These three rocking, accordion-driven releases from Shanachie draw on all three of the popular musical styles born in Southwestern Louisiana: Zydeco, Cajun and swamp pop. Together, they give a lively snapshot of the state of this artistically fecund region’s music.
Ready or Not
On Ready or Not Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band dish up a tasty platter of funky, reggae-influenced Zydeco. Frank is a prolific songwriter and performer, well-known in for his lengthy gigs of up to five hours dance clubs from Opelousas to New Orleans.
Frank is an accomplished accordion player with a pleasant tenor singing voice. He is backed by a band that includes family members (I presume) Jennifer Frank on six-string electric bass guitar and Brad Frank on drums, plus George Lee on guitar and James “Chocolate” Ned on scrubboard.
Frank wrote the majority of the sixteen tracks on _Ready or Not,_ and chose a handful of covers that complement the rest of the tracks. Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” works well in a medley with Frank’s “No Need to Worry.” And Frank’s sweet, soulful vocals beautifully present a medley of Fifties hits, including “Why do Fools Fall in Love?”, “Stay,” “Blue Moon” and “Teenager in Love.”
Jennifer Frank takes lead vocals on the mid-Eighties pop hit “Walking on Sunshine,” and mostly pulls it off. She’s not as assured a singer as Katrina Leskanich (of Katrina and the Waves), and that shows up in this slightly slowed-down, reggae-style version, especially on the chorus. But she gets points for trying and coming very close. I bet the hometown crowds eat it up.
The band provides endearing three-part harmony behind Frank’s lead vocals and wah-wah guitar figures on “Shining Star.” And Frank and the band even throw in a little bit of rap on “Buck Bayou.”
Otherwise, as with much of today’s funk-driven, all-English Zydeco music, there’s not a lot of internal variety here. Most of these songs are not lyrically very interesting, but this is dance-hall music, not coffeehouse folk. All in all this is a very likeable album of tight, funky, danceable Zydeco.
Little Wooden Box
Wayne Toups is a veteran Cajun performer who has named his band after his particular brand of music, a blend of Cajun and Zydeco that he calls “Zydecajun.” The 13 tracks on Little Wooden Box alternate between Zydeco-influenced Cajun and Cajun-inflected Zydeco, with a little Allman Brothers-style Southern Rock and a little swamp pop and a little straight soul thrown into the mix. It’s all Louisiana though, as Toups drives this music with his solid button accordion playing and bilingual lyrics delivered in his strong and assured tenor.
On the Cajun side, we have Iry LeJeune’s “Lacassine Special,” Eddie Shuler’s “Lemonade Song,” Rodney LeJeune’s “Musician’s Waltz,” the traditional “Little One Big One,” and Toups’ compositions “Bosco Blues” and “Jeune Filles de la Compagne.” All are up-tempo, Cajun rock ‘n’ roll — even the waltz is pretty fast and features a brief Floyd Cramer-style piano solo.
From the more Zydeco end of the spectrum, we have the title tune by Rick Lagneaux, Clifton Chenier’s “Every Now and Then,” and the soulful “Some of Your Love Tonight.” For variety, there’s “Couillon” (“Fool”), a swamp-pop ballad, and the twin-guitar attack of the funkified “Southern Girls.”
Two anthems by bassist and co-producer Leon Medica, “Oh Louisiana” and “New Orleans Ladies,” are a bit over-produced and bombastic for my taste, but they’re probably big crowd-pleasers in their home territory.
Toups is backed by a top-notch band. Both Rhett Glindmeyer and Ray Ellender turn in some solid lead and rhythm guitar work, and Bryan Perry contributes a lot of color with his piano and burbling B-3 organ. But Toups is the star and driving force here, and his singing and playing easily carry this disc to great heights.
Li’l Band o’ Gold
Li’l Band o’ Gold draws together veterans from the Fifties and Sixties swamp pop scene with some of today’s hottest Cajun performers. Warren Storm was active in the early years of swamp-pop, and has continued to play in regionally popular bands up to the present day. His vibrant and rock-solid drumming and soulful baritone anchor this record. But it really takes off and soars on the accordion playing and tenor vocals of Steve Riley (of the Mamou Playboys), and C.C. Adcock’s rockin’ blues guitar. Both of the latter are young performers who are fusing the various styles of Louisiana music and helping to carry it to new levels.
The name of the group and its eponymous record is an homage as well, to Eddie Schuler’s Gold Band studio and record label in Lake Charles, La., which produced its first recordings in 1944.
But this is a solid gold band of musicians in its own right, and they have produced a sterling collection of songs both old and (relatively) new.
From the opening track, “Shirley” to the high-octane boogie of “Let’s Do the Cajun Twist,” this record pays tribute to and updates that hardy brand of rock ‘n’ roll known as swamp pop. Even the recording technique mimics those used in the early days of the genre, giving it a big, echo-laden sound as though the microphone was in a barrel — but without the muddiness of those old 45s. The disc has a spontaneous, live feel to it, and is permeated by a spirit of celebration.
Li’l Band o’ Gold reflects the glory of swamp pop, almost a hall of regional hits including “Cajun Twist,” which was a big regional hit in 1962 for Randy and the Rockets. “Shirley” was written by John Fred, a swamp-popper who had a huge hit in the winter of 1968 with “Judy in Disguise (With Glasses).” “Please Mr. Sandman” was penned by Cajun and swamp pop pioneer Huey P. Meaux. “Parlez Nous a Boire” is a Cajun classic by Dewey Balfa, and “Allons Rock N Roll” an old classic by Lawrence Walker, a Cajun accordionist who also wrote “Mamou Two-Step,” on which Warren Storm based his 1980s swamp pop hit “A-2-Fay.” Here’s a more recent live version of this band’s “Parlez Nous a Boire.”
The call and response of “Seven Nights to Rock” sounds like it’s right out of Bill Haley’s songbook. Also included is a cover of Ben E. King’s “Seven Letters,” C.C. Adcock’s wrenching ballad “In Another Time,” and “That Feel,” by Tom Waits and Keith Richards, which appeared on Waits’ 1992 album Bone Machine.
Complementing the vocals, accordion and guitar is the horn section of Dickie Landry, David Greely and Pat Breaux, and a solid rhythm section.
Unfortunately, the liner notes are skimpy and marred by typos. And the cover art is pretty ugly. (There is one clever touch in the tri-fold booklet. The track names and times appear as part of an apparent receipt for a lengthy and expensive Valentine’s Day meal for nine at “Don’s Seafood Hut” in Lafayette, and the server is listed as “Cookie,” a reference to one of the greatest swamp-poppers of all, Huey “Cookie” Thierry. Cookie and the Cupcakes had several big swamp pop hits, including “Mathilda” and a remake of “Sea of Love.”)
But I don’t want to judge a CD by its cover. Li’l Band o’ Gold is a joyful record, a rocking tribute to and update of the overlooked swamp pop sound. Stick this one in your home jukebox and, as Lawrence Walker admonishes, “Allons Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
(Shanachie, 2000)
