Beausoleil With Michael Douchet Alligator Purse (New Music CD)

Beausoleil Alligator Purse (New Music CD)

Beausoleil may be as synonymous with Cajun culture as Tasso ham, gumbo fil , and mudbugs, but the veteran shape-shifting Zydeco act is as adept at creating fusion food as it is traditional fare. Bandleader Michael Doucet's evenhanded fiddling and expressive, amiable voice lead the charge on Alligator Purse, the band's first for the Yep Roc label. Beausoleil flex their Cajun backbone on opener "Reel Cajun/452 North St. Joseph St.," one of a handful of straight-up bayou barnburners ("Carri re Zydeco," "Bosco Stomp") that are as timeless as they are electrifying, but it's the band's penchant for seamless genre-hopping that solidifies its well-deserved reputation as an American institution. Doucet and his small but formidable army's tasteful renderings of the blues ("Rouler et Tourner"), jazz ("Marie"), and old-timey country ("Little Darlin'") -- the latter featuring some high and lonesome crooning from Natalie Merchant -- always keep true to regional ingredients like accordion, Dixieland horns, and a steady Cajun backbeat, resulting in the kind of all-day street party that welcomes both purists and tourists with open arms, cold beer, and steaming plates of Louisiana cooking. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi

Track Listing
Track # Title
1 Reel Cajun/451 North st. Joseph st.
2 Rouler Et Tourner
3 Carriã¨re Zydeco
4 Little Darlin'
5 Marie
6 Valse à Beausoleil
7 Bosco Stomp
8 Thã¨ogã©ne Creole
9 I Spent All My Money Loving You
10 Oignons
11 Problem
12 Alligator Purse
13 Valse à Thomas Ardoin

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