Zydeco

From the get-go, Putumayo Presents Zydeco is the down-and-dirtiest most-rockin' Saturday night at a sweaty bayou dance hall or juke joint a non-native can experience. Born of the Creole community in Louisiana's backwaters and moving outward to Texas and California, Zydeco bumps, grinds, and is a wang dang doodle of a big time. Youngblood Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band rip through "Co Fa" with their trademark double-kick beat, the low-end-amped-up sound making heartbreak sound like a raunchy roll in the hay. Rosie Ledet's "You're No Good for Me" is a wailer for all lovers scorned, featuring thudding bass, wiry guitar lines, and sax in a one-upmanship dance with her accordion. Beau Jocque growls, Jude Taylor trades accordion licks with his band's organist, and Queen Ida reigns supreme on "My Girl Josephine." As the Creole Farmers sing on the opening cut, "We gonna party 'til the cows come home!" --Paige La Grone  more