Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys – Dominos – Rounder

by | Aug 21, 2006 | CD+DVD | 0 comments

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys – Dominos – Rounder DualDisc 11661-6112-2  ***: 

My favorite line and yours: “May not play on certain car, slot load players and mega-disc changers.”  Way to go DualDisc!  This disc contains Cajun music with a Creole influence and the insert includes a brief history of the music and the band.  The sound quality is good and offers lots of detail.  There are plenty of instruments (i.e. fiddle, guitar, bass, accordion, percussion), but the performance still manages to sound intimate.  Many of the tunes are sung in French and by listening to the interviews it seems that the Playboys are really pushing the envelope when it comes to Cajun music.  Describing the music is a bit difficult if you’ve never heard it before—imagine a polka with country/folk singers—in French.  A lot of the material sounded the same to me although there was a natural differentiation between the more upbeat tunes and the slower ballads.

The DVD side has about 15 minutes of musical material.  Throughout the musical performances there are interviews with band members and others who comment on the band.  There are five written biographies of the band members along with information on the production company for the DVD.  The disc claims DD and DVDA capability, but all I was able to get was two-channel stereo.  The disc is not widescreen-enhanced although it appears to be in a 1.78 or 1.85:1 ratio.

Songs included:  Dominos; Pays des etrangers/Land of Strangers; Ardoin Medley; La vie d’un vieux garcon/Barchelor’s Life; Marie mouri/Marie Has Died; Napoleon B. Fruge; Coulee Rodair/Rodair Creek; Les clefs de la prison/Keys to the Prison; Elise; Espere jusqu’a je finis de pleurer/Wait Till I Finish Crying; Waxia; Tu peux cogner/Keep A-Knockin’; Mazurka; Ramificajuns; Riviere de temps/River of Time.

– Brian Bloom
 

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