Product Description

Grammy winners and 10-time nominees BeauSoleil continue their scion-like march through the panorama of American music with Alligator Purse. Over the past 30-plus years, BeauSoleil has been the very heartbeat of Cajun music and culture, keeping it vital through not only their attention to tradition, but also through passionate and inventive experimentation. This time around these twin creative approaches combine yet again, manifesting themselves in some of music s most authentic and recognizable names.

On Alligator Purse BeauSoleil s fearless captain Michael Doucet leads the next installment of his musical journey along the lifeline of Cajun music, this time with an all star crew including Natalie Merchant ('Little Darlin'), Garth Hudson ('I've Spent All My Money Loving You'), John Sebastian, Roswell Rudd, Bill Keith and others. His notable friends help Doucet bring the rich folk traditions of south Louisiana into the 21st century through the genius interplay of a new take on Cajun favorites ('Marie') and the Cajunization of modern folk classics. A French language reworking of Bob Dylan s cover of Muddy Waters classic Rollin & Tumblin ('Rouler et Tourner') and J.J. Cale's 'The Problem' stand alongside Cajun and Creole history lessons like 'Reel Cajun (451 St. Joseph St.),' 'Les Oignons' and 'Théogéne Creole,' originally sung for John and Alan Lomax s historic 1934 field recordings.

Alligator Purse is the funkiest history lesson ever created, a sweaty sweep through the lore of one of the most vital veins of America s musical heritage and a stark reminder that musical history is best served by a dance floor, not a museum.

Track Listing

1. Reel Cajun (451 N. St. Joseph)
2. Rouler et Tourner
3. Carrière Zydeco
4. Little Darlin
5. Marie
6. Valse á BeauSoleil
7. Bosco Stomp
8. Théogène Crèole
9. I Spent All My Money Loving You
10. Les Oignons
11. The Problem
12. Alligator Purse
13. Valse á Thomas Ardoin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5486 in Music
• Brand: Dig
• Released on: 2009-01-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .16 pounds

Review
BeauSoleil Avec Michael Doucet

There s no dearth of two-step and zydeco rhythm on Alligator Purse (Yep Roc), an upbeat new release by BeauSoleil, the pacesetting Cajun-revivalist band. The album, overseen by the television producer Michael Pillot, features songs by Bob Dylan, J. J. Cale and Julie Miller, as well as originals and traditional Louisiana fare. The mix isn't out of character for Michael Doucet, the band s sprightly fiddler and lead vocalist: he may be an old soul, but he's also a muddler. He and his partners have such a clear identity by now Mr. Doucet started BeauSoleil in 1975 that the material bends toward them rather than the other way around. No wonder the album s assorted guests, including Natalie Merchant (vocals), John Sebastian (harmonica) and Roswell Rudd (trombone), seem comfortable but mindful. They know they re only passing through. -Nate Chinen --The New York Times

Review
For more than 30 years, BeauSoleil's members have borne the Cajun music standard, but anybody expecting them simply to keep the traditions dusted has missed the point. Alligator Purse is sequenced like a dance party. It s bookended by tunes associated with early greats Dennis McGee and Amedee Ardoin, but in between, anything's fair game. Here, Cajun music isn't so much the final result as the start of a conversation with anybody who ll be engaged. -Brian Mansfield --USA Today

Customer Reviews

Fine program of traditional and contemporary Cajun music
Formed in the mid-70s as a platform for Louisiana fiddler Michael Doucet's appreciation of his native Cajun musical traditions, BeauSoleil has become an integral part of the history it sought to provide popular resuscitation. More importantly, by interweaving Cajun, zydeco, country, blues, jazz, and other sounds, BeauSoleil not only sparked renewed interest in Southern Louisianan sounds, but moved beyond simple preservation (to the consternation of some critics) to innovation. Doucet's early studies in the UK and France provided exposure to the genre's classic songs, the music's European roots, and the techniques of seminal players. As the lessons were internalized the group has more freely inflected the classics with new flavors and drawn non-Cajun material into the fold. The group's latest (their 29th release!) includes collaborations with Natalie Merchant, Garth Hudson, John Sebastian and others.

Doucet comes out blazing on the instrumental "Reel Cajun (451 N. St. Joseph)," nearly sawing his fiddle in half as he pays tribute to Dennis McGee. Second line drumming provides an apt rhythm for the French translation of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' & Tumblin'," rendered here as "Rouler et Tourner." Julie Miller's "Little Darlin'," which originally appeared as a duet with her husband Buddy Miller on 2004's Love Snuck Up, has its backwoods country twang taken upbeat by Doucet and Natalie Merchant. Cooling down with the New Orleans stroll of "Marie" (supplemented by Andy Stein's superb sax solo) you start to feel this disc is sequenced as an evening's dance program. The band combines classic fiddle and accordion lines with the more contemporary sound of a flat-picked guitar on the waltz-time "Valse á BeauSoleil," and gives dancers a chance to promenade with "Bosco Stomp."

The mid-30's ballad "La Chanson de Théogène Dubois" is transformed with a Latin beat into "Théogène Creole," with the flat-picked acoustic guitar, accordion and fiddle each taking a spin in the spotlight. The group also works its magic on Bobby Charles' "I Spent All My Money Loving You," retaining the song's original Memphis soul with drums and organ, but adding Cajun flavors with accordion and a French translation of the verses. J.J. Cale's skiffle-blues "The Problem" gets a more straight-up treatment, with the original's shuffle beat emphasized in all of the instruments. Cale's lyrics of empty-headed leaders and passive followers was a potent indictment of Bush's failed administration, and remains a stirring call-to-arms. Amédé Ardoin's classic "Valse á Thomas Ardoin" offers a last call from the accordion and a fitting close to BeauSoleil's Cajun prom. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Watch Out: Alligators Ahead!
Sometime ago I was looking to see if Nathalie Merchant was doing a new album somehow, hope so...anyway I stumbled across an Alligator Purse on which album she contributed...of course needed that in my collection and I must say: Superb Album! I just love that sound, the energy and passion of these people!
Sitting there and listening to the songs my ears were triggered by the subtle and preluding sound of an organ...it sounded much like the Band used to do...and that of course had to do with wonderboy Garth Hudson!
Sifting through the text on the, well-designed cd-cover, I came across my Canadian hero, Garth!
Anyhow, if you really like music and support the French-Canadian and Cajun tradition than this album is a must have! Way to go Beausoleil...Lekker Zonnetje indeed!

performance
the waltz version of the song on the cd isn't as good as the version on Looking Back Tomorrow