Louisiana Blues & Zydeco

by Clifton Chenier

Overview

Right in the beginning of his career as the "King of Zydeco", Clifton Chenier recorded an album for an upstart Arhoolie. At the time, the genre was just starting to spread outside of the bayou proper, and the album is one of the landmarks both for Chenier and for the industry and genre. Unfortunately, the recording quality was never particularly good. Some of the parts were recorded only weakly, there was some scratchiness -- the usual. Thirty or forty years in, however, Arhoolie has remastered the old classics and re-released them in stereo. The compositions themselves are largely the same as previously, but they sound vastly better. Perhaps the bigger treat here though is the clump of unreleased material that comes along for the ride. There are a pair of alternate takes from the originals added in, and four items that were never included in any form. Admittedly, unreleased tracks were often excluded because they weren't as good as those that were selected in general. Nonetheless, it's an additional lump of fine music from one of the true masters of the genre. If you've already got the old version, you can still give this one a listen for the increased quality. If you don't, though, this one's a definite first stop on any exploration of Chenier's work. ~ Adam Greenberg

Product Details

Release Date:	02/08/2005
Label:	Arhoolie
UPC:	0096297905326
Rank:	39437

Tracks

1. Zydeco et Pas Sale
2. Lafayette Waltz
3. Louisiana Two-Step
4. Clifton's Waltz
5. Louisiana Blues
6. Hot Rod
7. Banana Man
8. Ay-Tete-Fee
9. It's Hard
10. I Can't Stand
11. I Can Look Down at Your Woman
12. Accordion Boogie
13. Banana Man
14. Ay, Ai Ai
15. Clifton's Blues (Where Can My Baby Be)
16. Let's Rock a While
17. Elmore's Blues
18. Clifton's Two Step
19. Zydeco et Pas Sale

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Clifton Chenier   Primary Artist,Harmonica,Accordion,Vocals
Fulton Antoine   Bass
Elmore Nixon   Piano
Joe Morris   Bass
Cleveland Chenier   Rubboard,Rub
Cleveland Keyes   Guitar
Robert Peter St. Judy   Drums
Madison Guidry   Drums
Bob Murphy   Drums
Felix James Benoit   Guitar

Technical Credits

Howard Brainen   Cover Photo,Photography
Chris Strachwitz   Producer,Liner Notes
Doyle E. Jones   Engineer
Clifton Chenier   Composer
Bob de Sousa   Engineer
Wayne Pope   Cover Design,Artwork