VA - Acadian All Star Special, The Pioneering Cajun Recordings of J.D. Miller [2011]

 

CAJUN FOLK

VA - Acadian All Star Special, The Pioneering Cajun Recordings of J.D. Miller [2011]

A labor of love and a monument to exhaustive research, Bear Family's 2011 box set Acadian All Star Special: The Pioneering Cajun Recordings of J.D. Miller contains every recording Cajun music producer J.D. Miller cut between 1946 and 1959. This simple description downplays the effort behind this triple-disc box. It took considerable effort to document each of these tracks, and more still for Lyle Ferbrache to assemble the notes, but the end result winds up as a cornerstone of Cajun music.

Miller dove into Cajun music in earnest after Harry Choates’ recording of “Jole Blon” turned into a hit, starting to pursue a career as a producer in 1946 with his label Fais Do Do. Miller recorded Cajun and country acts at Cosimo Matasa's studio in New Orleans, eventually gaining some ground from his recordings with Happy Fats and Doc Guidry, commonly considered some of the great Cajun sides of all time. After World War II, there was a distinct lack of Cajun records and Miller set out to fill that gap, entering a golden era that this box ably documents. Here, it’s possible to hear Cajun turn modern partially through the records of Lee Sonnier, whose arrangements were more expansive, finding steel guitar and other honky tonk flair fitting the accordion-driven Cajun two-step. Miller’s next big star was Jimmy Newman, who veered a little closer to country than Cajun, a direction corrected by Chuck Guillory, who was more purely Cajun than Newman and who nevertheless sang with the fiddler.

Miller continued to find talent that straddled the line from Cajun to country, sometimes discovering singers like Terry Clement who could do both sides of the line, and if he never quite struck gold, what he wound up doing was establishing the sound and sensibility of recorded Cajun music. Certainly, this has been apparent in the decades that followed the music collected here, but no one set has ever rounded up all of his groundbreaking sides as Acadian All Star Special does. There may be a hint of musty academia to its presentation but given the effort behind this three-disc set, it’s only fair that the compilers feel the necessity to show their work. It is impressive and it winds up being one of the essential releases in Cajun and American mid-century roots music.

(AMG review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Happy, Doc & The Boys - La Cravat 2:20

02 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Gabriel Waltz 2:45

03 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Don't Hang Around 2:55

04 Happy, Doc & The Boys - My Sweetheart's My Buddy's Wife 3:12

05 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Setre Chandelle 2:49

06 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Allons Dance Colinda 2:56

07 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Is It Too Late To Cry 2:47

08 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Somehow You Don't Care 2:54

09 Lee Sonnier & His Acadian All Stars - Dans Les Grand Meche 2:50

10 Lee Sonnier & His Acadian All Stars - Chere Catan 2:40

11 Leblanc & Adams And The Vermillion Play Boys - Chere Petite Brun 2:32

12 Leblanc & Adams And The Vermillion Play Boys - Vermillion Two Step 2:56

13 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Fais Do Do Breakdown 2:47

14 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Chere Cherie 2:44

15 Happy, Doc & The Boys - New Jolie Blond 3:06

16 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Dans La Platin 3:09

17 Jimmy Durbin & The Country Boys - Drunkard Waltz 2:07

18 Jimmy Durbin & The Country Boys - Fais Do Do Two Step 2:08

19 Jimmy Choates & His Melody Boys - Chere Moon 3:02

20 Jimmy Choates & His Melody Boys - Petite Negress 3:04

21 Lee Sonnier & His Acadian All Stars - La Blues De Cajin 2:51

22 Lee Sonnier & His Acadian All Stars - Chere Eci Et Cher Laba 3:02

23 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Bayou Lafourche 2:29

24 Happy, Doc & The Boys - Sothe Fermon 2:28

25 Veteran Playboys - Eunice Waltz 2:45

26 Veteran Playboys - Chinaball Special 2:36

CD2

01 Austin Pete & His Evangeline Playboys - Chatatinia Waltz 2:56

02 Austin Pete & His Evangeline Playboys - Evangeline Playboys Special 3:00

03 Chuck Guillory & Boys - Oakdale Waltz 3:05

04 Chuck Guillory & Boys - Walfus Two Step 2:31

05 Chuck Guillory & Rhythm Boys - Chuck's Waltz 2:35

06 Chuck Guillory & Rhythm Boys - Teiyut Two Step 1:40

07 Lee Sonnier & His Acadian All Stars - War Widow Waltz 2:55

08 Lee Sonnier & His Acadian All Stars - Cankton Two Step 3:00

09 Austin Pete & His Evangeline Playboys - High Point Two Step 3:09

10 Austin Pete & His Evangeline Playboys - Redell Waltz 3:01

11 Happy & Doctor And The Hadacol Boys - La Valse De Hadacol 2:58

12 Happy & Doctor And The Hadacol Boys - Crowley Two Step 2:36

13 Amidie Breaux & The Acadian Aces - Jole Blonde 2:44

14 Amidie Breaux & The Acadian Aces - Acadian Two Step 2:32

15 Amidie Breaux & The Acadian Aces - Criminal Waltz 2:41

16 Amidie Breaux & The Acadian Aces - Poor Hobo 2:45

17 Aldus Roger & Lafayette Playboys - The Lafayette Playboys Waltz 2:44

18 Aldus Roger & Lafayette Playboys - Hix Wagon Wheel Special 2:25

19 Cleveland Mire & The Jolly Boys - Prison Waltz 2:30

20 Cleveland Mire & The Jolly Boys - Hudson Breakdown 2:11

21 Lionel Cormier & His Sundown Playboys - Welcome Club Waltz 3:04

22 Lionel Cormier & His Sundown Playboys - Sundown Playboys Special 2:29

23 Louis Spell & His French Serenaders - The Fifty Cent Song 3:02

24 Louis Spell & His French Serenaders - Lover's Waltz 2:57

25 Lee Sonnier & His Acadian All Stars - Along The River 2:49

26 Lee Sonnier & His Acadian All Stars - Acadian All Star Special 2:38

CD3

01 Pee Wee Broussard & His Melody Boys - The Waltz That Carried Me To The Grave 2:31

02 Pee Wee Broussard & His Melody Boys - The Pee Wee Special 2:14

03 Papa Cairo & His Boys - Big Texas (English) 2:52

04 Papa Cairo & His Boys - Big Texas (French) 2:57

05 Pee Wee Broussard & His Melody Boys - Chere Tu Tu 2:44

06 Pee Wee Broussard & His Melody Boys - Creole Stomp 2:27

07 Amidie Breaux & His Band - Hey, Mom! 2:39

08 Amidie Breaux & His Band - Hard Luck Waltz 2:43

09 Jimmy Newman & The Rhythm Boys - (I Know Now That) I've Made A Big Mistake 2:38

10 Jimmy Newman & The Rhythm Boys - I Don't Know What I'm Going To Do 2:37

11 Pee Wee Broussard & His Melody Boys - La Valse De Bayou Blanc 2:47

12 Pee Wee Broussard & His Melody Boys - M&S Special 2:00

13 Abe Manuel & His Louisiana Hillbillies - Country Gentleman (French) 2:20

14 Abe Manuel & His Louisiana Hillbillies - I've Got Your Heart Locked Up (French) 2:08

15 Terry Clement & His Rhythmic Five - La Valse De Te Maurice 2:30

16 Terry Clement & His Rhythmic Five - Diggly Liggy Lo 1:55

17 Abe Manuel & His Louisiana Hillbillies - Hippy-Ti-Yo 2:10

18 Abe Manuel & His Louisiana Hillbillies - Country Girl 2:35

19 Aldus Roger & Lafayette Playboys - Love Sick Waltz 2:51

20 Aldus Roger & Lafayette Playboys - Mardi Gras Dance 2:32

21 Austin Pete & The Lousiana Rhythmaires - Prison Two Step 2:48

22 Austin Pete & The Lousiana Rhythmaires - La Valse De Chagrin 3:07

23 Austin Pete & The Lousiana Rhythmaires - St. Landry Waltz 2:57

24 Austin Pete & The Lousiana Rhythmaires - Janot Special 2:38

25 Robert Bertrand & The Lake Charles Playboys - Lost Love Waltz 2:14

26 Robert Bertrand & The Lake Charles Playboys - Drunkard's Two Step 2:26

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