Unless you flunked Zydeco 101 or spaced enrolling all together, you’re probably aware that Buckwheat Zydeco has single-handedly elevated Louisiana’s indigenous Creole music to public consciousness more than any other z-purveyor. He’s played at presidential inaugurations and Olympic opening ceremonies, recorded with Willie Nelson, and even had shoot-outs with unsuspecting guitar god Eric Clapton. But in 1983, Buck recorded the first of two seminal LPs for Rounder that unequivocally demonstrated that he was a direct extension of his mentor, zydeco king Clifton Chenier.
This incarnation of tracks represents the Cambridge-based imprint’s third such re-packaging. Not only have they weathered the test of time but served as the launching pad for Buck’s ascendancy to national prominence. Though eight of these ten selections are also found on 2001’s Buckwheat’s Zydeco Party, Deluxe Edition, this mid-priced platter flows chronologically better than its predecessor. The rousing opening number “Zydeco La Louisianne,” the tender waltz “Mon Papa” and “Madam Pitre” (a sequel to John Delafose’s “Joe Pitre a deux femmes”) are all stirring testaments as to how Buck drank from the same well as his Creole forebears. After a quick nod to the roots, Buck wasted no time in establishing himself an innovator and a master of styles. A rendition of Tyron Davis’ popular R&B “Turning Point” was a tremendous career starter and one of the reasons why the LP netted a Grammy nomination. Selections culled from the Rounder sophomore effort, Waiting For My Ya Ya, (also Grammy nominated) saw the Lee Dorsey classic transformed into a reggae rumble and a regional staple. Bobby Charles’ “Walking To New Orleans” spotlighted the magical versatility of his ‘big band’ while “Buck’s Step-Up,” an instrumental, was a firework display of Buck’s virtuoso abilities. Granted, the frenetic “Lache Pas La Patate” and the swamp pop-ish “Tee Nah Nah” close out a memorable set of tracks but why wasn’t “Zydeco Boogaloo” squeezed into the fold? There’s nary a zydeco band today that doesn’t this have this standard tucked away in their repertoire. Hello?
