Cajun Music: The Essential Collection [Original recording remastered]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B00006JKBY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,986 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #16 in Music > Blues > Regional Blues > Cajun & Zydeco

Editorial Reviews

On this bright collection, artists such as Eddie Lejeune and the Magnolia Staters reach back to the sounds of Cajun music's early 20th century beginnings, which groups such as BeauSoleil and the Basin Brothers are emblematic of the flowering of Cajun music in recent years
Genre: Cajun & Zydeco
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 19-NOV-2002

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lafayette Lowdown, May 4, 2009

By 

Alfred Johnson (boston, ma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cajun Music: The Essential Collection (Audio CD)

Well, it is about time that I started to review some of the work of the good old boys and girls from the bayous down in Cajun country. Places like Lafayette and Lake Charles evoke memories of time and place in Cajun musical history. You know at the edges of the places where the likes of Hank Williams and Jerry Lee Lewis learned their crafts. And places where all kinds of mixes of music and races blended to form unique sounds all their own. Accordions, washboards, fiddles, guitars and what ever came to hand on those whiskey-drenched Saturday nights.

And on those nights come names like Clifton Chenier and Booboo Chavis that form the black influenced strand of the music. The Hackberry Ramblers and the likes of Waylon Thibodeaux form another, the good old white boys. French Acadian exiles, English "swamp foxes" of undetermined origin, black escaped slaves, "poor white trash"- it is all there mixed in one form or another. For the most part there were no serious conscious attempts to mix the strands but how could the intermixing influences be avoided in that small isolated area of southwest Louisiana. And all under the umbrella of what I call the "French blues". Get your dancing slippers on.

Rounder Records is almost invariably a great source for virtually every form of American roots music and for those who are unfamiliar with Cajun music this is your primer. Moreover Rounder, as usual, provides copious liner notes to give detailed information about the Cajun traditions, the various influences on this genre and the genesis of the performers. There are pure instrumentals featuring the ubiquitous fiddle, Creole classics, accordion masterpieces and French patois vocals. I note especially Jo-El Sonnier's "Pine Grove Blues", and "Evangeline Express", Zachary Richard's virtual Cajun anthem "Jolie Blon" and the modern Cajun band BeauSoliel on "Madame Bozo".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cajun Music: The Essential Collection, July 27, 2007

By 

Hoya Paranoia (Kansas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cajun Music: The Essential Collection (Audio CD)

A really "toe tapping" CD. Makes you want to get up and dance! Mostly songs in French, but a good overview of the cajun style from various artist. Highly recommended as a starter for a cajun collection.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cajun music, March 14, 2010

By 

Robert S. Burch "write way" (Kenai, AK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cajun Music: The Essential Collection (Audio CD)

One of the best Cajun music CDs that i've ever heard. I would recommend this cd to anyone who likes Cajun music. It's a very good collection of Cajun music done very well.