Editorial Review

Slim Harpo, Dr. John the Night Tripper, Tony Joe White … one can't help but flash on those illustrious practitioners of swamp music, be it blues, rock, or pop, when listening to CC Adcock's latest effort. As with all of the above, Layayette, Louisiana's Adcock makes music that's dense, damp, and malodorous as a Baton Rouge bog. What's so welcome about Read more

Subjects:  1. Modern Electric Blues    2. Pop    3. Rock    4. Rock/Pop    5. Swamp Blues    6. Traditional Cajun    7. Zydeco   

Editorial Review

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, Read more

Subjects:  1. Louisiana Blues    2. New Orleans Blues    3. New Orleans Brass Bands    4. New Orleans Jazz    5. New Orleans R&B    6. Pop    7. Rock/Pop Collections    8. V/a Compilations    9. Zydeco   

Editorial Review

While it didn't do for Louisiana music what the film Read more

Features

• Soundtrack

Reviews (19)

One Of The Best
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
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.
Fabulous!
I have seen this movie several times over the years and it never fails to delight me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adult Contemporary    2. Cajun    3. Film Music    4. Pop    5. Pop/Rock    6. Soundtrack    7. Soundtracks    8. Soundtracks & Film Scores    9. Traditional Cajun    10. Zydeco   

Features

• Live

Subjects:  1. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    2. Folk    3. Pop    4. Traditional Cajun    5. United States of America    6. Zydeco   

Editorial Review

Take a spicy Cajun tour through Louisiana's bayou country on Read more

Reviews (60)

This is the real thing
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.

Too much hype
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.

AI-EEEEEE!
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. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    2. Children's    3. Childrens    4. Creole    5. Pop    6. Zydeco   

Reviews (5)

Great CD
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
This CD is simply a wonderful find.
Ou-ce Que Te Parti
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? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun    2. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    3. Pop    4. World Music    5. Zydeco   

Reviews (16)

Less Than the Best of the Meters CD
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 ofNew 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 Meters made the breaks which......
...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
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. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    2. Funk    3. New Orleans R&B    4. Pop    5. Popular Music    6. R&B    7. Soul    8. Soul/R & B   

Editorial Review

The lineup of this nationally televised concert, organized by Wynton Marsalis at Jazz at Lincoln Center, ranged from the gospel queen Shirley Caesar to the quiet wunderkind Norah Jones. But the night belonged to the Big Easy’s brethren, including the crawfish cadences ofBuckwheat Zydeco's "I'm Going to Love You Anyway" and the second line strut of Art and Aaron Neville's "Go to the Mardi Gras." Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield's tearful "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" was dedicated to his missing father. The Jordan family: flutist Kent, violinist Rachel, vocalist Stephanie, and trumpeterMarlon--who was trapped for days on a roof--performed a heartfelt, affirmative rendition of "Here's to Life." Without the Crescent City, American music as we know it does not exist. If enough of you buy this CD, we won't "Know What it Means To Miss New Orleans." Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (9)

Your Purchase Benefits a Good Cause!
The description of this CD forgot to note this statement from Blue Note's website: "All net profits from the sale of the CD will be donated to the Higher Ground Relief Fund established by Jazz at Lincoln Center and administered through the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to benefit the musicians, music industry related enterprises and other individuals and entities from the areas in Greater New Orleans who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina and to provide other general hurricane relief."
Another Katrina Relief CD
I also really enjoyed this CD from various artists.Anything I can do to help in little ways like this, I am more than happy to do.My heart goes out to everyone still in NO.This CD will be played every Mardi Gras season I am around and maybe even on the off-season, too!

Remembering New Orleans
Anybody who loves New Orleans will love this CD.It has many of the hit songs associated with the city performed by stellar
Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Jazz    2. Jazz    3. Jazz Collections    4. Jazz-Pop    5. New Orleans Jazz    6. Pop    7. Southern Gospel    8. V/a Compilations    9. Zydeco   

Editorial Review

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. Read more

Reviews (4)

This Is It
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. BuckwheatZydeco
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!
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!Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    2. Creole    3. Pop    4. World Music    5. Zydeco   

Reviews (3)

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

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

Subjects:  1. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    2. Pop    3. Swamp Blues    4. World Music    5. Zydeco    6. Zydeco Collections   

Editorial Review

Mardi Gras remains one of America's most other-worldly cultural riots, never more exotic than in the beaded, feathered spectacle of New Orleans' black "Indian" tribes. Each year they stir the city's African, Native American, and European influences into an intoxicating gumbo roiling with syncopated rhythms and coded with their own sense of the festival's competitive spirit. It's that tradition that explains this deliriously infectious 1976 project, which magnifies the Tchoupitoulas' fanny-shaking bravado with a formidable studio crew helmed by producer Allen Toussaint, who enlisted the Neville Brothers and the Meters to give these tracks a kinetic R&B push-and-pull. With the Nevilles' choral vocals fleshing out traditional chants, this is funky prancing of the highest order, from the infectious "Brother John" to a ripe remake of the Meters' "Hey Pocky A-Way." One need only hear the tough bragging of "Meet the Boys on the Battlefront," with its promise that "the Wild Tchoupitoulas gonna stomp some rump," to get the outrageous picture. Read more

Reviews (15)

no one doesn't like it
from the Iko-Iko-like kickoff, this sly rampage unfolds into pure pleasure. 'Think a cut or two in the middle are sub-par? You'll like them soon enough and see how they fit in the groove. How many records do I take down from the shelf 30+ years on and like exactly the same way? This is in that small club.
The Mudsnark
Hoon-don-day--low down dirty ways!!!
Ya Indians Comin
Fine, fine, fine. If you own no other New Orleans music, own this. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    2. Ceremonial    3. Creole    4. Funk    5. New Orleans R&B    6. Pop    7. Popular Music    8. Zydeco   

Editorial Review

From the get-go, Read more

Reviews (11)

Another Putamayo classic sampling
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
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!
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.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun    2. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    3. Creole    4. Pop    5. World Music    6. Zydeco    7. Zydeco Collections   

Reviews (2)

Amazing
I love this.In an era when its difficult to find true, real or authentic things in this world, this is all of the above and more.I'm mesmerized and can't stop playing it.This trio is amazing beyond words. As good as it gets!!
Cajun music simply does not get any better than this.Fiddler Michael Doucet is one of the great innovators and modernizers of this often-inaccessible Louisiana art form; anyone who's ever found themselves turned off by the raspiness of the classic cajun "chanky-chank" style should check this excellent best-of collection out.Doucet's fiddle and Marc Savoy's bouncy accordion, along with guitarist-singer Ann Savoy's solid backup bring the style up to sweet, melodic heights hitherto undreamt of.Their playing is tight and hypnotic -- check out an instrumental number such as "La Valse De Vachers (The Cowboy Waltz)" and you'll see what I mean.Personally, I'm not the biggest cajun-zydeco fan in the world -- for the most part this stuff drives me nuts -- but even I can hear the enchanting magic of this trio's work.Recommended! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun    2. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    3. Pop    4. World Music   

Reviews (1)

great collection
So glad I bought this! Great music, fun to listen to and exercise with. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun    2. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    3. Cajun Collections    4. Pop    5. Traditional Cajun    6. World Music    7. Zydeco   

Reviews (2)

tightness
we opened up for these bad boys at the house of blues. TIGHT SHIT

Kickin' it live!
The Rebirth Brass Band has been funkin' it up for 20 years now, still looking young and still full of energy, turning every place they go into Mardi Gras for one night.This is a fresh new set of tracks recorded live in concert, which is the only way to hear Rebirth.Enjoy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    2. Jazz    3. Neo-Bop    4. New Orleans Brass Bands    5. New Orleans R&B    6. Pop   

Reviews (4)

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

Love That Jazz Man
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. Awesome and fun
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. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun    2. Funk    3. New Orleans R&B    4. Piano Blues    5. Pop    6. R&B    7. Rock & Roll    8. Soul/R & B Collections    9. V/a Compilations    10. World Music    11. Zydeco   

Editorial Review

Cajun music might not need a tribute--after all, it has held its own andremained popular for a very long time now--but the music on this disc isglittering enough to shine in any company. Ann Savoy (the grande dame of Cajunmusic who assembled this project) andLinda Ronstadt pair upto gorgeous effect on two songs,Richard Thompson offershis own particular edgy style to "Les Flammes d'Enfer,"Nick Lowe soundsconvincingly Arcadian on "Arrette Pas la Musique," andMaria McKee brings atransparent soulfulness to her contributions. Surprisingly, however, no onetackles Read more

Reviews (13)

Back Home On Saturday Night
This album is so much like being back on the bayou once again on a Saturday night, dancing on old wooden floors, having a cold drink and playing pool. The songs transform a car or living room into a long lost world of childhood nights when people had not much money, but something to laugh about, and took time to make the most of what they did have. I am definately buying my memories today.

Bland Lame Mockery
What should have been done with this project - Ann Savoy where is your common sense(?) - was to have incorporated TRUE Cajun artists' 'tributes' alongside mainstream artists' watered down lame interpretations just, if only, to add a bit of spice, zest and life to these horrendous "filler" tracks. Some of these artists have jumped on the wagon for a last gasp of possible exposure to their sagging careers. I'm very disappointed in Linda Ronstadt - seems all her projects from the past decade beyond her "Feels Like Home" album are mere warmups for indistinct singing which plainly implies she'd be much better off singing somewhere in a choir in anonymous obscurity. Somebody needs to grab Linda and shake her back to her own musical realities - what a shameful waste of her vocal abilities. [Ronstadt is leaving her "tierra" of Tuscon, Arizona in 2005 for a move back to San Francisco after a decade in commercial career doldrums - an obviously planned prestaging for a future "comeback" to her rightful throne as the Queen Of Pop.] If Ann Savoy envisioned massive universal exposure and commercial success for Cajun Music by influencing these 'blasts from their own pasts' to perform this genre of music, she was way off the mark and this entire project misfires. The artists on this tribute may indeed love Cajun, but, their musical visions fall flatly off base too fast. Sure, all music is out there and can be 'covered' by whoever wishes to do so, but, at least create an impressive contribution for the sake of keeping it vibrantly alive. We in Texas recognize and applaud the true Cajun artists[both famous and obscure]who come across the TX-LA border to perform at local & statewide celebrations only to leave audiences mesmerized and blown away long after they've packed up and gone back home to perform elsewhere. If you must have Cajun music in your collection out of a sincere love and appreciation for it, PLEASE look up the genre's rightfully endowed artists and obtain their Cd albums instead - at least give them their due.[You can also listen to Cajun Music saturday mornings for a few hours on Houston's own KPFT 90.1 FM on the internet at www.kpft.org - nothing but the real stuff is played there!]

Slight disagreement....
I disagree with the previous review on a few things.First of all, CCR WAS influenced by Swamp Pop, but Swamp Pop is HEAVILY influenced by Cajun music; for those who don't know, it's essentially the music that came out when young Cajuns decided to play rock and roll instead of their own music, and they added Cajun instruments, rhythms and French lyrics to rock and roll, forming a "new" (but actually evolved) style of music.But that's just a technicality.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Country-Rock    2. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    3. Cajun Collections    4. Country-Rock    5. Hard Rock    6. New York Punk    7. Pop    8. Rock & Roll    9. Roots Rock    10. Singer/Songwriter    11. World Music    12. Zydeco   

Editorial Review

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, Read more

Reviews (4)

My First "True" Cajun CD
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
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.
Ex took CD, this is my second
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. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun    2. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    3. Pop    4. World Music    5. Zydeco   

Reviews (1)

The Next Generation of Great Cajun Musicians
The great Cajun musician Dewey Balfa once observed that "A culture cannot be kept alive under glass in a museum."And, indeed, the constant struggle for any folk musician is to maintain fidelity with tradition while also instilling a living vitality into the music.The Pine Leaf Boys have achieved this difficult balance as they offer Cajun standards that they have skillfully (re)arranged.They steer clear of the kind of contemporizing touches that will seem hackneyed in a few years, and they let their playing speak for itself.The result is an album that has a timeless feel but with an energy level that is unmistakably young. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    2. Int'l & World Music    3. Pop    4. Traditional Cajun    5. World Beat    6. Zydeco   

Reviews (3)

Pala
I bought this CD because this is the type of music I grew up with and I had heard Flaco Jimenez with The Texas Tornados and The Mavericks.Mr. Jimenez makes playing the accordian as cool as jazz.The vocals have the down-to-earth tones that I imagine was heard around the 'valle' during the my parents' era.

Great CD--List of Songs is Wrong!!!
I ordered this CD because I wanted "Los Barandales del Puente," but it's not on this CD!!! The songs on this CD are The Best of Flaco Jimenez
This CD is one of the best I have heard of Flaco Jimenez albums since ithas some of his best Tex-Mex recordings, he has done through out the years.the music sound, the songs are some of his best. And I really enjoyed thepamphlet it has inside the album, sinceit has some of his personal storyand several pictures in there most people have not seen. It is certainly aCD, that everyone that's a fan of his, should have in their collection.Thanks to Arhoolie records for doing such a good job in this CD. Icertainly enjoy this CD and all the pictures that come with it. Lots ofsuccess to all of you. A great fan and friend. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Int'l & World Music    2. Mexican    3. Norteño    4. Pop    5. Tejano    6. Tex-Mex    7. World Music    8. Zydeco