Play Traditional Cajun Music

Balfa Brothers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 22, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Swallow Records
• ASIN: B000001ZLU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,444 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #4 in Music > Indie Music > World Music > Cajun & Zydeco
  • #6 in Music > Indie Music > World Music > North America
  • #23 in Music > Blues > Regional Blues > Cajun & Zydeco > Cajun & Creole

Track Listings

1. 'Tit Galop pour Mamou

2. Je Suis Orphelin

3. T'En as Eu, T'En Auras Plus

4. Two Step de l'Anse à Paille

5. La Danse de Mardi Gras

6. Je Me Suis Marillié

7. Enterre-Moi Pas

8. Chère Joues Roses

9. Chère Bassette

10. J'Ai Passé Devant Ta Porte

11. Les Flammes d'Enfer

12. Madeleine

13. La Valse du Bambocheur

14. Lacassine Special

15. My True Love

16. La Valse de Grand Bois

17. Family Waltz

18. Newport Waltz

19. Indian on a Stomp

20. T'Es Petite et T'Es Mignonne

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Two of Cajun's most famous albums return to the Ace catalogue all newly remastered and with four bonus titles. In the mid 1960s Cajun music was in danger of stagnating, having become heavily influenced by country, western swing and pop music. Dewey Balfa persuaded Floyd Soileau to record him and his brothers performing a more traditional form of the music from several decades earlier.

Play Traditional Cajun Music came out in 1965, with a second volume following in 1974. In making these records the Balfas and Soileau preserved music that was in danger of being entirely forgotten.

This release also includes four non-LP single sides and has been freshly packaged with a new sleeve note by Cajun expert Ann Savoy, plus a new selection of photographs and lyrics in French with an English translation. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Most Important Albums In Cajun Music, January 30, 2004

By 

K. Fontenot "Prairie Cajun Lives!" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Play Traditional Cajun Music (Audio CD)

Leave your Wayne Toups discs at the door. If he is what you call Cajun music, you've got it all wrong. Being Cajun, I don't like it when people get artists like Toups confused with real, traditional Cajun music. I'm not bashing Toups. As a matter of fact, I quite enjoy his music. But most people outside of Louisiana think he's the real thing. The Balfa Brothers are REAL Cajun music. They play traditional and cherished songs of the Cajun people of Louisiana. Their recordings are crucial since most of the artists before them never made it into a recording studio. If you are Cajun, or have ties back to Louisiana, I highly suggest you get this recording if, for no other reason, to have a piece of your culture in your possession.
Go out and enjoy Wayne Toups and some of the new, peppier stuff that mixes zydeco and Cajun, but always remember that the Balfa's laid the ground work.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Essential, Haunting and makes you want to move..., August 6, 2004

By 

J. MCGEE (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Play Traditional Cajun Music (Audio CD)

I grew up in Mamou, Louisiana and went to grade school with Dewey's nephew, Tony. So, I think I might have some credentials in reviewing this album. Out of all the Cajun music I have in my collection, this CD gets played more than all the others combined. And that includes Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, headed by a guy closer to my age and from my hometown. Granted, the Balfa's were also from the Mamou area (closer to Basile). Steve Riley learned from Dewey Balfa, for one thing, and as good as he is, will never be able to capture that something special that was the Balfa Brothers.

I think, primarily, the Balfa Brothers captured the sound of an era that was in its twilight. Everything since will always be different (read: more modern) mainly because of the cultural changes and secondly because of the technological advances in music.

In the 60's and 70's, the revival of Folk music also awakened those of us growing up in culturally rich places such as Mamou. Cajun music became "cool" again against the backdrop of great music from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John and others of that time. People started flooding into places like Fred's Lounge to hear the music in public again instead of just at house parties.

It is the pureness, the simplicity (but certainly not simplistic - just ask the many very good musicians who have struggled to learn these riffs), the raw emotion and most of all the sheer beauty of the music that stands out. The twin fiddling, the truly distinctive vocals (with some nasal tone absolutely necessary for Cajun sound), the haunting waltzes and the "joy-in-your-heart" upbeat tempos all lead to a musical experience hard to explain or exceed.

You almost have to be from Acadiana to really understand what I mean, but I think if you find that you love Cajun music, you do understand. When I hear these songs now, I'm carried back to my youth. Not just for nostalgia, but because it is such strong and meaningful music. It has become part of the soundtrack of my life. Thank goodness for that!

For anyone looking for something even more raw and unpolished, but very good, I can wholeheartedly recommend a compilation called Folksongs of the Louisiana Acadians. Let me emphasize again, it is very unpolished, but if you love Folk and particularly Cajun music, it is very good. I also may be a little biased, since it includes a few songs with my grandfather, Isom J. Fontenot playing a very unique harmonica style, possibly never duplicated.

This might be old and cliche', but it's about the only Cajun French phrase I actually know... Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouller!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential!, November 25, 2005

By 

Megan Romer (Lafayette, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Play Traditional Cajun Music (Audio CD)

No fan or student of Cajun music or folk/traditional music in general should be without this essential album. Every song here is a classic in the Cajun repertoire, and is presented in true Balfa Brothers form: outstanding! The liner notes include all the song lyrics in Cajun French and English. If you don't own this album, you really have no excuse. Buy it now!