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Totally Awesome Tunes

As promised, I went out and purchased some new music today. "Gitane Cajun" by BeauSoleil and "Mystery White Boy" by Jeff Buckley. I've listened to them both by now, and they're excellent albums.

First off, BeauSoleil. Their new one is very, very interesting. There's a good mix of faster dance songs and slower waltzes. Some of the songs have a very jazzy and even country feel to them. There's a lot of slide guitar and dobro used throughout. The group seems to have learned some lessons from "Cajunization" and kept their sound updated and fresh. At the same time, there are some very simple and beautiful songs that use just violins and accordion. "Les Fleurs Fleurissent" is one of those songs, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I can't stop listening to it, and it's already one of my favorite BeauSoleil songs of all time. It's THAT good. Other highlights are "Bye-Bye Boozoo," which is BeauSoleil's most authentic attempt yet at zydeco; "Me and Dennis McGee" is a lovely, danceable fiddle-powered two-step; and "Le Soleil Brille" is a look how BeauSoleil is changing their style. Really, there isn't a bad song on "Gitane Cajun" and I'm very impressed.

Jeff Buckley, as you all should know by now, is someone I practically worship. "Mystery White Boy" is a live album put out after his death, and it's a compliation of live peformances from his first and only tour. The sound quality is not the best, as I've been warned while reading reviews of the album. However, bad quality Jeff Buckley is better than most things! Sound quality aside, Jeff punched out some magnificent vocal and guitar performances during these shows. "MWB" is definitely worth the purchase for me for the inclusion of two tracks: "I Woke Up In A Strange Place" and "What Will You Say." The first one is just awesome and can't be found anywhere else than on this album. The second is one of my favorite tracks from the Jeff Buckley live DVD, and I'm thrilled to have a similar performance of it on this CD. The "Grace" songs are as good as ever, although "Lilac Wine" is kind of hard to hear. Also, this album's version of "Kanga-Roo" is HIGHLY superior to the studio version on the Grace Legacy Edition. Jeff can be heard better, the song is shorter by a few minutes, the guitars are less predictable, and Jeff does a lot more vocal improvisation. All in all, a more enjoyable "Kanga-Roo." I'm definitely glad I bought this CD, although I'm a bit sad that the sound couldn't be improved. But it IS a live album, so high quality is not to be expected.

I suppose I have just done little mini-reviews of those two CDs, huh? Well, that's cool, now you all can see what I think of them so far. Might I also mention that I bought Jeff's CD for only $8!! I LOVE used CDs!!

That's all for now. Look for another meme entry tomorrow, and maybe something else if I can think of anything.