Bayou Blues

Clifton Chenier | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Specialty
• ASIN: B000000QKG
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,863 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Here is where the Chenier legend began. This disc contains the 12 Bumps Blackwell-produced tracks Clifton cut in 1955 in Los Angeles for Specialty Records. On tracks like "The Cat's Dreamin'" or his first hit single, "Ay 'Tète Fey" (which is the Cajun-French form of its better-known title, "Eh, Petite Fille" meaning "Hey, Little Girl"), Chenier's amalgam of blues, R&B, and rock & roll mixed with traditional French dance tunes is still rough but already has the power and drive that he (and his accordion) would later hone to a fine edge. Instrumental greats and mainstays of Chenier's early road bands like tenor saxman Lionel Prevost and guitarist Lonesome Sundown add their considerable talents to these sessions. The starting point for any comprehensive Chenier collection. --Robert Baird

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King of the Bayou Blues, September 5, 2002

By 

Tony Tomlinson (Imperial Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bayou Blues (Audio CD)

In this 1955 session, Clifton Chenier and his Zodico Ramblers laid down track after track of greasy, back-beat shuffles and boogies for the Specialty Record Label. Rolling instrumentals like "Boppin' the Rock," "Zodico Stomp" and "Opelousas Hop" demonstrate Chenier's masterful touch and wonderful delivery on the accordion, an instrument not normally associated with the blues; that said, this recording is unmistakably a blues record.

Ironically, one of the most interesting elements of this recording has little to do with music. "Eh, Petite Fille," offers listeners an example Creole. Creole is a blending of two or more pidgin (simplified) languages resulting in the synthesis of language that is adopted as the "mother tongue" by a group of people. Creole languages are spoken all over the world but the blend of French, English, and several African dialects merged in Louisiana to create a uniquely American language.

"Bayou Blues" is an entertaining record that often belies the outstanding musicianship of Chenier and his Zodico Ramblers. While Clifton Chenier may not have been the "King of the South" as he proclaimed, he certainly was the King of the Bayou Blues.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, April 14, 2007

By 

I. S. Breyer "beer drinker, philosopher" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bayou Blues (Audio CD)

Truly a great disc. This is the blues, but unlike any blues you've heard before. My only complaint is its too short.

5.0 out of 5 stars blues bayou, October 2, 2010

By 

John A. Forsyth "johnny be good" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bayou Blues (Audio CD)

This album by Clifton Chenier is great because it's a blues album that features the piano accordion , an instrument not normally associated with the blues .