Coteau: Highly Seasoned Cajun Music (Rounder CD 6078).

Coteau: Highly Seasoned Cajun Music (Rounder CD 6078)

I'm not quite sure how to describe this music -- "Beausoleil meets the Allman Brothers meets the Grateful Dead" might be a good start -- but "highly seasoned Cajun music" seems like a pretty apt description, with the seasoning consisting mainly of lead electric guitar lines and drumming that owes more to rock and roll than the Cajun tradition. The original group Coteau was led by Beausoliel's Michael Doucet in the 1970s; the group on this recording is part original, part reconstruction. In any event, we can rejoice that an attempt was made to get the group back together to do a modern recording, because Highly Seasoned Cajun Music is every bit as fun as highly seasoned Cajun food, and just as energetic. From the opening instrumental, "Arcadian Two-step," through the Grateful-Dead-like "Basic Lady," the high spirits of "Zydeco Gris-gris," the rollicking high spirits and hilarity of "Grand Mamou," the complex and compelling "Mardi-Gras," and the sweet closer, "Sugarfoot Rag," this is a diverse musical collection that explores rock, Cajun, country, Zydeco, swamp-pop, you name it -- and makes it all sound like the most fun, danceable, hummable music in the world. For those who have never heard Cajun music, this CD might serve as an excellent bridge -- if you like it, you then might want to try some recordings by groups such Beausoliel, Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys, File, and the Mamou Prairie Band. But be careful -- you might get hooked!