Several benefit albums have been released in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's landfall in New Orleans on August 29, 2005, and most -- if not all -- of them have been fine and well-intentioned affairs, full of the spirited and lively music that has long made the Crescent City special. Each of these collections has merit, but if you can only afford ...
This CD is a delight for a DJ or party host wanting to serve up a gumbo of Louisiana music. Aptly titled Louisiana Spice, the two-volume set features musical artists from a variety of genres, from R&B to zydeco. The selections are guaranteed to raise the spirits of listeners. Those so inclined will be out on the dancefloor for tunes such as "That ...
This album of snaky swamp rock is one of Ball's best recordings. Great choice of songs (she wrote 5 of the 13) that let her show all her talents, both vocally and instrumentally. Slow-tempo songs display the force of her voice, as in "I Still Love You," and another of the many gems, "For the Love of a Man." Meanwhile, the playfulness of the title ...
Following a few years after Levee Town, an album tightly focused on a specific place and time, Landreth dedicates The Road We're On to the more intangible magic of the blues. The music this time scans a vast panorama, from the Texas shuffle of "All About You" and zydeco pulse of "Gone Pecan" through the tub-thump beat of some Bayou dive on "Juke ...
Although several overviews of the Excello label exist (including Rhino's two-volume set), this single-disc thumbnail collection may be the most digestible and therefore the best of the bunch. With a generous 30 tracks on a single disc to recommend it for openers, this collection tries to hit virtually all popular strains that the label dabbled in, ...
As a matter of fact we are docking into past ports a bit here on this retro excursion into protofeminsit diva rock. Sing It! is a blessed event, too -- and a great excuse to visit New Orleans for this "summit meeting" of major minds and throats of three of the most formidable female voices on at least three musical maps today. Other triple threat ...
Louisiana journeyman swamp rocker Tab Benoit has been churning out an album a year since at least 2002, and between them he stays on the road playing every festival, club, and bar that'll have him. It would seem inevitable that the quality of these studio recordings would decline. But, at least as of 2007's Power of the Pontchartrain, that isn't ...
Those looking for blues, R&B, rootsy rock & roll, gospel-tinged ballads, loungy supper club jazz, and boogie-woogie piano pounding all led by an instantly recognizable powerhouse voice infused with gritty soul will rejoice with Marcia Ball. Although this is only her sixth album since her career shifted into high gear with 1984's Soulful Dress, ...
Another impressive showcase for Katie Webster's rollicking 88s and earthy vocals. Other than the Memphis Horns, no special guests this time -- just Webster and her tight trio (anchored by guitarist Vasti Jackson). ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide
Tab Benoit's funky, ragged blend of Louisiana swamp blues and East Texas guitar, with hints of funk, soul, and country thrown in to give the gumbo just the right spice, has served him well since he burst on the scene in the early '90s. Since Benoit hasn't essentially changed his sound since, this collection of sides made up largely from his early ...
A rumor circulated after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast at the close of summer in 2005 that Louisiana soul great Irma Thomas was one of the missing. The rumor, fortunately, turned out to be false -- she was gigging at the time in Austin -- but Thomas' New Orleans home was completely destroyed. The shadow of Katrina hangs large over ...
There have been many Slim Harpo best-ofs available over the years, some frustratingly incomplete. This one gets all the chart hits together with several of the obscure singles like "Wonderin' and Worryin'," "Strange Love," "One More Day," and "You'll Be Sorry One Day," along with album tracks like "Snoopin' Around" and "Blues Hangover." Transfers ...
Marcia Ball, born on the Texas/Louisiana border, has long been a superb live performer, delivering her swampy blend of zydeco, blues and gritty R&B with all the force of a Saturday night locomotive, and her many fans have been crying for a live album for years, and now, finally, she's delivered it. Recorded in September 2004 at the Sierra Nevada ...
Though purists may quibble about her interpretations of classic material, just about everyone acknowledges that Marcia Ball is one fine songwriter. Blue House contains eight gems of swamp boogie fusion delivered in Ball's supple, slinky voice. Listen to "The Facts of Life," a slow, sensual, worldly piece of Louisiana soul with an irresistible ...
Slim Harpo brought a good bit of the Louisiana swamp vibe with him when he recorded these immortal singles for Jay Miller's Nashville-based Excello Records in the early '60s, and the rustic, laconic way these recordings unfold, aided and abetted by Miller's trademark echo-laden production, makes them singular even inside the Excello stable. This ...
In the '50s, Harry Oster made several recordings of African-American inmates at the penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana. These sessions are primarily remembered for the discovery of Robert Pete Williams, but Oster also found several other acoustic blues performers of merit. Several of them are featured on this 20-track, 80-minute CD (which includes ...
Tab Benoit has been doing his brand of bayou-fed blues-rock for some time now, and while it is tempting to call Brother to the Blues a departure, it is really only a subtle one, straying as it does to the country side of things, but again, only a little bit, and there is probably little-to-no-chance that Benoit will turn into a hat act with a big ...
This is by far the best album this Louisiana blues/swamp-rocker has come up with to date. Benoit is playing with basically a three-piece, with Doug Therrien on bass and Allyn Robinson on drums. The rest of the sound is filled in by various guests, some exceedingly strong Louisiana players. Therein lives both the problem and the strength of this ...
Tab Benoit's latest release on Telarc, Fever for the Bayou, continues in what has become Benoit's signature territory, a funky, ragged blend of Louisiana swamp blues and East Texas guitar, with hints of funk, soul, and country thrown in to give the gumbo just the right spice. If it sounds like a formula, well, Benoit's jagged guitar playing and ...
Katie Webster plays barrelhouse boogie-woogie, New Orleans R&B, Gulf Coast swamp pop, deep bayou blues and Southern gospel-flavored soul like nobody's business; her 35 years of professional piano work has appeared on at least 500 singles, including the original version of "Sea of Love," and countless albums. Music critics and fans around the world ...
This is a strong statement by Tab Benoit announcing his true arrival; although he only wrote five of the 13 songs on this disc, he stakes a legitimate claim to all of them with some of his most inspired playing and singing ever. His backing group sounds great and keeps up with him over the entire disc. He is one of a handful of performers -- Tabby ...
Tab Benoit's debut album Nice & Warm is a startingly fresh debut. The guitarist has a gutsy, fuel-injected style that adds real spice to his swampy blues. Benoit draws equally from the Louisiana and Texas traditions and Nice & Warm proves it; not only does he carry on the tradition, he offers a fresh take on it as well. ~ Thom Owens, All Music ...
This impressive four-disc set covers the early history of Cajun music with a careful eye for detail, beginning with Joseph Falcon's "Lafayette," released in 1928 and generally considered the first commercial Cajun record. An utterly unique mixture of French folk song mixed with American Indian, German, Spanish, Italian, Irish, and African (by way ...
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