Amazon.com
Updating a traditional music form is a perilous task, and more often than not the soul of the older style is lost in the attempt.
Happytown, a CD by accordionist Steve Riley and his band the Mamou Playboys, is a textbook example of how to use modern studio techniques like sampling and drum loops and still maintain a distinctly Cajun feel. The first two tracks, the instrumental "Creole Stomp" and "Big Boy Waltz," which is sung in French by Riley, prove they can play rollicking, old-style Cajun music that would set the feet of the staunchest traditional tapping. But by the third track, the spooky, slide-guitar-drenched murder ballad "Gros Jean/Big John," Riley and his companions are off on an exploration of new sonic territories. Selections such as "Seems to Me," which features heavily processed vocals and a sample taken from an Alan Lomax field recording, and "Pointe aux Chênes," a pungent piece of swamp rock, show that in the hands of skillful musicians like the Mamou Playboys an adventurous musical spirit doesn't need to cancel out a respect for tradition.
--Michael Simmons
Happytown,Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys,Rounder / Pgd,Cajun,Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans,Pop,Traditional Cajun,World Music,Zydeco
Average customer rating:
- cajun prog rock?
- Gets better with each listening
- Out of NC
- A Chicago Fan
- Old band member likes Happytown
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Happytown
Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys
Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
 Zydeco
| Cajun & Zydeco
| Regional Blues
| Blues
| Styles
| Music
Cajun & Creole
| Cajun & Zydeco
| Regional Blues
| Blues
| Styles
| Music
General
| International
| Styles
| Music
Rounder Records
| Specialty Stores
| Music
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ASIN: B0000584XU
Release Date: 2001-02-06 |
Tracks:
- Creole Stomp (Happytown)
- Big Boy Waltz
- Gros Jean (Big John)
- Seems To Me
- Les Vigilants (The Vigilantes)
- La Creve De Faim (Starvation 2-Step)
- Patoutville
- Poche Bridge
- Mes Enfants (My Children)
- Heat Lightning (Eclairs De Chaleur)
- Pointe Aux Chenes (Oak Point)
Amazon.com
Updating a traditional music form is a perilous task, and more often than not the soul of the older style is lost in the attempt. Happytown, a CD by accordionist Steve Riley and his band the Mamou Playboys, is a textbook example of how to use modern studio techniques like sampling and drum loops and still maintain a distinctly Cajun feel. The first two tracks, the instrumental "Creole Stomp" and "Big Boy Waltz," which is sung in French by Riley, prove they can play rollicking, old-style Cajun music that would set the feet of the staunchest traditional tapping. But by the third track, the spooky, slide-guitar-drenched murder ballad "Gros Jean/Big John," Riley and his companions are off on an exploration of new sonic territories. Selections such as "Seems to Me," which features heavily processed vocals and a sample taken from an Alan Lomax field recording, and "Pointe aux Chênes," a pungent piece of swamp rock, show that in the hands of skillful musicians like the Mamou Playboys an adventurous musical spirit doesn't need to cancel out a respect for tradition. --Michael Simmons
Customer Reviews:
cajun prog rock?.......2003-11-06
There's Cajun country, Cajun pop and Cajun boogie. But Riley and the Mamou Playboys remain the sole merchants of Cajun prog rock - a style which has these southern Louisiana musicians filling dancehalls in their home state and selling out concerts around the world. Happytown, their eighth album, is yet another alt-world offering of the band's brash fusion of traditional roots with 21st century sensibilities. This time around it's an examination of the emotions of creole slave poetry with a crafty mix of fevered accordion, massive electric guitars, meticulously meshed fiddles, drum loops and sampled bits of black plantation singing from the dirty `30s. And in the hands of Riley and company it's large fun, a seductive adventure that rocks with the power of a Who concert and dazzles with the grace of a ballerina. While much of the album is built on a strong traditional backbone, only the two lead-in tracks come across as otherwise standard Cajun music - the exuberant Creole Stomp and the tipsy Big Boy Waltz. From there it's a French language free fall built on slabs of psychedelic swamp rock (Seems To Me, Patoutville, Big John, Heat Lightning)and glimpses at a warped waltz (My Children), a diabolic ballad (The Vigilantes) and rocking two-steppers (Starvation 2-Step, Poche Bridge) - quite enough to make most music lovers sit up and listen.
Gets better with each listening.......2002-05-14
It's pretty cool to see a review here by Peter Schwarz, former drummer for the band - a very talented guy himself. I have to agree with Peter that this is a complex record. I have all the CD's from this group and at first I wasn't sure I liked HappyTown. It's not an "easy" record and I wouldn't recommend it for the casual Cajun listener but for those of us who lap this stuff up like dark brown gumbo, it's one of the best.
Out of NC.......2001-05-05
I like the music out of Louisiana, know little, sample around, trying to learn. This CD was one of the recs for me from amazon. I read the reviews, downloaded a few samples, ordered the CD, can't stop playing it. Wow. If all CDs were just this good!
A Chicago Fan.......2001-04-02
This is a great band. Over the years that I have been going to see them live, and in listening to their CD's, I have realized the depth and range of their impressive talents. Happytown is a layered composite of songs that reveals its excellence with each listening. This CD has been "stuck" in my player since I bought it. From the bouncy, joyful dance tunes to the atmospheric almost eerie emotions of other songs; it proves this band is packed with talent and the ability to wed new sounds and ideas with traditional Cajun music. This all sounds a little heavy but trust me - these guys are great fun! Buy this CD - you won't be disappointed!
Old band member likes Happytown.......2001-02-11
I'm biased because I was on the inside for seven years. But I can give you a basic idea: 1) Unless you've spent a lot of time listening, it is hard to tell the difference between good and mediocre bands in Cajun music. After 12 years, this band is still the best and getting better (always the critics choice). Think of it this way: if this were wine it would be the $100 bottle. The more familiar you get, the more you will appreciate these guys. 2) You won't hear any accordions slapped on covers of rock-n-roll, or lyrics laden with alligators, crawfish, bayou moon and fais do do or blue fiddles. This is the self-expression of forward-looking musicians who deeply respect their heritage. It is not tourism. 3) This is a deep record that gets more fascinating with each listen. At times you may want to dance, but it is a complex journey of mood and emotion. 4) If you like this record, it means that you get the power of rhythm, that you are fascinated by unique regional musics, that you believe there is excellent music outside of the mainstream music industry, that you are not stuck on nostalgic musical re-hashings, that you demand the highest sonic quality and production, and that you are respected by your friends as having great taste in music. Do you get it yet? Of course, as I said, I'm biased.
Average customer rating:
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Happytown
Gaither Drake
Manufacturer: Drake Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0002JMXNG |
Product Description
Alex deGrassi plays acoustic guitar and keyboards on track 9. Song list: 01. Happytown; 02. You and Me in Ukiah; 03. Three Little Sisters; 04. Movin' Again; 05. Come Back Tomorrow; 06. Obsessive Fan; 07. The Fourth Thursday; 08. Workin' For You; 09. Revelation No. 9; 10. Wisdom of My Years.
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