Search - Reed & Vidrine McCauley, David Greely, Hackberry Ramblers :: More Cajun & Zydeco

While Rounder Records'--Louisiana Spice compilation is aimed at the newcomer, another Rounder anthology, --More Cajun Music and Zydeco is aimed at the hardcore fan. Only three of the 20 tracks on this single-CD collection are from other Rounder albums; most of the rest are from small Louisiana labels which are hard to track down outside the state, and the climactic live duet between Bois-Sec Ardoin and Canray Fontenot has never been released before. The cuts were chosen by Philip Gould and Barry Jean Ancelet as a complement to their 1992 book from the LSU Press, Cajun Music and Zydeco. By emphasizing swamp music which makes few concessions to American mainstream pop, the compilers have zeroed in on the essence of French Louisiana culture. The French lyrics, the raw nasal cries, the bleating squeeze box riffs, the sawing fiddles, the washboard polyrhythms all make this music as forbidding, distinctive and ultimately rewarding as Appalachian string-band music or Mississippi Delta blues. Three recordings from the '30s provide the historical set-up for classic singles from D.L. Menard and Clifton Chenier and brilliant modern tracks by Beausoleil, Boozoo Chavis and David Greely. Rodney Crowell even makes a guest appearance on the Hackberry Ramblers' rollicking, Cajun-swing version of "Old Pipeliner." As good as the individual performances are, it's the complete story told by all 20 cuts together which makes this such a special package. Gould's striking photographs and Ancelet's knowing liner notes add to the class of this project.--Geoffrey Himes