► The album
Hey toi ! Zydeco hot tout partout !
Nothing better than a live album to catch an idea of the highly energetic dancing power of a good Zydeco band on stage. This live from Nathan and his Zydeco Cha Chas is an irresistible example of what Louisiana people are lucky to dance to every Friday or Saturday night.
Well known here, singer-accordionist Nathan Williams and his brothers "Chuckie" on washboard and the excellent Dennis Paul on guitar (1), with Allen 'Cat Roy' Broussard on sax, Wayne Burns on bass, and Gerard St. Julien on drums, are kicking our ass bad with these fourteen hot tracks. You really wonder what kind of fuel these guys put in their engine ! Probably a magic brew secretly mixed by Tante Rosa !
Ta Ka Tak ! Ta Ka Tak ! Ta Ka Tak ! beats the killing drums-washboard pair. "Hey toi, fais 'tention ! Ayaya" answers Nathan at the beginning of "Hey Bebe". The lyrics are reduced to a litany of shouted words : "Lafayette ! Baton Rouge ! New Orleans !" The accordion chops it down bad. A kind of rhythmic orgasm gets hold of you.French Creole gets the main share of the lyrics in the first half of the album and the great Clifton Chenier is duly honored with two covers (the sad nostalgic "Grand Prix" and the high tempo "Josephine C'est Pas Ma Femme").
Even the slower more sorrowful numbers, enlightened by Broussard's sax and Dennis Paul's guitar, are still rocking ! Impossible to catch back your breath. "Va danser 'tit Zydeco là ! Take yous shoes off" advise Nathan ("Tout Partout"). Wayne Burns (this one really deserves his name !) puts out a hot bass solo on "Josephine". "Hey Chuckie, allez" shouts Nathan to his washboard rubbing brother. Denis Paul cooks a killing jazzy rhythmic riff on "Zydeco Hog". The band moves to a blues that seriously swings ("Slow Horses And Fast Women"). "Oh 'tite fille, oh Yie Yi" goes Nathan on the next track. The band doesn't lose the beat… one bit. "Zydeco Boogaloo ! Hey toi !" It's time to celebrate uncle Sid "El Sid O's" Williams (1). "Cochon c'est bon, les soucis c'est pas bon ! Hay hay ! Hoink hoink !" philosophizes Nathan on the humorous "Everything On The Hog".
"Stomp Down Zydeco" does exactly what the title announces. Cramps start to cripple your legs. Not even time to recover a little on the melancholic "Why You Wanna Make Poor Cha Cha Cry?", "You Got Me Baby Now You Don't" comes next with exulting sax and rhythm guitar from Dennis Paul, definitely a top guitarist as confirmed on the closing "Zydeco Road".Infernal tempo, pirouetting accordion, groovy guitar, soul sax, hey toi ! don't be surprised if you lost weigh when you arrive at the end of the "Zydeco Road" ! Everything's good on the hog, everything is great with Nathan & His Zydeco Cha Chas ! Just another bite, pleeeeeeeez ! ■
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