Customer Reviews

Le Hoogie Boogie: Louisiana French Music For Children

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 2 year old rec'd this as a gift and it has become his and my favorite. The songs are all in French but the written lyrics are provided in French w/ an English translation. I have a working knowledge of French, which helps with the pronunciation. But as we've listened to it over and over in the car over the past few months, I'm beginning to hear my son singing the songs... in French! Songs like the ABC song and the Hokey Pokey ("Hoogie Boogie" in Cajun French) are the tunes we all know, which makes it easier to follow along. My son now sings his ABC's in English & French--very cute. Other songs are silly and fun and occasionally tender. The goodnight song at the end is so sweet. The music itself is very upbeat. If you like Zydeco, you'll love this. All-in-all, a winner if you have even a tiny bit of experience with French and enjoy fun music, regardless of whether or not you have kids!

I am German, and if I wouldn't have a general interest in Cajun and Zydeco, I'd never heared about this album, since you won't find anything about it in the German media or Google's (and probably other search engines) German results.
I have hardly heared something with such a good spirit and enthusiasm, and though Rounder is certainly not an, err, avantgarde label, this album is very unique when compared to the usual releases and touching. The songs are short, and Michael Doucet, his family and friends really go for a lot of variety which makes the music very entertaining. It has a jaunty balance of the professionalism of Beausoleil and a more amateurish, but very committed, side.
It's conservative in the best sense, trying to show it's worth to preserve a tradition that still unites people who believe in its values, but also not ignoring what is going around and integrating it for the fun of it.
This recording has an inevitable slight home recording feel, but friends of the music will understand the circumstances - they will be happy that this recording has been released anyway.

And neither do your kids. This was my younger daughter's favorite album when she was 2 or 3--so much so that I had to get a copy for her daycare provider to play every day. And the plaintive "Fais Do Do" lullaby became the song I sang her to sleep with every night for years.

This is NOT amateurish--Michel Doucet is an award winning musician. Instead, it is so well produced as to SOUND like a "home production" rather than a slick commercial package.

I do speak French (somewhat) but I dare anyone to play the Cajun rock and roll "Johnny Peut Pas Dancer" and care if they know what the words mean. Or not to want to "Allons Dancer" (go dance) along with "Colinda", even if you don't know the words are urging you to dance together and make the old ladies mad!

I play this every year at story hour programs for 2 and 3 year olds and everyone dances and loves it!

This a fun cd for kids and enjoyable for adults to tap along to. You'd have to be 3 days dead not to get up to zydeco after all. Still, I don't speak creole, and it was a bit difficult to just pick up by listening to. The lyrics are provided, which is handy, and it's a good driving selection for road trips with the kids.

This cd got excellelant reviews by L.A.Times music critics, so I checked it out. I have now bought and given as gifts several cds for my niece, nephew and a grandson. I will keep a copy for myself.

I teach French (middle school and high school) and I love this album! My students have always enjoyed the alphabet song, and who can resist Le Hoogie Boogie?? I can think of many ways to use the other songs in class...and now that I am a mom, I have been playing this at home too. My toddler thinks I've gone a bit bonkers (because I enjoy dancing to it)but she seems to really enjoy it as well. I highly recommend this album for adding a bit of fun into your French music collection.

I bought this cd to expand my collection of French language music. I want to improve my comprehension and expose my 18 month old son to the sounds of French. I also enjoy the "Cajun" style, and thought this would be fun. It is!
My son and I really like the music, and Michael Doucet's accent and style of singing are charming. I don't know if he's the "real deal", but he sure sounds it to my untrained ear.
A couple of the other singers are not quite as convincing. I especially dislike the children's style. Fortunately they are only featured on a couple of numbers. I also cringed the first time I heard the strong modern American English accent that one of the female singers has.
It is definitely not the ideal cd for improving your Parisian French, I'm not even sure if the "Cajun" dialect is authentic, but it's certainly a pleasure to listen to.