Search - Robert Jardell :: Pure Cajun

Can't get purer than that!

Luc V Baronian | Stanford, CA United States | 02/18/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you're looking for a recent album (1995) with good old fiddle-accordion dominated two steps and waltzes (especially waltzes!), Jardell and his Pure Cajun band are there for you. Although Jardell was late Nathan Abshire's protege while Steve Riley was under late Dewey Balfa's wing, there is a sense in which Jardell cannot be compared with Riley's Mamou Playboys, but only with the masters of the previous generation like Abshire and Balfa.However, even if the style is conservative, the album has the unusual quality of offering original compositions by Jardell on half of the CD, whereas most modern Cajun bands typically offer a majority of remakes of classics. Jardell even likes to modernize the themes: not only does he complain about a cruel woman, but he complains about the harm these love troubles bring to his dear kids! Quite an innovation in the very macho Cajun world.Jardell can drag the words on those waltzes to lengths that will pull tears from your eyes. My favorites are Bayou Chicot, Where Were You Last Wednesday? (I found a field recording of the song with different words from the 60s - Rounder CD 6001), You'll Never Break My Heart, Waltz of Regret (Riley borrowed this one from Jardell), Broken Family Waltz (although I remember a better version on Alligator Stomp I think) and Bad News."