Warren Storm / Willie Tee and Cypress, Swamp Pop Jukebox (Jin Records)

Warren Storm, Willie Tee and Cypress, Swamp Pop Jukebox, OffBeat Magazine, March 2014

From a marketing perspective, Swamp Pop Jukebox is the perfect title for Warren Storm/Willie Tee and Cypress’ latest since it captures the genre’s unending fascination with romantic nostalgia. Yet, at the same time it’s hardly a jukebox full of ubiquitous covers either, since there’s a fair portion of newer and overlooked material. Interestingly, “Teardrops Over You” hails from outside the genre, bluegrass queen Rhonda Vincent, and is the weeper Storm refers to as “the life he’s living now.” Consequently it’s the vocalist’s best performance of the disc, though several tuneful contenders trail close behind such as “Big Boys Cry” and “Strong Enough to Leave You,” a triplet-pulsating tune with an irregular chord progression. At age 77, Storm can still deliver the goods and even summon up a Little Richard rock ’n’ roll yelp at will (“Lucille”). Storm and Tee alternate on three relatively recent Ivy Dugas tunes that the award-winning Cajun songster wrote for his 2012 swamp pop album.

Co-vocalist Willie Tee provides a warm contrast to Storm with his projective, baritone vocals and sterling sax work. Some of Tee’s selections resonate close to home with profound, real life lyrics, such as Dugas’ “Cross All Your T’s” and the poignant “Labor of Love” that deserves a long shelf life as a Father’s Day favorite. Though the legends may be graying, this is proof that swamp pop can still sprout new branches while preserving its deeply-rooted classic sound.