Chenier

Clifton Chenier was to zydeco what Elvis Presley was to rockabilly, only more so - the genre's founding father and tireless ambassador. Rhino has done an admirable job of collecting the accordionist's important work for this two-disc, 40-track set, harking back to a wonderfully chaotic "Louisiana Stomp" that he waxed in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1954 for J.R. Fullbright's tiny Elko label. Whether you're in the market for one zydeco collection to summarize the entire genre or ready to delve deeply into the legacy of the idiom's pioneer, this is precisely where to begin.

Clifton Chenier was to zydeco what Elvis Presley was to rockabilly, only more so - the genre's founding father and tireless ambassador. Rhino has done an admirable job of collecting the accordionist's important work for this two-disc, 40-track set, harking back to a wonderfully chaotic "Louisiana Stomp" that he waxed in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1954 for J.R. Fullbright's tiny Elko label. Whether you're in the market for one zydeco collection to summarize the entire genre or ready to delve deeply into the legacy of the idiom's pioneer, this is precisely where to begin.

The origins of zydeco are traceable to one man: Clifton Chenier, who started blending Cajun music with blues and R&B back in the '50s. He recorded for the Arhoolie label over a nearly 30-year span, and The Best of Clifton Chenier is (yet another) collection of his music culled from his Arhoolie sides.
People familiar with the sound of contemporary zydeco may be surprised at how prevalent the blues influences are on some of these tunes. Tracks like "Brown Skin Woman," "It's Hard," and "Why Did You Go Last Night" are quite bluesy, while "Ay, Ai, Ai" sounds like what is called zydeco today (and it's the oldest cut on the set)…

The origins of zydeco are traceable to one man: Clifton Chenier, who started blending Cajun music with blues and R&B back in the '50s. He recorded for the Arhoolie label over a nearly 30-year span, and The Best of Clifton Chenier is (yet another) collection of his music culled from his Arhoolie sides.
People familiar with the sound of contemporary zydeco may be surprised at how prevalent the blues influences are on some of these tunes. Tracks like "Brown Skin Woman," "It's Hard," and "Why Did You Go Last Night" are quite bluesy, while "Ay, Ai, Ai" sounds like what is called zydeco today (and it's the oldest cut on the set)…

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Thanks to the Arhoolie label, fans of zydeco legend Clifton Chenier have another chance to hear Clifton Sings the Blues. Recorded in Houston on April 1, 1969 (tracks 1-12), Chenier's accordion and vocal prowess were more relaxed on these tracks than most zydeco fans would expect. The set features sturdy assistance from Cleveland Chenier, Clifton's brother, on rub-board, drummer Robert Peter, bassist Joe Morris, and guitarist Cleveland Keyes, and Chenier's love of laid-back Texas blues is evident on tracks like "Ain't No Need of Cryin' (Every Day Is the Same)," "Brown Skinned Woman," and "Trouble in Mind." While the pace of these tunes flows between slow to midtempo shuffles, the three exceptions, "Rosemary," "Me and My Chauffeur Blues," and "Paper in My Shoe," are first rate uptempo dance tracks.

Thanks to the Arhoolie label, fans of zydeco legend Clifton Chenier have another chance to hear Clifton Sings the Blues. Recorded in Houston on April 1, 1969 (tracks 1-12), Chenier's accordion and vocal prowess were more relaxed on these tracks than most zydeco fans would expect. The set features sturdy assistance from Cleveland Chenier, Clifton's brother, on rub-board, drummer Robert Peter, bassist Joe Morris, and guitarist Cleveland Keyes, and Chenier's love of laid-back Texas blues is evident on tracks like "Ain't No Need of Cryin' (Every Day Is the Same)," "Brown Skinned Woman," and "Trouble in Mind." While the pace of these tunes flows between slow to midtempo shuffles, the three exceptions, "Rosemary," "Me and My Chauffeur Blues," and "Paper in My Shoe," are first rate uptempo dance tracks.

From the title of this CD, the listener can guess where zydeco artist C.J. Chenier is going with this one. Recorded in 1995, Too Much Fun features a big sound filled with multiple electric guitars, saxophones, trumpet, and percussion instruments, along with the more traditional accordion and rub boards that distinguish the genre of zydeco. C.J. Chenier contributes to the party spirit by playing the accordion, alto saxophone, and providing vocals on the CD. The rest of the Red Hot Louisiana Band gears up for an album of party music meant for dancing. It would be unthinkable in the zydeco tradition to have too much fun without dancing being on the agenda, so dance tunes rule the record. Especially hot dance tunes include "Zydeco Cha Cha," "Louisiana Two Step," "Squeaky Wheel," and "Give Me Some of That," along with the title cut. There is a humorous and admiring nod to the ladies in "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)," as well as some gritty blues on "Louisiana Down Home Blues" and "Lost in the Shuffle." The CD goes out with one last lively dance number, "Louisiana Two-Step," so that no one can ever say that C.J. Chenier kept the dancers from having too much fun.

A relatively standard release from Clifton Chenier, the then reigning king of zydeco. The music bumps and grooves in all the ways it's supposed to. One of the songs dates the album a bit ("Zydeco Disco"), but aside from that one, the rest of the album is pretty much straightforward zydeco and blues. In spots it delves a little into jazz, but only in spots. In and of itself, delving into jazz wouldn't be such a bad thing, but this band's form of the genre tends to be a bit sloppy. When it comes to zydeco, there's no stopping them, but elsewhere they're more stoppable.