ALBUM REVIEW: BEAUSOLEIL "CAJUNIZATION"

Album Review: BeauSoleil "Cajunization"

*Disclaimer: All the opinions expressed in this and other reviews are my own. French song titles do not have accent marks because my keyboard does not have them available.*

This album was released in 1999, and it followed the Grammy-winning "L'Amour Ou La Folie." "L'Amour" was going to be a very hard act to follow, and I'm sure the group wanted to do something really special to surpass their previous work, try to win another Grammy and generally start the new millennium with a two-step beat. What they did, as they have done their entire career, was bring Cajun music to the next evolutionary step. In light of that observation, it's highly appropriate that they chose a stone-age art motif for "Cajunization"'s liner notes and cover.

Although there are quite a few traditional-style Cajun songs included on this collection, many of the songs are originals written by Michael Doucet. These new songs generally take a non-Cajun style of music (such as Jazz, Surf, or Hawaiian) and adapt the style to the Cajun method of playing. Thus, the title "Cajunization" refers to what BeauSoleil has done to the new styles they sample on this album. The result is their most adventurous, ambitious and controversial album in their entire career so far. Only on "Bayou Cadillac" have they previously tried to tackle many different musical styles at once. Of course, Cajun music itself is a mix of different styles, but this album makes the cultural and musical mixing all the more evident. The band took a big risk in making and releasing this collection, and the risk paid off with another Grammy nomination.

It's ironic that BeauSoleil would make such an album in the last year of the 20th century. For many years, the Cajun culture and people were forced to assimilate into the American way of life. The assimilation was not entirely successful, or else we wouldn't even have groups such as BeauSoleil spreading the Cajun way of life to international audiences. In light of the attempt at assimilation of Cajuns by the dominant American culture, it is kind of funny that Mike Doucet and his band are helping to assimilate America musically with this genre-stretching 1999 album. The tables have turned, and the turning is quite an enjoyable ride.

1) La Terre de Mon Grandpere

Before we head into the future, we're given a look at the past with this traditional-sounding Cajun song. The title means "My Grandfather's land" and it's about the traditions passed down in Cajun families. The song is fiddle driven and sounds much like other BeauSoleil songs, but there's a modern attitude underneath it all. David and Michael Doucet share the singing duties. This is a good, solid, joyous romp and serves as a good introduction to an album with one foot in the traditional and the other in the modern.

2) Cajunization Blues

This is one of the few blues-oriented songs on the album and was written by Michael. The song is not about the "Cajunizing" of the world, as the title implies, but is about a Cajun worrying about the state of the world in contrast to the Cajun outlook on things. Jerry Douglas guests on dobro here, and that adds to the bluesy feel of the song. Michael conveys despair and sadness though his voice, and the soulful fiddle and accordion give the song an appropriate atmosphere. This isn't the best song on the album, but it's still very good and starts the "Cajunization" theme well.

3) Happy One-Step

I don't know what a one-step is compared to a two-step, but both styles sound light and upbeat. "Happy One-Step" is an adaptation of a Dennis McGee tune, with a few lines of lyrics by Michael. It's certainly happy and just as good as any dance tune BeauSoleil has recorded. The fiddle and accordion are the main instruments, and the musicians who play them give the song a nice smooth melody for dancing. This is one of the better songs on the album and one that you can just simply dance to while you let the good times roll.

4) L'Amour Poisonee

When the group performed this song at the concert I attended, Michael described it as "A soundtrack to a Cajun film-noir movie that hasn't yet been written." That certainly seems to be the general theme in this song about "poison love." The highlight here is the great, thumping, jazzy bass by Al Tharp. It gives the song a little kick that other BeauSoleil songs have never had. The accordion is also very bluesy and the fiddle seems to sing its own song of love gone wrong. Michael's vocals are very subtle and fit the musical theme of the song very well. BeauSoleil have done blues songs before, but never have they done a blues song quite like this one. Yet another example of how they were expanding their sound with this album.

5) La Reine de Coeur

This Michael Doucet original is a very hard song to describe, but at the very least I'd say it's passionate. The title means "The Queen of Hearts" and the lyrics describe love as a card game: sometimes you lose, but sometimes you win it all. The fiddle here is very sweet and unique. The singing is also very good, with Michael singing his heart out with passion and conviction. David's guitar also adds a light, warm touch. This is simply a beautiful song.

6) Cubano Bayou

This is where we really start to get Cajunized. Steel drums and regular drums form the rhythmic beat to the song, and Mike plays around with a Caribbean and Cuban theme on the fiddle. It's enchanting, romantic and exotic. I love it when the band explores the sounds of Latin America, and this song is one of their best attempts to do that.

7) Chanson Pour Tommy

This song is a tribute to the late Dr. Tommy Comeaux, who was an occasional mandolinist and guitarist for BeauSoleil. Tommy died in a traffic accident in 1997 and the band decided to dedicate a song to him on "Cajunization." This song is actually in two parts - a waltz to start, ending with a sunny, upbeat instrumental. The waltz is pretty good, not too mournful. It's something you'd hear at a funeral, reflecting on a life well led. As usual, Michael's fiddle takes the lead and puts the emotion into the song. Each member does take a solo with the melody, though, giving each man a chance to say goodbye in his own special way. The end of the song, however, is the part I like the most. It's catchy and positive and ends the song on a good note. It's played with a lot of emotion and spirit. You can tell that Michael and the band put a lot of effort and thought into this song. It's as if they're having one last jam session with Tommy.

8) Zarico Boogie

A blues theme again shows up, only this time there is more of a rock 'n roll feel. A horn section adds a dirty New Orleans jazz atmosphere. Michael's fiddle improvises with the melody and Jimmy Breaux adds a dark Cajun groove with his accordion. The lyrical theme here is lost love and endless nights on the road. This is a good, smoky, attitude-filled song and puts BeauSoleil on more of a rock and blues track. It is also slightly reminiscent of "L'Amour Poisonee."

9) Recherche d'Acadie

This is one of the saddest and most historically significant songs BeauSoleil has ever written. It's about the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755, the most pivotal moment in Cajun history. This one act by the British government changed the lives of thousands of people and their descendants as well. It began the process that created Cajun culture. Musically, this is definitely a slow, sad ballad with mourning fiddle and acoustic guitar. I cannot remember BeauSoleil ever recording any song about the 1755 expulsion, so it was definitely time for the group to record such a song. On an album full of glances at the future, it was good for BeauSoleil to pay tribute to the past.

10) Les Nuits a Maui

The Hawaiian island of Maui is a special place to many people, and this song shows that it is also special to Michael Doucet. The entire theme of this tune is Hawaii. Instead of a Cajun two-step, the band plays around with island sounds and even adds some steel drum to keep things all the more tropical. Michael's fiddle plays a sweet Hawaiian-inspired theme and gives the song as slow and relaxed vibe. This is definitely one of the more "Cajunized" tunes on the album, but it also shows how the tropical climate of Hawaii and semi-tropical climate of Southern Louisiana relate in musical terms.

11) Jusqu'a la Nuit

This is a bouncy, upbeat romantic love song with lots of Cajun fiddle and accordion. Like "La Reine de Coeur," it has a positive, loving feel to it. I heard the group perform this in concert on the 20th wedding anniversary of Michael and his wife Sharon (he told us what special day it was before the song started). With that in mind, the beautiful music and magical outdoor setting were enhanced and the experience was amazing and memorable. This is a great song to listen to with a loved one. It doesn't seem to be any one particular style, but it's still a wonderful, romantic song.

12) Les Blues de Chaleur

Yet again, the group uses a blues theme in their music. This is a haunting, lazy fiddle-driven blues number. Steel guitar and mandolin add to the mood, but it's Michael Doucet's swaying, singing fiddle that gives the song its sad and mournful theme. This song cuts straight to a listener's heart and shows how Cajun music can often combine with other Southern music traditions so well.

13) One-Step a Choupique

What sounds like a train signal is actually percussionist Billy Ware pounding on a triangle. Intentionally or not, that gives this Dennis McGee tune a train yard atmosphere (at the beginning anyhow). The rest of the song is based on lyrical fiddle playing combined with excellent accordion and guitar. As a result, this is a very typical Cajun sound, although enhanced by drums and upright bass. There is a definite European/French sound to the melody, which makes sense because Dennis McGee learned many of the older-style Acadian tunes in his day instead of what was being played by modern musicians in the 1920s. This is a fast, twirling one-step and it's a good Cajun break from all the other styles on the album thus far.

14) Atchafalaya Pipeline

This tune is inspired by 1960s surf music and features surf guitarist Gerry McGee. He's the son of Cajun music legend Dennis McGee! He gives the song its California rock vibe with his blistering electric guitar. Michael Doucet and Jimmy Breaux add their Cajun magic on fiddle and accordion respectively, and Michael in particular seems excited to explore the surf sounds as filtered through Cajun fiddling. The playing is a bit more rhythmic than usual and the group definitely achieves its goal of playing a surf rock song and making it sound good. This curious, cross-cultural tune ends the explorative, contemporary album "Cajunization."

With this album, BeauSoleil showed that they can play much more than just traditional Cajun music. Their efforts here have created one of their best albums, and certainly one of their most unique albums. Compared to all their other works, this one stands out on its own. Even though the album features many varied styles, the musicianship of the band is always evident. "Cajunization" is the group's best effort to express one of its guiding principles - that Cajun music must move forward even as it looks back to the past.

As impressive as the wonderful songs on this album is the fact that, other than the music of "Happy One-Step" and "One Step a Choupique," Michael Doucet wrote the words and music to every song on this album. This shows more than ever that Michael is an excellent composer, lyricist and musician in his own right. He's clearly not content with simply repeating the past. He uses his skills to write new Cajun songs that will one day be celebrated as examples of a new tradition: the BeauSoleil tradition.