Cajun Zydeco Music Reviews
First look at the Music that makes Radio Louisiane!

Get the take on new Cajun & Zydeco Music. 

• BOOZOO CHAVIS - Johnnie Billy Goat
• LOUISIANA'S KINGFISH - Life in a one-horse town

Zydeco

Rounder 1166-11594-2

BOOZOO CHAVIS Johnnie Billy Goat

Johnnie Billy Goat is a beautifully packaged tribute to Boozoo Chavis. This high quality compilation is a must-have volume from the Rounder Heritage Essentials Music collection. Slick bonus packaging and priceless photographs of Boozoo caught live are complimented by generous (and revealing) liner notes from producer Scott Billington.

Beyond the box waits a certain treat for Louisiana root music fans. This CD is packed with twenty-two authentic, genre-defining Creole Zydeco party cuts that slap playfully at the listener. In classic Boozoo style, each live-to-track number puts you right in the club. Nothing is sanitized or over-compressed to render it commercial ready. This is true-to-life Zydeco stompin dance music from a lifelong master of the sawdust dance floor.

Hats off to Rounder for this truly "Essential" collection of Boozoo at his best. Favorites like Big Leg Woman, Lucille, and Who Stole My Monkey? are here, along with previously unreleased club tracks, 41 Days, Dog Hill, and Goin to la Maison. 

Do yourself a favor, snag this live Zydeco dance in a box.

~ Kou Kou
c. 2000 RadioLousiane.com - http://radiolouisiane.com  

MTE 5067-2

LOUISIANA'S KINGFISH Life in a one-horse town

Louisiana's Kingfish take on quite a bit in their new release from MTE Records: Life in a One-Horse Town... 

This energetic, yet mature journey carries us on a toe-tappin' spin through smooth Cajun accordion and fiddle work, supported by a close-to-the-bone backline. The CD packs a generous fourteen tracks, and by the second song, we were totally hooked. Life in a One-Horse Town dances well and also makes for good driving music.

Although the disk stretches the genre-spectrum a bit -- hopping from revved-up Cajun with well-articulated French singing, to snappy ZydeCajun jitterbugs, to clever effects-trimmed accordion pop, to solid covers of "Time is on My side" and "Allons Dancer" -- Kingfish ends up pulling off the tricky accomplishment of maintaining a single musical identity throughout. 

Great lead vocals by Chris Miller, and the deft touch of Master-Trak Studios' Mark Miller, gives a commercially-slick overall mix to the effort, but we felt it could have unleashed a bit more of the bands' energy in some tracks. 

One thing is certain: These are top-quality musicians showing off their skill and having lots of fun doing it. Happy and bouncy cuts like "Frisco Zydeco" and "Cajun Honey" give a playfulness to the whole disk. 

While Cajun traditionalists may want to wave this one away, any true music lover should snag this disk immediately. The band shares a surprising level of maturity on the title cut, and really do Dave Savario's lyrics justice. 

Don't miss this one folks.

~ Kou Kou 
c. 2000 RadioLousiane.com - http://radiolouisiane.com