The zydeco ascendancy of Thomas Fields has to be one of the most amazing stories ever told. While most z-practitioners were weaned on zydeco, Fields started from ground zero at age 45 by learning the accordion and simultaneously guided wife Geneva in learning the bass. Only a year-and-a-half later, Big Hat had released his first project, a cassette-only debut done under the tutelage of Lanor Records’ Lee Lavergne.

Since then Fields has continuously gained ground, as evidenced by this double-disc reissue that packages his second and third Lanor projects together (Louisiana is the Place to See and Come to Louisiana). Admittedly, the first disc, 1995’s Louisiana is the Place to See is a bit more primitive in terms of repetitive licks verging on monotony. Yet, Fields sustains it well with raw, primal energy, whoop-it-up howls, varied beats and occasional squawks, squalors and eerie tones from his accordion. Early on, Fields showed he had a humorous side as well, with lines like “Hey Boozoo / you can’t do what you used to do” and how bald-headed men steal your women. Not to be forgotten was “No Names Blues” where Fields shouts out the names of Clifton Chenier sidemen.

Come to Louisiana was much better. By then, Fields was leveraging his John Lee Hooker one-chord trance boogie with a beefier band and another two years of experience. With Shelton Broussard’s scorching guitar licks, a couple of songs (“The Mess Around,” “Little Girl”) sport a jam band-intersects-zydeco sensibility that’s to die for if you have a foot in both camps. Both discs feature Creole French sung lyrics and in the midst of this combustible commotion, there’s usually a simple but haunting melody set to a leisurely waltz tempo. While Fields never set out to be zydeco’s main bull, he’s certainly become one of the rodeo’s bucking roughstock.