It’s about time. If Swallow and Arhoolie are reissuing their prized legacy stuff, it only makes sense that Jay Miller’s Kajun waxings come out of the vault too. These particular sides come from a string of singles Abshire recorded in the early ’60s with three tracks (though not identified) only now seeing the light of day. Although the cover shot of Abshire with Dewey and Rodney Balfa is misleading since Rodney didn’t play these sessions, it’s one of the few available of Abshire circa this era. Besides Dewey (fiddle), Abshire is joined by Atlas Fruge (steel), Will Kegley (fiddle/vocals) and others like Robert Bertrand whose instrumental contributions aren’t listed. But puh-lease, forgive the sketchy details; this is top sirloin stuff. Abshire and the Pinegrove Boys play with a chilling, primal quality that’s all too often missing from today’s slicker variant. There’s driving remakes of signature classics (“Pinegrove Blues”), bluesy stompers (“Popcorn Blues”), peppy two-steps (“Frog-Leg Two-Step”) and snugly waltzes (“Dans Grand Bois”). As an added bonus, the proceedings include the original “Mardi Gras” song that featured the simulated clip clopping of horse hooves, an effect that’s still imitated today. Behold, a Cajun music paradise.