In recent years, Swallow Records has expanded its longstanding Cajun Pioneer series with reissues of recordings by such figureheads as Adam Hebert (2005) and Joe Bonsall (2008). Its latest installment, Austin Pitre (pronounced ‘Pete’) is another stellar choice, mainly because he was the stuff of legends. He drew capacity crowds at clubs, not only with exhilarating dance music but also with flamboyant showmanship. When he wanted his crowd to go bonkers, he played the squeezebox between his legs and behind his back and head, long before Jimi Hendrix ever thought about doing that with a guitar. He was also known to be the first accordionist to play standing up without using a strap, which requires great physical strength.

This bountiful, chronologically arranged 24-track collection is a comprehensive examination of Pitre’s Swallow discography. The rousing 1959 hit single, “Flammes D’Enfer” as well as its flip side, “Opelousas Waltz,” open the album; several, previously unreleased sides from the early ’70s round it out. In between, Pitre and the Evangeline Playboys are exemplary on standards and signature originals alike, a few of which were strategically christened after dancehalls. There’s even an English-sung number, “Don’t You Shake My Trees,” that’s a grooving adaptation of Nathan Abshire’s “Pine Grove Blues” during which Pitre practically screeches his lungs out.

Several tracks find a steel guitarist providing snazzy licks while the electric guitarist tears it up in a riveting, honky-tonk style. When it’s Pitre’s turn for a ride, he comes barreling in authoritatively with clean, precise playing. Thanks to this posthumous anthology, Pitre, with his killer, high vocals, is also cooler than ever.