Dewey Balfa/Marc Savoy/D.L. Menard - En Bas Du Chene Vert (Under a Green Oak Tree) (CD)

All Music Guide

This recording session took place after a successful series of concerts combining these three legends of Cajun music. That they were able to fit together so wonderfully is really no surprise in the world of folk music or any other kind of collaborative art form. But the actual reality of it what the listener hears when dropping the needle on the record is a whole other world apart from aesthetic philosophy. This is simply gorgeous music, credit going not only to the musicians but to the sympathetic production. One of the best songs on the album, "The Old Drunk and His Wife," was apparently inspired by the producer coming up with a bottle of tequila at just the right moment, yet another example of Chris Strachwitz's many contributions to the world of music. Fiddler Dewey Balfa is a player supreme, his tone having all the lingering attack of an elephant garlic clove. Nicknamed the Cajun Hank Williams, D.L. Menard is a formidable singer and songwriter who has contributed quite a few num...bers to the standard Cajun repertoire, three of which are included here. The junior member of the group, Marc Savoy is heard on the special and delightful Acadian button accordion as well as fiddle. Looking for that first Cajun recording for a collection? This is a great choice. - Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide Read more Less