength, from full-blown house rockers such as "Zydeco Jump" to gorgeous ballads such as "Sunset on Louisianne" which take you right to the Bayou. I was able to see him live about five years ago, and the entire club did not sit down from start to finish. If you like rock with a Cajun flair, get this disk!

I've read the above reviews and I also have to add that this album is not only one of Zack's best but is one of my all-time favorites. It was the first of his albums that I bought and I've never stopped listening to it since. It's rock & roll, it's cajun zydeco, it's kinda folksy and country, but it is quite simply an evocation of the essence of southern louisiana. I myself am not a cajun by birth, but after hearing this album as well the others I have since been a convert.
Merci mille fois Zach!

I found this as a tape in an antique store. It took a couple of playings, but it bacame my favorite driving music. If you can hear Zydeco Woman and not fall in love, you are dead, man. Lots of fun, and lots of movin'. I lost (a mechanic liberated) my tape, so I gotta get the CD now.

Especially the Fais Do Do.

The singing, the music, the ENTHUSIASM.

It's fantastic!

This is a great CD - New in shrinkwrap. The seller delivered lightning-fast. I love it! Thank you

Maybe it's the Cajun boy in me, but I used to be very unnerved by the popularity of Beausoleil across the world. I just couldn't comprehend why folks in cities like NYC or Boston or San Francisco would enjoy this music, most of which was in a language they couldn't understand. It almost seemed as if Beausoleil was using their "ethnicity" to trick people outside of Louisiana into liking them because they were a "novelty" act. Boy, was I ever wrong. As I've become more mature, I've realized that Beausoleil's popularity isn't due to their "novel" status, but their brilliant music. Few contemporary Cajun bands can play songs like these guys and turn it into a beautiful thing that crosses language and cultural boundaries.

The songs on "L'Amour Ou La Folie" are fun, imaginative and heavily steeped not only in Cajun tradition, but the French tradition as well(listen to "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie" and don't tell me that you think of France when you hear it). "Newz Reel" had me longing to watch KATC news(you won't get this if you haven't been around Lafayette). The rest of the album, from the tribute to "Pop" McGee to the title track, is fantastic. The fiddle work is brilliant and the band's sound is tight. The songs are well done and nothing comes across as gimmicky or fake. When you hear "Charivari," you catch a glimpse of life that few have ever experienced outside of the Pelican State. Everything is found on this album. It's a true masterpiece. Not only does the music pay homage to the past, but you can hear new sounds that haven't been played by a Cajun band before. The closest example I can come up with would be rockabilly. In its infant stages, most of its pioneers could barely play instruments, but when folks like Buddy Holly, who studied music and experimented with it, came along, the sound took on a whole new state. Beausoleil does that with Cajun music. It's traditonal, but at the same time there is a "newness" about it.

Thanks, Beausoleil, for spreading the music of our unique culture across the world. As long as bands such as yourself exist, I don't think we'll have to worry about the Cajun culture fading away for a long time.

I hav seen Beausoleil Every time they came to the Bluegrass and Cajun Festivle, in Rhode Island. This cd is a must have. The music brings me right back to the many times I have seen them play. As a matter of fact, it's 2:15 a.m., Have the headphones on and have it cranking.

One day in early March I was wondering around the LSU campus with hours to go before the Tulane/LSU baseball game. On Chime Street I stumbled across an excellent Cajun band right on the sidewalk. Talk about perfect music for a perfect day...They were so good that I took them with me to the "tailgate" at Tiger Stadium before the baseball game. This type of music gets in your head and stays. When I returned home I purchased L' Amour Ou La Folie. There are certain albums/CDs that are great the first time through. Without question, this is one of the best I have ever purchased. It would be silly to try and name the best selection. Each song is better than the next. Merely playing this CD makes you want to visit the great state of Louisiana (as well as get up and move). Not only is the music exceptional, the technical production is too. I have ordered two more Beasoleil CDs. You should listen to this when you are in a good mood, want to be in a good mood or need to be! (P.S. If anyone knows the "sidewalk" Cajun band from Chime Street on March 5th, please e-mail me) They are well worth seeing.

This is a great recording- the accordian stopping and starting, wheezing and jumping, Beau growling it out while "skeeta" pays him constant homage in the reply. Get up and dance.

This recording just gives it up- heaping portions of steaming funk; look up the word "syncopation" in the dictionary and there is a tiny picture of this band. Do NOT come anywhere near this recording if you are not willing to stop your sorry cell-phone life and DANCE.

You don't have to like Zydeco to like this CD. Beau's deep, gritty voice, a pounding bass, infectious enthusiasm, and good material combine to produce a winner. Check out the bluesy "What You Gonna Do" and "Going to the Country," a smooth remake of Archie Bell's "Tighten Up," and the up-tempo "Why You Wanna Make Me Crazy?" This band has fun making music; you'll have fun listening to it.

I own a nubmer of Putamayo CDs. This is one of my favorites. It is a good intro to zydecco. I am sure there are many more great songs that are not on the album. That is never the intent of Putamayo CDs.

Listening to this music makes me want to be down in the Quarter, stopping to eat crawfish, drink an Amber Light and soak in the soul that is N'Awlins! Being a native...this is truly the heartbeat of the Cresent City!

Putumayo's recordings are sort of iffy for those who are really into the music that they compile.... some of them are phenomenal, some of them are disappointing. This one is fortunately one of the former. This CD plays like a who's who of Zydeco music, several tempos and song styles (waltz, two-step and blues, the main three rhythm patterns of zydeco music) are presented and all of the songs are truly classics.

If you're just getting into zydeco, this is the album for you! As I said, it's a who's who of zydeco music, so you can listen through and see which tracks you like, which will help you make informed decisions about which full-length single-band albums to buy. If you are a longstanding zydeco fan, you may well have most of these cuts on CDs you already own, so you could just make yourself a mix CD, but save yourself the trouble and pick this one up.

I can't for the life of me figure out how Putumayo managed to make such a spot-on zydeco collection but only a very mediocre Cajun music collection.

I think this album was good. I didn't like everytrack, but the majority was good. My favorite songs are "I'm so tierd of you doing me wrong," and "PineY Point trail." Beau Jocque (Andrus Espree) was an exceptional accordion player, and he will be missed. From the BOSSHOG BABY! (L-TOWN LOVE) while i'm here i might as well give a shout out to my people who might see this. All my aunties and uncles in Lake Charles and surrounding areas and to My boy ALOICIOUS in tyrone. Saving the best for last to my girl SAAB who is moving to Lake Charles this summer I"MMA miss you. I'll holla!

This is the first Zydeco CD I have ever purchased,and it won't be my last. This is the best birthday gift I ever bought myself. Now that I have fallen in love with Beau I am going to purchase all his other CDs.

His music is true zydeco and is fast, upbeat, and happy. You will find your feet moving and your fingers snapping. Beau Jocque ROCKS!

This was a great cd because it brings back a lot of memories. I am from the Pine Point community (Mamou,La) so it really hit home. Andrus (Beau Jocque) was my second cousin and his passing just broke my heart. Actually all of his music that he's ever recorded has been "off the hook". As a matter of fact since I've been away from home I listen to his music all of the time. It just makes me feel at home even though I'm not at home. Thanks Andrus for making me and all of your fans learn to appreciate good music again. You will be sadly missed. Much love,

Melissa

One of my favorite Zydeco cd's of all time! Pure party music with some serious accordian playing, tight band, high energy and soulful singing that reach down deep into your soul! Saw him at The Jammin' for Salmon festival in Portland, Oregon on August 6, 2001 and he was the only artist at the festival who got the crowd into a dancing frenzy and put smiles on everyone! I had the opportunity to meet him and take a photo with him (a very nice man!), I have that photo online on my webpage. Play him often on The Crazy Coyote Blues and Jazz Power Show 1490 KOTY in southcentral Wa. state.

Stanley Buckwheat Dural Jrs tight house rockin' mix of Zydeco, Memphis Soul and Blues has always got me going. This time he done gone overboard - - especially when the horns are wailin' on the JB'ish "Put It In The Pocket" - - You might not associate the sounds of washboards and accordians in your funk, but when you hear him SCREAMING out on that sinfully juiced up Hammond B-3 (how the heck did they get that organ soundin' like that !), you know what's going on. This is probably one of the funkiest and most albums I've heard in over 10 years... from his Exciting Intro, straight through... this is a band with lot's of bottom, lot's of rhythm, lot's of soul... Buckwheat seems particularly energized off the festival circuit and back home at El Sido's, which for Zydeco *is* down home. Albert Collins may have left the building, and JB might be as young as he used to be but when it comes to screaming gutbucket funk and soul, Buckwheat not only lives, but is the reigning king. This album will make a change in your life !

A top pick of the millenium !

This live CD is the next best thing to being there! No band is more consistently entertaining live than Buckwheat and his Ils Sont Partis Band. I first saw Buckwheat in concert Houston in 1987, and the energy back then at his live show is just as great as it is from El Sido's last Thanksgiving. Mike Melchione's guitar solos on "Beast of Burden" rival solos by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins. That smile on Buckwheat's face on the cover is contagious and shows he's having as much fun as everyone in the room, despite having a 35 pound accordion strapped to his back about 200 nights a year. This is one of the funnest live CDs I've ever listened to, especially at the ear ringing levels of my car stereo. I only wish it were a double live CD to hear more of his fabulous music.

Doug Kershaw has issued many albums over the years, a few of which are starting to show up once again in reissues. Of all of those recordings available, what is truly the BEST of the BEST? This CD includes tracks like "Diggy Diggy Lo" from his debut, "The Cajun Way", but also includes lackluster items such as "Jambalaya" and Doug's 6th (that I know of) to date re-make of "Louisiana Man", which would have been better represented from the version on his debut. Doug's music in the early - mid 70's was little more than badly executed Nashville product, although proficiently played, sounded like the assembly line that the town's name conjures up. This is shown in cuts like "Hippy Ti Yo" and "Mama's Got The Know How", "Mamou Two-Step" is a nice, albeit untruthful cover of a tune (no, Doug did NOT write it, its a traditional tune), "You Don't Want My Love" and "Sally Jo" come from the album "Devil's Elbow", which should have been called "Doug Kershaw Records Other Famous People's Songs That Buddy Killen's Publishing Company Owns The Rights To", and a Fats Domino cover of "I'm Walkin'", that sounds so stiff and lethargic that one wonders how it managed to make it to #96 on the charts. The CD contains a rarity, an alternate version of "It Takes All Day To Get Over Night" which any fan of Doug is sure to enjoy hearing. There's no liner notes, aside from production credits. That said, it's a cheap purchase, and everyone who might need just one Doug Kershaw CD in their collection will find that this one will suffice. For the LP listeners, though, go find his "Spanish Moss" LP.
Go see Doug live if you can, as no recording can do him justice.

There are few artists that can get the fiddle to sing like Kershaw, but the best of Doug Kershaw should really be a lot longer and have some live cuts on it.Think of this as an appetizer. "Louisiana Man," with Kershaw's depiction of life on the bayou is a necessity for anyone who enjoys this type of music, and there is a good cover of Hank Williams's classic "Jambalaya" but the sound overall is very thin and does not do this artist justice. If it's all you can find it's better to have some Kershaw than none, but keep looking, you can do better.

I have been a fan of country and zydeco for as long as I can remember. I actually heard Mr. Kershaw when I was in Louisiana not to long ago and I instantly liked what I heard. If you are a fan of country or zydeco, I would definately recommend this album.