Nathan Abshire & the Pine Grove Boys – French Blues / Arhoolie CD-373

Description

CD 373

Nathan Abshire — accordion & vocals with the Pine Grove Boys (including Dewey Balfa on several cuts) who became one of the most popular Cajun bands in the 1950s. These their first recordings were made for Khoury Records at KPLC in Lake Charles La. and included the original 1949 version of their hit “Pine Grove Blues.”

1. Pine Grove Blues (1)
2. Kaplan Waltz
3. French Blues (Je M’emdor)
4. New Orleans Waltz
5. Pine Grove Boogie
6. Hathaway Waltz
7. Step It Fast
8. Jolie Petite Juilette
9. Choupique Two Step
10. La Valse De Belezere
11. Pine Grove Blues (2)
12. La Valse De Holly Beach
13. Iota Two Step
14. La Valse De Bayou Teche
15. Musical Five Special
16. Avalon Waltz
17. Tee Per Coine (Keep A’knockingBut You C
18. The New Jolie Blon
19. Point De Lou Two-Step
20. Texas Waltz
21. Lu Lu Boogie
22. Carolina Blues
23. Shamrock Waltz
24. Mama Rosin
25. L.S.U. French Waltz
26. Crying Pine Grove Blues
27. Red Rock Waltz
28. Cannon Ball Special

REVIEWS

“Nathan Abshire’s standing as a seminal Cajun accordeonist ranks with Dewey Balfa’s to the fiddle. French Blues brings together 28 cuts originally issued as 78s from 1949 onwards and lasts a whopping 78 minutes. Despite Arhoolie’s best efforts on the noise reduction front the dense soupy sound will not please the hi-fi perfectionist who is advised to sod off and listen to Dire Straits albums instead. This is wonderful. Songs are attacked with real fire and a glorious sense of indiscipline extending to off-mike asides and uninhibited yells and the beery assault on Jolie Blonde is matchless. Abshire’s playing is great throughout his singing raucous and soulful and his individualistic marriage of bluesy influences with the Cajun sound flavours the hit Pine Grove Blues the pure R&B of Lu Lu Boogie and the real crossover track Valse De Bayou Tech. There’s a distinctly Latin rhythm to Mama Rosin and a jolt for the musicologist when this unsophisticated bunch slip easily between five and four beats to a bar on Musical Five Special. Essential Abshire.”

(Brian Peters — Folk Roots)

“From the first swirling drone and the cry `Ya Let’s Go’ every Cajun fan will know exactly what to expect from this exemplary release by an exemplary performer; they introduce one of the most famous recordings in the post war scene. Nathan cut `Pine Grove Blues’ many times but this one cut for the Khoury’s label in 1949 is the hit version. Khoury’s wasn’t RCA (thank God!) and these recordings will never earn the description of high fidelity but like the Junior Kimborough disc reviewed in our last issue they’ve got the feel; this is the real thing. I get the impression that Nathan played it all one way (bluesy) and radio studio and dance hall were all the same to him. The fiddles saw away over the buzz of the accordion while the muffled drummer keeps strict but draggy time for a waltz or two-step and the steel player stabs in and out where he can. Don’t be misled though; there is nothing depressing about this music the (all French) vocals are exuberant and the whole is designed to induce the desire the need to dance – all night!

A couple of the tunes stem straight from old timey music: `La Valse De Belezere’ uses `Farther Along’ and `Carolina Blues’ is `Deep Elm Blues’ while `Tee Per Coine’ is `Keep A Knockin’! -the fourteen year old Yvonne Le Blanc sings the bouncy `Mama Rosin.’ Playing time is up above 78 minutes the notes are fascinating and the music totally captivating. In short: no Cajun collection should be without this disc.”

(Keith Briggs — Blues and Rhythm)