Zydeco

Amazon.com
From the get-go, Putumayo Presents Zydeco is the down-and-dirtiest most-rockin' Saturday night at a sweaty bayou dance hall or juke joint a non-native can experience. Born of the Creole community in Louisiana's backwaters and moving outward to Texas and California, Zydeco bumps, grinds, and is a wang dang doodle of a big time. Youngblood Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band rip through "Co Fa" with their trademark double-kick beat, the low-end-amped-up sound making heartbreak sound like a raunchy roll in the hay. Rosie Ledet's "You're No Good for Me" is a wailer for all lovers scorned, featuring thudding bass, wiry guitar lines, and sax in a one-upmanship dance with her accordion. Beau Jocque growls, Jude Taylor trades accordion licks with his band's organist, and Queen Ida reigns supreme on "My Girl Josephine." As the Creole Farmers sing on the opening cut, "We gonna party 'til the cows come home!" --Paige La Grone

From Rhythm Magazine
The feel and energy of a zydeco performance doesn't necessarily come across in the studio, and few of today's performers are particularly impressive songwriters. Fortunately, Putumayo has sought out some of the better recent zydeco recordings, and this compilation is as solid a selection as any. From well-known performers who have passed on, such as Clifton Chenier and Beau Jocque, to current stars such as Keith Frank and Boozoo Chavis, the music is remarkably consistent, with tracks by Rosie Ledet and Buckwheat Zydeco that are as good as zydeco gets.

Tracks:

Creole Farmers Stomp - The Creole Zydeco Farmers
Co Fa - Keith Frank & The Soileau Zydeco Band
You're No Good For Me - Rosie Ledet
What You Gonna Do? - Beau Jocque
I'm In Love - Nathan And The Zydeco Cha Chas
Burnin' Flames Special - Jude Taylor & His Burning Flames
Lula Lula Don't You Go To Bingo - Boozoo Chavis
My Girl Josephine - Queen Ida & Her Zydeco Band
Calinda - Clifton Chenier
I'm On The Wonder - Buckwheat Zydeco
Bye-Bye Mon Neg - Geno Delafose And French Rockin' Boogie
Hoochie Coochie - Joe K K And Zydeco Force
Stay In Or Stay Out - Pass The Dutchie - Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin'

Product Description

A hefty serving of upbeat bayou boogie. The Creole Zydeco Farmers Creole Farmers Stomp Keith Frank ço Fa Beau Jocque What You Gonna Do? Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas I'm in Love Jude Taylor & His Burning Flames Burnin' Flames Special Boozoo Chavis & the Majic Sounds Lula Lula Don't You Go to Bingo Queen Ida and Her Zydeco Band My Girl Josephine Clifton Chenier Calinda Buckwheat Zydeco I'm on the Wonder Geno Delafose Bye Bye Mon N'eg Joe K K and Zydeco Force Hoochie Coochie Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin' Stay In or Stay Out - Pass the Dutchie

Amazon.com

From the get-go, Putumayo Presents Zydeco is the down-and-dirtiest most-rockin' Saturday night at a sweaty bayou dance hall or juke joint a non-native can experience. Born of the Creole community in Louisiana's backwaters and moving outward to Texas and California, Zydeco bumps, grinds, and is a wang dang doodle of a big time. Youngblood Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band rip through "Co Fa" with their trademark double-kick beat, the low-end-amped-up sound making heartbreak sound like a raunchy roll in the hay. Rosie Ledet's "You're No Good for Me" is a wailer for all lovers scorned, featuring thudding bass, wiry guitar lines, and sax in a one-upmanship dance with her accordion. Beau Jocque growls, Jude Taylor trades accordion licks with his band's organist, and Queen Ida reigns supreme on "My Girl Josephine." As the Creole Farmers sing on the opening cut, "We gonna party 'til the cows come home!" --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Another Putamayo classic sampling.......2006-07-11

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.

makes me homesick.......2006-03-21

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!

Excellent!.......2005-12-12

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.

good music.......2005-09-19

This CD is perfect, it has some change in tempo and it is easy light happy listening.

This is the one to buy..........2004-09-21

If you only buy one zydeco collection, this is the one to buy. Putumayo is a label that specializes in world music. All their releases have beautiful artwork and include a booklet with notes about each song. This release is a great compilation of recent and current and most of it rocks. A sampling of the more popular musicians include...Beau Jocque...Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas...Boozoo Chavis...Queen Ida...Clifton Chenier...Buckwheat Zydeco...and Chris Ardoin does a cover of "Pass the Dutchie"

The Big Easy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Average customer rating:

Louisiana
One Of The Best
the best single disc intro to the music of new orleans
Fabulous!
Forgettable Movie, Unforgettable Sound Track

The Big Easy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Fontana Island
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Big Easy
Zydeco's Greatest Hits
The Ultimate Collection
Zydeco
Cajun Heat Zydeco Beat

ASIN: B000003QKO
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Iko Iko - The Dixie Cups
Tipitina - Professor Longhair
Ma 'Tit Fille - Buckwheat Zydeco
Colinda - Zachary Richard
Tell It Like It Is - Aaron Neville & The Neville Brothers
Zydeco Gris Gris - Beausoleil
Oh Yeh Yai - Terrance Simien & The Mallet Playboys
Hey Hey (Indians Comin') - The Wild Tchoupitoulas
Closer To You - Dennis Quaid
Saviour, Pass Me Not - The Swan Silvertones
Buck's Nouvelle Jole Blon - Buckwheat Zydeco & Ils Sont Partis Band
Pine Grove Blues - Dewey Balfa

Amazon.com essential recording

While it didn't do for Louisiana music what the film The Harder They Come did for reggae, the soundtrack to director Jim McBride's steamy and stylized cops-and-corruption movie is a pretty good introduction to the region's extensive musical delights (even if gospel's great Swan Silvertones are from West Virginia). The late Dewey Balfa (who appears in the film's sweet porch-party scene) is to Cajun music's rural past what Terrance Simien and Zachary Richard are to its rocking present. Buckwheat Zydeco is to zydeco what Beausoleil is to Cajun: an intelligent synthesis of the old and new that you can dance to. It's a shame the St. Augustine's Marching Hundred's raw and jumping version of "Li'l Liza Jane" didn't make the cut from film to album. And it's an even bigger shame that star Dennis Quaid's awful ballad did. --Richard Gehr

Customer Reviews:

Louisiana.......2006-11-06

Great soundtrack, if you liked the movie and New Orleans! I love both!

One Of The Best.......2006-05-11

We loved the movie and discovered the sound track. As a New Orleans regular this CD just adds to the mood when we are back home. I predict you'all will jus' love it.

the best single disc intro to the music of new orleans.......2005-08-12

the keyword here is single disc. the whole album clocks in just under 47 minutes. don't know why, but back then the standard running time for a cd is about 45 minutes, so that's at least 20 some odd minutes worth of music they could have put into this cd. of course, at additional right fee. perhaps that was why we couldn't tap into the music of new orleans a little deeper.

that being said, this is a great compilation for beginners. the music of new orleans is an acquired taste that you may never get used to. no matter how much japanese people likes toro, the fatty belly section of tuna, if you don't like sushi, then you will never know. once you get a hang of sushi, you will get to love toro. once you start to liking the new orleans music, you will never get enough.

although new orleans is heavily influenced by the french, but they don't have this type of music over in france, so we can almost say that this is one of the most under recognized original american music. few people knows any new orleans songs outside of tell it like it is and iko iko, and frankly speaking tell it like it is really doesn't sound new orleans to me. it is about as new orleans as toto's africa is to africa. if nothing else, getting this disc to hear the music from the big easy is both fun and educational .

one single disc cannot do new orleans justice, so there is a 4 disc boxset: doctors, professors, kings & queens - the big ol' box of new orleans, also available here at amazon. that set, as comprehensive as it is, does not sound as good as this disc in terms of fidelity. there are only four songs from this cd that appeared on the boxset, but none of them are the same version as the ones appeared in the other title. if you get both you won't feel cheated.

Fabulous!.......2005-07-08

I have seen this movie several times over the years and it never fails to delight me.

Forgettable Movie, Unforgettable Sound Track.......2005-05-17

Some say, all music came from New Orleans. Jazz and blues, from which so much American music descended, got their start in the clubs of New Orleans and fields around the Mississippi delta. New Orleans, and Louisiana generally, remains a major center of musical vitality, if somewhat apart from the American mainstream.

In the mid-80s, I began to develop an interest in "New Orleans" music, and the many varied styles it encompassed including traditional "Dixieland", brass-band and more modern Jazz, as well as second-line, blues, rock'n'roll, cajun, gospel, zydeco and funk. About that time, the Big-Easy, a midling, formulaic picture, put out its sound track, and I was hooked. A sampler of the various styles, with the infectious, polyrhythmic beat so characterisctic of the The Big Easy.

There is so much they could have put on the album, and a one or two that could have been omitted. But since then, I have developed a life-long love of all the various music that represents NOLA.

Average customer rating:

Great Zydeco
This Is It
Buckwheat Zydeco
excellant!
excellant!

The Ultimate Collection
Buckwheat Zydeco
Manufacturer: Hip-O Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music
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Zydeco's Greatest Hits
Cajun Heat Zydeco Beat
Zydeco
Bayou Deluxe: The Best Of Michael Doucet & Beausoleil
The Big Easy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

ASIN: B00004UAOR
Release Date: 2000-07-18

Tracks:

Turning Point
Zydeco Boogaloo
Ya Ya
Buck's New Jole Blon
Take Me To The Mountain Top
On A Night Like This
Hot Tamale Baby
Ma 'Tit Fille
Hey Good Lookin'
Buck's Hot Rod
Pour Tout Quelque'un
Where There's Smoke There's Fire
Maybe I Will
Why Does Love Gotta Be So Sad
Make A Change
Drivin' Old Grey
Five Card Stud
Secret Of Love
Bayou Girl
People's Choice
Zydeco Honky Tonk

Amazon.com

Thank Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural and his group Buckwheat Zydeco for the many contemporary zydeco releases now available. It was Buckwheat's major-label breakthrough record, On a Night Like This, that brought this rural Louisiana dance music into the mainstream, at least for a time, and his zesty repertoire that won new legions of fans. His accordion prowess also liberated the instrument from its polka-band image. This excellent collection traces Buckwheat's trajectory from 1979 to 1988, peaking with his rollicking accordion-powered party poppers "Ma 'Tit Fille" and "Zydeco Honky Tonk." His roots are covered, too, with zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier's "Hot Tamale Baby" and rural-themed numbers like "I Bought a New Raccoon." There's also his collaboration with Eric Clapton--E.C. reprising the ripping solo of his "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad." But with Buckwheat, love's rarely sad. His deliciously uptempo, two-stepping blend of swamp-funk, rock, and R&B is a tonic for misery of any kind. --Ted Drozdowski

Customer Reviews:

Great Zydeco.......2007-05-07

You can always find 1 or 2 songs that you wanted to have on any "collection" Cd. This one is also in that class due to the amount songs in his career. However with the selection you get there is so much to enjoy. I can feel Burbon Street from my car here in Jersey.

This Is It.......2003-07-21

While I'm more of a traditionalist-a la BeauSoleil-I can't get enough of the Zydeco fusion sound of Buckwheat. This man and his band just keep bringing it on and bringing people to their feet.

I've seen Buckwheat live twice-once in New Orleans and once in Lafayette-and the atmosphere is classic Cajun with a great mix of Zydeco.

Buckwheat is the undisputed King of Zydeco hands down and I know you'll enjoy this compilation if you have any love of Louisiana music.

Buckwheat Zydeco.......2003-03-18

Blues and zydeco hybred if you like both you can't loose with old Buckwheat! He really has his own sound, if you heard him before you already know that. This is a best of and you will have to decide if this blend is for you. Every album is fairly consistant, you might tire of this but you don't have to worry about big let downs when some wild notion results in something you would never buy!

excellant!.......2002-06-06

HIGHLY RECOMMEND - IF NOT FAMILIAR W/ZYDECO OR BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO IN PARTICULAR - THIS IS A WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION! IF YOU'RE NOT NEW BUT WOULD LIKE TO COMPLETE OR ADD TO COLLECTION - THIS ALBUM WILL DEFINETLY COMPLIMENT! WILL DEFINETLY ROUNDOUT ANY COLLECTORS NEEDS FOR ZYDECO!

I DARE YOU TO SIT STILL LISTENING TO THIS MUSIC!

excellant!.......2002-06-06

Tracks:

Buckwheat Zydeco Ya Ya
Give Him Cornbread
Your Mama Don't Know
French Rockin' Boogie
My Toot Toot
Hot Tamale Baby
Turning Point
Uncle Bud
Broken Hearted
Follow Me Chicken

Customer Reviews:

Good But Not Great.......2007-05-22

This is an enjoyable CD, but I strongly recommend you purchase Putamayo's ZYDECO instead. It contains some greats like Geno Dalfose's "Bye Bye Mon Neg" and the Creole Zydoco Farmers' "Creole Farmers Stomp," which you won't be able to SIT and listen to. It also has Queen Ida's "My Girl Josephine," which is a classic.

Zydeco's Greatest Hits does contain some good, standard cuts like Buckwheat Zydeco's "Ya Ya," and another cut of theirs,"Turning Point," which is great. I also like BooZoo Chavis' "Uncle Bud." For the most part, though, the Putamayo disk will keep you hopping.

You may also enjoy Putamayo's LOUISIANA GUMBO which contains a variety of cajun, southern rock, and zydeco.

Good for a new Zydeco Fan.......2007-03-09

I had only heard Zydeco music in cajun resturants. So when I needed a zydeco cd I had no clue what to buy. I just kinda chose this one blindly. It turned out to be wonderful! It wasn't too deep so for a person like me who was only exposed to it very little, I didn't feel like "this is way over my head!" My co-workers loved it too. I bought it for a work function. We just played the cd over and over and by the end of the day, people were singing along and everything. Really cool for if you just want to expand your music knowledge and taste to include Zydeco music. I good find indeed!

GREAT Cajun music!.......2006-08-03

Great upbeat music. Good representation of zydeco music. Very enjoyable. I bought two!

Very good...........2005-12-16

Wow, Amazon, thanks so much for all the information. For people who actually enjoy knowing what they're getting, here's who plays what:

1 Ya Ya - Buckwheat Zydeco
2 Give Him Cornbread - Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers
3 Your Mama Don't Know - Nathan And The Zydeco Cha Chas
4 French Rockin' Boogie - Geno Delafose
5 My Toot Toot - Rockin' Sidney
6 Hot Tamale Baby - Clifton Chenier
7 Turning Point - Buckwheat Zydeco
8 Uncle Bud - Boozoo Chavis & the Magic Sounds
9 Broken Hearted - Zydeco Force
10 Follow Me Chicken - Nathan And The Zydeco Cha Chas

Now that you can see who plays what, any zydeco fan should be able to comfortably identify all of these artists, and see that, while the songs are not NECESSARILY zydeco "hits", the artists are all zydeco stars. Other than the sad exclusion of Keith Frank, this is a pretty excellent album for its price.

Unbeatable for the price........2001-06-07

When I saw the low price on this CD, I wasn't sure if the quality would be great. Turns out "Zydeco's Greatest Hits" is definitely danceable. A good mix of some of zydeco's masters, including Boozoo Chavis and Nathan & the Cha-Chas. I only wish it had some Rosie Ledet as well. The sound quality is good.

Average customer rating:

Less Than the Best of the Meters CD
The Meters made the breaks which......
classic grooves
A great place to start with the Meters
A half-and-half mix of cream and milk

The Very Best of the Meters
The Meters
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Wild Tchoupitoulas
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ASIN: B0000033YT
Release Date: 1997-06-10

Tracks:

Cissy Strut
Live Wire
Sophisticated Cissy
Look-Ka Py Py
Pungee
Tippi-Toes
Soul Island
Cabbage Alley
People Say
Hey Pocky A-Way
Just Kissed My Baby
Jungle Man
Out In The Country
Fire On The Bayou
They All Ask'd For You
Trick Bag

Customer Reviews:

Less Than the Best of the Meters CD.......2006-07-13

The Meters evolved out of the Neville Sound (essentially all four Meters plus Art Neville's brothers Aaron, Cyril, and sax player Gary Brown) during 1967, a period in which the wave of great post-War music coming out of New Orleans had all but stopped reaching a national audience. Art had been making records since the '50s, but finally stripped his original conception down to the quartet, at first an all instrumental lineup (guitar, drums, bass, and organ) inspired by Memphis legends Booker T & The MGs, though the bands' styles are very different. Before the end of '67 producer Allen Toussaint - who'd caught a hot club show - started utilizing the group as house band at Sansu, backing up artists such as Lee Dorsey, Betty Harris, Eldridge Holmes, and numerous others, including solo singles by Art himself as well as brothers Cyril and Aaron.
The group 'went solo' by developing their own material (with Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn nominally producing), signed with Josie in '68, and before long made their hometown hip again by leading the evolution from soul to funk and producing an impressive body of work during the next decade(and continuing to back up many artists including Dr. John and Labelle), gaining a large and loyal cult of fans (including many other important musicians, such as The Rolling Stones and Richard Hell).
The Meters' career can rather too neatly be divided into two periods: first their work for the Josie label (1968 - 71), followed by the Reprise era (1972 - 77). In recent years all eight of their studio albums - plus two very good collections of non-album singles and rarities - have been (re)issued by Sundazed, with superior sound and original graphics as well as bonus material. "The Best Of The Meters" may seem like a sensible first purchase for those who don't have any of the albums, or want a primer, but it just doesn't cut it. Rhino, for some no doubt non-aesthetic reason, only includes six measly gems from the great Josie period, with the remaining ten taken from the later Reprise albums. Even the selection of Reprise material is unreliable - from 1972's "Cabbage Alley" they've excerpted the decent but unremarkable "Soul Island" and the title track (a good rearrangement of an old Professor Longhair hit). These are not that album's best tracks - why not the Sly-meets-'70s Miles classic "Gettin' Funkier All The Time," or the seamless funk/hard rock Leo Nocentelli songs "You've Got To Change" and the wild, fascinating, almost psych-dub of "Stay Away"? For instumentals, "Smiling" and "Flower Song" are both more interesting than the almost bland (I said almost) "Soul Island." And the tracks from the later Reprise albums that close this set are even less representive of what this group could do - the telepathic interplay, constantly inventive rhythmic variations of drummer Ziggy Modeliste, and the virtuosity and drive that sweeps the lister up on his/her feet. This is simply an unsatisfying sampler.
If you're interested in those mostly classic original albums, there are three originally issued on Josie ("Zony Mash" might as well be the fourth, as it features both sides of the last four non-album singles the Meters released before the label stopped functioning late 1971). Each Josie title has much to recommend it, but for sheer inventiveness, compelling and surprising instrumental interplay, and warm, rich sound, my favorite is the second, "Look-Ka Py Py" (originally released January 1970); if you love this, you'll certainly want the other three. For Reprise titles, "Rejuvenation" (1974) is a classic: slinky, unhurried and richly textured funk and soul, with some of their best original songs and vocals. Its predecessor, "Cabbage Alley" is a fascinating and ambitious album, if slightly uneven, but by now the music is post-Hendrix/Sly Stone (and even Neil Young is an influence - there's a quite decent cover of "Birds"), but despite the inevitable observation that with the label change came vocals, an end to the 'pure' bare bones funk of their debut, the group had already started singing at Josie (Art after all had been singing for a decade prior to forming his great band), especially on the third album "Struttin'" and the later singles collected on "Zony."
So, there's my advice: explore the aformentioned pair of classics (mid-line priced) and I bet you'll want to dig deeper, but not into this superfluous compilation.

The Meters made the breaks which.............2006-01-31

...laid down the foundation for hip hop and modern breakbeat. Also, Check out Cymande - Renegades of Funk if you like the Island funk, breakbeat and jazz sounds. Just passing the good word on to those people who crave some good vintage funk. Peace.

classic grooves.......2005-09-08

This is funk 101. Simple, basic, purified funk. just barely distinct at this point from r&b, it's clean punchy lines laid bare. Solos are underplayed to perfection so that the groove is always in center focus, as it should be for this form of highly syncopated soul, from which so many present-day styles have sprung. The Meters pretty much started it all back then, and they still own it.

A great place to start with the Meters.......2004-12-09

If you are already a Meters fan, chances are you own this recording. If you don't, you should. If you are not familiar with the Meters this is a great place to start. The first track alone, Sissy Strut, is more than worth the price of this cd! Think Booker T and the MG's but with MUCH MORE funk. I am not talking today's over-produced watered down definition of funk or R&B. No, no...we are talking historically significant music that makes you stop in your tracks, look around and say "man, that's good"!

A half-and-half mix of cream and milk.......2004-08-03

O.k., first off let me say that the Meters are, in my opinion, one of the greatest funk bands of all time. With respect to sheer rhythmic force, and especially drumming, they have no equal.

Now, with that out of the way, lemme explain the three stars. It has to do with track selection. Imagine, for instance, that someone compiled Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits but left out Billie Jean and Rock With You. While the remaining tracks would be great, you'd be leaving out some of, in my opinion, the best music MJ has to offer. Not everyone will agree with that, but for me it's important that quality of the track, and not just chart placement, be considered when compiling a "best of".

In the case of the Meters, there are several absolute musts that ought to be on here. The first three Meters albums -- "The Meters", "Look-ka py py", and "Struttin'" really defined the group. Stand out tracks from those albums include, in no particular order "The Handclapping Song", "Same Old Thing", "Funky Miracle", "Here Comes The Meter Man", and "Stormy" (one of the most underrated of Meters tunes). I'd also add to that list "Stretch Your Rubber Band", which appeared only as a single. Of these, the addition of "Funky Miracle", "The Handclapping Song", and "Stormy" in place of some of the newer Meters tracks (I'd boot "Hey Pocky A-Way", "Out In The Country", and "They All Ask'd For You") would add at least a star, and maybe two (if it was sequenced right) to my rating of this CD.

As it stands, the "very best" doesn't include songs that really are the very best of what the Meters had to offer. Later tracks, especially "Just Kissed My Baby", are a fine addition to one's Meters collection, but exclusion of older, better songs in the name of variety (which is what I think they were shooting for here) is bad form. And bad form only gets three stars from me.

Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast

Average customer rating:

One of the very best
Good old Louisiana music
Great Representation of the Music from New Orleans
Best of the Unique to New Orleans
the City that Care Forgot is sweetly remembered

Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

New Orleans Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000BNTM0U
Release Date: 2005-12-06

Tracks:

Yes We Can Can - Allen Toussaint
World I Never Made - Dr. John
Back Water Blues - Irma Thomas
Gather by the River - Davell Crawford
Cryin' in the Streets - Buckwheat Zydeco
Canal Street Blues - Dr. Michael White
Brother John Is Gone/Herc-Jolly-John - Wild Magnolias
When the Saints Go Marching In - Eddie Bo
My Feet Can't Fail Me Now - Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Tou' les jours st pas la m - Carol Fran
L'Ouragon - BeauSoleil
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans - Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Prayer for New Orleans - Charlie Miller
What a Wonderful World - The Wardell Quezergue Orchestra featuring Donald Harrison
Tipitina and Me - Allen Toussaint
Philharmonic Louisiana 1927 - Randy Newman and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra with members of the New York

Amazon.com

Hurricane Katrina may have devastated New Orleans and surrounding Gulf communities in 2005, but it was also a forceful reminder of the Crescent City's world renowned status as the epicenter of much American musical heritage. This benefit album (all net proceeds will be donated to the local relief efforts of Habitat for Humanity, with a portion specifically set aside to provide housing for local musicians left homeless by the disaster) picks up that latter thread, a sometimes bittersweet reminder of how deepy ingrained, yet all-too-fragile, that cultural legacy really is. Allen Toussaint's succulent reworking of his "Yes We Can Can" sets a rhythmic, optimistic tone that parallels his city's own historical resilience, while Dr. John turns in a bluesy, laid-back "World I Never Made" that's a sharp contrast to the flashes of anger he showed on Tab Benoit's earlier benefit collection, Voice of the Wetlands. Irma Thomas gives a swampy, timely edge to Bessie Smith's "Back Water Blues" while others pay tribute to the region's history of gospel (Davell Crawford, Eddie Bo), indigenous cajun folk (Buckwheat Zydeco, Beausolei, Carol Fran) and legacy as the Birthplace of Jazz (vibrantly disparate contributions from Dr. Michael White, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the venerable Preservation Hall Jazz Band). The Wild Magnolias' medley "Brother John Is Gone/Herc-Jolly-John" is a joyous, African-rooted gumbo of musical possibilities, while Donald Harrison's sax work with The Wardell Querzergue's Orchestra's on "What a Wonderful World" is a fine preamble for Toussaint's elegiac solo piano rendition of "Tipitina and Me." Randy Newman's closer, a melancholic new version of Good Old Boys' "Louisiana 1927," is a tribute to his own N.O. roots whose refrain--"Louisiana, they're trying to wash us away"--is also a forceful, tragic reminder that history does indeed repeat. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description

Nonesuch Records is releasing a benefit album of newly recorded songs featuring artists from the New Orleans music community - across a wide variety of styles - to document the depth, richness and profound musicality of that unique city. Funds from the sale of the record, titled Our New Orleans, will be donated to Habitat For Humanity to aid those affected by the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster. A number of New Orleans' best known musicians have been asked to record songs that are integral to their lives and that express their feelings about the city and the recent events there. Sessions began in New York on September 20, with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Wild Magnolias recording at Clinton Studios. Later the same day and on September 21, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band recorded at New York's Avatar Studios. Further sessions in October included Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Randy Newman, among others. Nonesuch's parent company - Warner Bros. Records - is donating all of the production costs for this record, as part of the Warner Music Group's larger efforts on behalf of the hurricane victims. Many others involved in the project are also generously donating their time and services.

Customer Reviews:

One of the very best.......2007-04-15

One of, if not THE best, of the Katrina benefit disks. The music is first class, the recordings are pristine, and the money goes to a good cause.

This disk has already earned over one MILLION dollars for the Habitat for Humanity Musicians Village and other causes. If you buy a copy of this disk for everyone on your Xmas list, you won't go wrong.

Good old Louisiana music.......2007-03-08

Bring out the red beans and rice and jambalaya because New Orleans is going to rise again. Great renditions by many great Louisiana and a few non-Louisiana artists make this CD a must have. You will not be disappointed from Allen to Randy.

Great Representation of the Music from New Orleans.......2007-02-06

After spending a month in New Orleans, I got a "taste" of the music as well as the wonderful food. I find that this album is a great representation of the many faces of New Orleans. Some blues, some jazz, and all heart-felt.

It's just an added bonus that the proceeds go to the rebuilding effort.

Best of the Unique to New Orleans.......2006-11-13

The more I listen to this CD the better I like it - it grows on me a bit more with each playing. I love the variety of styles of music represented here and each style has its own New Orleans flavor - Dixieland Jazz, Jazz, Zydeco, blues, rock, et. al. It is amazing to me that this group of extremely talented musical artists put this CD together so soon after the tragedy of the levies breaking in the wake of Hurricane Katrina - this, too, speaks to their incredible talent and hearts. It is a "SOUL HEALER" for anyone in any circumstance.

the City that Care Forgot is sweetly remembered.......2006-09-15

True New Orleans-area music is captured here on this benefit disc. If you've ever experienced this gem of the world, the CD puts you right back there. It doesn't stop throughout: you are cermoniously dropped right into the flavor and feel of New Orleans at the first note of Allen Toussaint's Mardi Gras-flavored version of "Yes We Can Can" and you stay there until Randy Newman and the accompanying orchestras hit the last note in "Louisiana 1927".

Do you feel any melancholy? Yeah, you right! Do you wish you could do more for those who have suffered? Yeah, baby.

This is a wonderful compilation of artists from the area, and even more than a year after Katrina - it's worth buying and supporting the Habitat and musicias who lost their homes.

I DO know what it means to miss New Orleans...

The Best of Cajun: The Traditional Songs

Average customer rating:

Great CD
Great recording- super renditions-I wish I could find more CDs like this
Ou-ce Que Te Parti
Acadienne At Its Finest!
This collection of Cajun music is just too cool for words!!!

The Best of Cajun: The Traditional Songs
Waylon Thibodeaux
Manufacturer: Mardi Gras Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Cajun & Zydeco | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music

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Zydeco

ASIN: B000005XFX
Release Date: 1995-04-16

Tracks:

Je Veux Me Marier
Grand Mamou
Chou-Pique Two Step
Bayou Teche
Paradin Two Step
Grande Texas
Madame Sosthene
Ou-Ce Que T'es Parti
Jolie Blonde
Lake Charles Two Step
Big Mamou

Customer Reviews:

Great CD.......2005-12-22

I just love this CD, especially song #8! I'd say this is the best Cajun CD I've heard yet. Would highly recommend it to anyone. It's at the top of my list!!

Great recording- super renditions-I wish I could find more CDs like this.......2005-10-14

This CD is simply a wonderful find.

Excellent recording, excellent renditions of traditional songs.

Like listening to E Power Biggs play Bach, Waylon Thibodeaux has captured something very special with this recording.

I'd love to see suggestions for similar albums- I've looked for a while but I keep coming back to this one.

Ou-ce Que Te Parti.......2005-10-07

This a song that is needed by the Westwego Senior Citizens. A small group visits the shut in and they requested this particular song. I would like to have a copy both in french and english?

Acadienne At Its Finest!.......2002-05-05

The songs on this album with the exception of Big Mamou are old beautiful traditional Cajun songs. Waylon does an excellent job at playing these songs and keeping them fairly authentic sounding. Waylon should be given a medal for preserving these old songs and giving them a modern-quality recording. Waylon does not exclude modern zydeco either in Big Mamou. This song will make you want to jump up and do the fais-do-do. If you dig Cajun music at all, this album is a must have.

This collection of Cajun music is just too cool for words!!!.......1999-07-14

Okay, okay, you haven't encountered much of Cajun music? Here's the place to start. Twelve catchy numbers, most with lyrics in Cajun French, brighten this fine record by Waylon Thibodeaux. They're lively, enjoyable, and make you want to dance or at least enjoy more whatever you might be doing while listening. Thibodeaux does the definitive "Jolie Blonde" in this CD, and has several great ones such as "Grand Texas," "Grand Mamou," "Je Veux le Marier," and "Paradis Two-step."

Tracks:

Go To The Mardi Gras - Professor Longhair
Don't You Just Know It - Huey 'Piano' Smith & The Clowns
Jambalaya (On The Bayou) - Fats Domino
Whirlaway - A. Tousan
Mardi Gras Mambo - The Hawketts
Carnival Time - Al Johnson
I Got Loaded - 'Lil' Bob & The Lollipops
Sea Cruise - Frankie Ford
The Peanut Vendor - Alvin 'Red' Tyler & The Gyros
Who Shot The Lala - Oliver Morgan
Iko Iko - Dr. John
Big Chief-Pt.1 - Professor Longhair
Meet De Boys On The Battlefront - The Wild Tchoupitoulas
Hey Pocky Way - Neville Brothers
Li'l Liza Jane - The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Dancin' Jones - Neville Brothers
Second Line-Pt. 1 - Stop, Inc.
Do Whatcha Wanna, Pt.3 - The Rebirth Brass Band

Customer Reviews:

Great Collection of New Orleans Songs.......2007-05-12

This is a great collection of songs for people who are from New Orleans or for people who love New Orleans and miss it. It has almost all of the classic Mardi Gras themed songs, and it flows really well.

The Best of the Best.......2007-05-10

No contest = if you buy one Mardi Gras CD - this is it. Orginal recordings and great original sound. This is the one Mardi Gras CD that I give to friends - where ever they live. Listen to the samples, if that doesn't do it for you, God bless you.

good all around .......2006-07-07

Enjoyed this cd very much.. It had more cajun than i expected and was glad.

Love That Jazz Man.......2002-02-15

This is a very delectable sampling of many rockin' New Orleans Jazz flavored tunes. Some of the songs are performed by such rock n roll legends like Dr. John and The Neville Brothers. Others are from more soulful artists like Madri Gras Mambo by the Hawkettes. Sill others are percussion driven like Little Liza Jane and Meet De Boys On The Battlefront. And of course there are plenty of great brass and keyboard arrangements to keep any jazz fan happy.

Whereas many of these artists were not legends in the annals of music history, their contributions to this disc are certainly very good. This is a very appropriate party tape for ayoung hip crowd especially if your are anywhere near the Bayou. Goes nice with some Crawfish, Jambalaya, and a beer or two.

Awesome and fun.......2000-01-23

This has been the star of several parties for us. A real good time mood maker. Great for Mardi Gras parties! Buy it, you won't be sorry.

Average customer rating:

The real thing
Great modern-day Cajun music

Blues de Musicien
Pine Leaf Boys
Manufacturer: Arhoolie Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music
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La Musique
Les Amis Creole
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Pilette Breakdown

ASIN: B000MM1F64
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Tracks:

Blues De Musicien
Musicien Avec Un Coeur Casse
Wild Side Of Life
Ma Petite Femme
Mon Coeur Fait Mal
La Valse De Belizaire
Jig Cajin
Pardon Waltz
Pine Leaf Boogie
Chere Joues Roses
Creole Mardi Gras
Quand Rita Est Arrive
J'Ai Perdu Ma Chance
Zydeco Gris Gris

Customer Reviews:

The real thing.......2007-04-13

The Pine Leaf Boys are the genuine article: this is real Cajun music, not just Cajun-flavored pop. The use of accordion and fiddles makes for a wonderful sonority, that is edgy and soulful at the same time, and the singing, most of it in that wonderfully twisted French that Cajuns speak, is just as perfect. There are plenty of zydecko bands out there, who draw from this music, and fuse it with other sources. But the Pine Leaf Boys offer the real thing, straight up, or as I usually tell the bartender, "neat." Une bonne collection, mes copains!

Great modern-day Cajun music.......2007-04-01

Fans of Louisiana cajun music will dig this, another fine album from this up-and-coming young ensemble. Heartfelt and lively, they bring new vigor to this old style... Lots of great French-language originals from fiddler Cedric Watson, too. Recommended!

Bayou Deluxe: The Best Of Michael Doucet & Beausoleil

Average customer rating:

excellent Cajun group
Good listening music
My First "True" Cajun CD
An Excellent CD To Introduce People To Beausoleil
Ex took CD, this is my second

Bayou Deluxe: The Best Of Michael Doucet & Beausoleil
Michael Doucet w , and Beausoleil
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000032YC
Release Date: 1993-02-16

Tracks:

Le Jig Francais
Tasso/ McGee's Reel
Madame Sosthene
Zydeco Gris-Gris
Blues A Bebe
Je M'Endors
Dimanche Apres-Midi
Vieux Crowley
La Chanson De Mardi Gras
Travailler, C'Est Trop Dur
J'ai Ete Au Zydeco
Chez Seychelles
Baby, Please Don't Go
Les Bons Temps Rouler Waltz
Awsome Ossun Two-Step
Donnez Moi Pauline
Falmmes D'Enfer
Sur Le Pont De Lyon

Amazon.com essential recording

Beausoleil may have originated as Cajun purists, but Cajun music itself has always been a rich, creolized mixture combining Southern country and folk music with traditional songs from France's Brittany region. Revealing the band's own increasingly wide-ranging stylistic borrowings over the course of the 15-year period it encompasses, Bayou Deluxe includes everything from raving remakes of some early material ("Le Jig Français") to a mazurka from the Seychelles ("Chez Seychelles") to a French duet with Richard Thompson ("Sur le Pont de Lyon"). It also includes plenty of the incandescent two-steps and waltzes, as well as a heartbreaking ballad or two. --Richard Gehr

Customer Reviews:

excellent Cajun group.......2007-03-08

Excellent intro to cajun songs or a good addition to a mardi-gras party . They have lively and upbeat music with one of my favorite:"travailler c'est trop dur".

Good listening music.......2007-01-03

I bought this for a Cajun dinner party. It provided a good background of Cajun music with some variety without being "over the top". I have since listened to it as part of a mix of music via random selection on my CD player and have enjoyed it that way as well.

My First "True" Cajun CD.......2006-03-22

I listened to, and subsequently purchased this recording after reading another Amazon reviewer's review of a contemporary Zydeco CD. The reviewer said that he/she liked the Zydeco recording, but ordinarily preferred traditional Cajun music, such as that of Michael Doucet. This is great--wonderful upbeat tunes with great vocals. It's fun to try to decipher the lyrics, and it reminds me of learning to read Shakespeare for the first time. Once you get used to it, it's fairly easy. If you're a fan of the various Zydeco groups and haven't yet discovered Doucet, check it out.

An Excellent CD To Introduce People To Beausoleil.......2005-11-23

Beausoleil has cranked out many albums over their existence. This particular album encompasses a fifteen year period in which we see them grow from traditional rebels to modern masters of mixing genres. You'll hear a little bit of everything on this disc. From heavy French and Caribbean influence to good time rock, Beausoleil ties it all together nicely with the fiddle play of Michael Doucet. I've personally dubbed his style "lazy fiddle," and I have no intentions of that sounding derogatory. I love to listen to Doucet bend and peel notes off of his fiddle.

Some of my favorite tunes on this album are "Le Jig Francais," "Travallier, C'est Trop Dur," and "Je M'Endors." Everything else here is also very wonderful.

This band is one of the best modern Cajun groups around, but don't expect them to stick to the standards. They often tear off into uncharted territory with their music, and for that, I have to commend them. They've managed to keep an artform alive that seems to fade quicker as the years go by. Luckily, they have managed to introduce the younger folks to the roots of our culture and have cultivated quite the interest in these older masters such as Dennis McGee and the Balfa Brothers.

Introduce Cajun music to your friends via this album, but be sure to back it up with the aforementioned legends and greats such as Nathan Abshire and Joe Falcon and throw in some of the younger acts such as the Lost Bayou Ramblers and Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys. It won't hurt to put in a little Creole flavor with Amede Ardoin and Canray Fontenot, either.

Highly recommended.

Ex took CD, this is my second.......2002-04-19

Ever since I saw Belizaire the Cajun and fell in love with Armand Assante, I have been in love with Beausoleil/Michael Ducet. The Music is wonderfully Cajun and my favoriet songs from other soundtracks are on this CD. When I lost it to my ex I knew I was going to have to get another because of all the wonderful music. I never thought I would fall in love with a style of music like Cajun, but Doucet is the best by far. True Cajun stylings and the French Canadien lyrics make this CD the best of all the Beausoleil compilation CDs. I have others....I probably will own more. A must buy for someone looking to dip their musical ears into something as unique as Cajun.

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