Boozoo Chavis (album)

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Boozoo Chavis
Studio album by
Boozoo Chavis
Released1991
GenreZydeco
LabelElektra/Nonesuch
ProducerTerry Adams
Boozoo Chavis chronology
Zydeco Trail Ride
(1990) 		Boozoo Chavis
(1991) 		Boozoo's Breakdown
(1991)

Boozoo Chavis is an album by the American musician Boozoo Chavis, released in 1991.[1][2] It was part of the Elektra/Nonesuch American Explorer series.[3] The album was the culmination of a comeback for Chavis that had begun in 1984.[4][5] Chavis supported the album by playing the Newport Folk Festival.[6]

Production[edit]

Boozoo Chavis was produced by Terry Adams; Adams and NRBQ had recorded a song titled "Boozoo, That's Who!"[7][8][9] The album was recorded in Louisiana over the course of four days, a long period of studio time for a Chavis album.[10] Two of Chavis's sons played on the album; Chavis's band used rubboard, bass, two guitars, and drums.[11][12] Chavis did not always enjoy recording in a professional studio setting, even though Adams took a hands-off approach.[13][14] Chavis performed a few solo numbers with just his accordion and vocals.[15]

Chavis first recorded some of the songs, such as "Tee Black", in the 1950s.[16] On "Forty One Days", he acknowledges his sometimes shaky sense of cadence: "If it's wrong, do it wrong."[17] "Bernadette" is performed as a ballad.[18] "Dog Hill" is about Chavis's neighborhood in Lake Charles, Louisiana.[19] Chavis sang some songs in a French-English dialect.[20]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
Calgary HeraldB[22]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[23]
Houston Chronicle[5]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide[7]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that Chavis's "shuffling snare drum is a mark of an authentic (even exemplary) excursion into zydeco."[23] The Austin American-Statesman noted that the production "gives the music the benefit of modern studio clarity without diminishing the rough-hewn immediacy that makes it sizzle."[24] The Calgary Herald concluded: "This is zydeco music without any of the slickness that has affected it in recent years, but with all the infectious joy that the music brings to listeners."[22]

The New York Times stated that "the tempos shuffle and jive, the melodies swagger; it's pure and primitive, with just a hint of down-home blues."[25] The Vancouver Sun deemed the album "a must for zydeco fans," writing that "he's got a knack for hilarious song titles ... is a masterful accordion player and can whoop it up with the best of them."[26] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram opined: "The difference between Chavis and many of his contemporaries, however, is how well he works within the rather limited boundaries of zydeco; he constantly varies the tempos and instrumentation, and his accordion lines are much more interesting than the usual easygoing zydeco oom-pah."[27]

AllMusic wrote that "the call and response can get a bit overly burdensome in the slow numbers, but there's an element of the rural sounds of zydeco throughout."[21]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Boozoo's Theme Song" 
2."I'm Ready Me" 
3."Dog Hill" 
4."Keep Your Dress Tail Down" 
5."Johnnie Billy Goat" 
6."Gilton" 
7."Goin' to La Maison" 
8."Forty One Days" 
9."Oh Yae Yae" 
10."Tee Black" 
11."Zydeco Hee Haw" 
12."Don't Worry About Boozoo" 
13."Bernadette" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hadley, Frank-John (August 19, 1993). The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD. Grove Press.
  2. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (30 June 1991). "Pop Eye". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 59.
  3. ^ McLeese, Don (7 Feb 1991). "Project highlights original material". Onward. Austin American-Statesman. p. 5.
  4. ^ Komara, Edward M. (August 19, 2006). Encyclopedia of the Blues. Psychology Press.
  5. ^ a b Racine, Marty (July 28, 1991). "Boozoo Chavis' self-titled release is a case of pre-zydeco zydeco...". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 15.
  6. ^ Vovcsko, Jerry (12 Aug 1991). "Folk still haunts souls". Telegram & Gazette. p. D3.
  7. ^ a b MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 148.
  8. ^ Heim, Chris (18 Oct 1991). "John Lee Hooker, B.B. King among blues fest headliners". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. Q.
  9. ^ Katz, Larry (August 9, 1991). "Discs". Boston Herald. p. S18.
  10. ^ Harris, Paul A. (October 20, 1991). "Boozoo Chavis Puts Act Back on Road". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3C.
  11. ^ Moon, Tom (14 July 1991). "Albums True to the Roots of Rock". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. I1.
  12. ^ Gettelman, Parry (11 Oct 1991). "Elektra Nonesuch American Explorer Series". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 10.
  13. ^ Sandmel, Ben (1999). Zydeco!. University Press of Mississippi. p. 70.
  14. ^ Spera, Keith (July 5, 1991). "At Last, Boozoo Goes on Record". The Times-Picayune. p. L6.
  15. ^ Selvin, Joel (July 28, 1991). "Boozoo Chavis". Sunday. San Francisco Chronicle. p. 36.
  16. ^ Heim, Chris (1 Nov 1991). "Boozoo Chavis: Classic zydeco, straightforward talk". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. O.
  17. ^ Outerbridge, Laura (August 1, 1991). "Birchmere gets set for late-blooming trio". The Washington Times. p. M11.
  18. ^ Gnerre, Sam (October 20, 1991). "'Explorer Series' digs up American roots music". Daily Breeze. p. D4.
  19. ^ Hoekstra, Dave (November 1, 1991). "Fame late for 61-year-old Cajun singer Boozoo Chavis". Weekend Plus. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 12.
  20. ^ Eichenberger, Bill (September 15, 1991). "New Series Explores Five Music Pioneers". The Columbus Dispatch. p. 4D.
  21. ^ a b "Boozoo Chavis". AllMusic.
  22. ^ a b Muretich, James (25 Sep 1991). "Finally – music unsullied by money's grime". Calgary Herald. p. B7.
  23. ^ a b "The American Explorer Series". Entertainment Weekly.
  24. ^ McLeese, Don (18 July 1991). "Home across the range". Onward. Austin American-Statesman. p. 19.
  25. ^ Schoemer, Karen (9 Aug 1991). "Zydeco, the Chavis Way". The New York Times. p. C5.
  26. ^ Mackie, John (14 Sep 1991). "America's roots gain a toehold". Vancouver Sun. p. D23.
  27. ^ Ferman, Dave (July 16, 1991). "In search of music in its most natural state". Life. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 5.
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