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Nathan Abshire“French Blues”CD 373
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Buy It Now!
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Nathan Abshire — accordion & vocals, with the Pine Grove Boys (including Dewey Balfa on several cuts) who became one of the most popular Cajun bands in the 1950s. These, their first recordings, were made for Khoury Records at KPLC in Lake Charles, La., and included the original 1949 version of their hit "Pine Grove Blues."
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Listen to some of the tracks!! (uses RealAudio®) 1. Pine Grove Blues - ('49) 2. Kaplan Waltz 3. French Blues 4. New Orleans Waltz 5. Pine Grove Boogie 6. Hathaway Waltz 7. Step It Fast 8. Jolie, Petite Juilette 9. Choupique Two Step 10. La Valse De Belezere 11. Pine Grove Blues #2 12. La Valse De Holly Beach 13. Iota Two Step 14. La Valse De Bayou Tech 15. Musical Five Special 16. Avalon Waltz 17. Tee Per Coine (Keep A' Knocking, But You Can't Come In) 18. New Jolie Blon, The 19. Point De Lou Two-Step 20. Texas Waltz 21. Lu Lu Boogie 22. Carolina Blues 23. Shamrock Waltz 24. Mama Rosin 25. L.S.U. French Waltz 26. Crying Pine Grove Blues 27. Red Rock Waltz 28. Cannon Ball Special |
REVIEWS “Nathan Abshire's standing as a seminal Cajun accordeonist ranks with Dewey Balfa's to the fiddle. French Blues brings together 28 cuts originally issued as 78s from 1949 onwards, and lasts a whopping 78 minutes. Despite Arhoolie's best efforts on the noise reduction front, the dense, soupy sound will not please the hi-fi perfectionist, who is advised to sod off and listen to Dire Straits albums instead. This is wonderful. Songs are attacked with real fire and a glorious sense of indiscipline, extending to off-mike asides and uninhibited yells, and the beery assault on Jolie Blonde is matchless. Abshire's playing is great throughout, his singing raucous and soulful, and his individualistic marriage of bluesy influences with the Cajun sound flavours the hit Pine Grove Blues, the pure R&B of Lu Lu Boogie and the real crossover track, Valse De Bayou Tech. There's a distinctly Latin rhythm to Mama Rosin, and a jolt for the musicologist when this unsophisticated bunch slip easily between five and four beats to a bar on Musical Five Special. Essential Abshire.”(Brian Peters — Folk Roots) |
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“From the first swirling drone and the cry `Ya, Let's Go' every Cajun fan will know exactly what to expect from this exemplary release by an exemplary performer; they introduce one of the most famous recordings in the post war scene. Nathan cut `Pine Grove Blues' many times but this one, cut for the Khoury's label in 1949 is the hit version. Khoury's wasn't RCA (thank God!) and these recordings will never earn the description of high fidelity but like the Junior Kimborough disc reviewed in our last issue they've got the feel; this is the real thing. I get the impression that Nathan played it all one way (bluesy) and radio studio and dance hall were all the same to him. The fiddles saw away over the buzz of the accordion while the muffled drummer keeps strict but draggy time for a waltz or two-step and the steel player stabs in and out where he can. Don't be misled though; there is nothing depressing about this music, the (all French) vocals are exuberant and the whole is designed to induce the desire, the need, to dance - all night!
A couple of the tunes stem straight from old timey music: `La Valse De Belezere' uses `Farther Along' and `Carolina Blues' is `Deep Elm Blues' while `Tee Per Coine' is `Keep A Knockin'! -the fourteen year old Yvonne Le Blanc sings the bouncy `Mama Rosin.' Playing time is up above 78 minutes, the notes are fascinating and the music totally captivating. In short: no Cajun collection should be without this disc.” (Keith Briggs — Blues and Rhythm) |
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