Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Simplicity is a beautiful thing

As a fan of the cajun group BeauSoleil, there's not much they do that I DON'T like. But after these few years of listening to their songs, I've realized something:

I absolutely LOVE when they strip things down and do simple, honest, straightforward cajun tunes. Just two fiddles and an accordion makes such beautiful music. Somehow the songs are more emotional when the band uses fewer instruments. I think it's because there's not as big an opportunity to enhance things in the studio with all the additional instruments. Also, the simpler tunes get to the heart of Cajun music, the way it was played a hundred years ago. There's something good about musicians playing from the heart with just a couple instruments and their voices. The emotional content of the songs seem to come out more because of the intimate setting. It's music the way it was played before it was recorded and mass-produced.

Here's a list of some BeauSoleil songs that I love that use just fiddles and a couple other instruments:

-Les Fleurs Fleurissent and Le Hack a Moreau from "Gitane Cajun"
-Angelas Waltz from "L'Echo"
-Le Reel de Nez Pique from "Cajun Conja"
-La Valse Des Jonglemonts, Bee's Blues, Creole French Blues, Chanson D'Acadie and Mecredi Soire Passe from "The Best of Beausoleil"

Those are some songs to check out if you want some good, honest, heartfelt traditional folk music from those who play it best.

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