Search - Balfa Toujours :: La Pointe

A Blue Heron in Flight

Robert Bruzgo | 02/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Our lives pass quickly, and many voices call to us along the way. Some voices speak to us directly. Balfa Toujours is that kind of sound. You can feel it in the reassuring movement of the bellows of an accordion and the confident bow of a fiddle as it pulls and stretches vibrating strings. You can hear it clearly in the heart stopping vocals of Christine Balfa as she breaks the surface of this ancient music of the Bayou Teche with a call-- to you. Balfa Toujours is as arresting as the flight of a Blue Heron-- never what I would call beautiful, but so captivating it can cause a gathering in your chest. They say La Pointe is a place in Louisiana, but just try to find it on a map! Balfa Toujours recorded the CD there in Christine Balfa's living room and kitchen on "vintage analog equipment." We are never told who owns the unassuming home shown in the cover photo. It does call to mind steaming hot summer days, and nights lying awake with a fan blowing humid air in from the bayou; the sudden crash of thunder, wind blowing hard and pecans falling on a tin roof.Consider the second track, Restez, Mom et Pop, Restez (Stay, Mom and Dad, Stay). Inspired by a story about Christine Balfa's cousin, Warner, as he prepared to leave for his seven day stint on an offshore oil rig. His children came to him and pleaded, "Don't go daddy; we don't care about the money. Please just stay with us." Somehow, that Cajun aptitude for seeing universal truth in the everyday and making light of it turns this tragedy into a waltz while the lyrics cry out without pretense or poetry.We thought the world would be simpler.
The more I think about it, the more complicated it appears.
It seems that everyone is searching for happiness;
They've forgotten it is not something you can buy.
Balfa Toujours, La Pointe, is one kind of happiness that money can buy. It is captivating, visceral and meaningful throughout. When the last track is over, there is a noticeable absence of something in your life and yet something that remains."

My favorite Cajun CD

zydeholic | Albany, CA USA | 12/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cd is just so good, its hard to describe why. Whatever they did, they got it right.



Kevin Wimmer just rocks with his deep throaty fiddling, and Dirk Powell's accordion work is the top of the game. These guys are pro's, and Christine's singing is Authentic, with a capital A.



Two tracks that stand out for me are "Pa Janvier" and "Bernadette", primarily because of Kevin's fiddling.



This version of "Bernadette" made me learn the lyrics and start playing it on the accordion. I'm years away from being able to do it on the fiddle.



This is the CD I usually recommend when someone asks me about a good Cajun CD. Cajun music, of itself, can be an acquired taste for some folks, a taste that can take years to develop if you're not also dancing to this infectious music. However, this CD I can recommend with little fear of the person having a less than positive initial take on the music."