Once again I want to talk about someone I discussed a few blog posts ago, since I found another great album by him and his band. I’m talking about Rockin Dopsie, Jr & And the Zydeco Twisters. The album is called “Zydeco Man” (2008). I will try a new kind of blog post, where I will explain a bit what I think about each song from the album and then give every song a rating, between 1 and 5 “Chewchips” or “CCs”and then the album as a whole.
Zydeco Man
The album consists of 13 songs, both fast ones and slow ones. Also, there’s quite a few different styles between each track. I’m not talking about genres here, since that’s something else. I’m talking about how the instruments are played.
The Ratings – Track 1 – 13
Track 1 – I’m The Zydeco Man
A fast and captivating rhythm which makes you feel like you want to get up and dance. 5/5
Track 2 – Jambalaya
The intro is a bit slow, but then it gets faster and the song gets even better due to the steady rhythm. Also a sudden end and no fade-out, which raises the rating a bit. 4/5
Track 3 – Lucille
Neither a fast song nor a slow song, but it’s okay. A lovely saxophone solo in the middle of the song. 3/5
Track 4 – Aye Tete Fee
A relatively fast track with a call and response part throughout the song between the vocalist and a choir, singing the title as well as other words and sentences. 4/5
Track 5 – Party Down
The thing that makes this song so special and great is the fact that a wah-wah pedal is used in the intro as well as the rest of the song, or something like that. Also, the vocals combined with how the instruments are played together at 0:42 onwards up to 1:01. That “Get down” singing and how he sings with his mouth at 0:56 is awesome! It’s an essential part of the song for making it a fantastic one. 5/5
Track 6 – Ooh Poo Pa Doo
The intro is a bit strange. No instruments at all. Only a desperate call and response between the singer and a choir makes you curious of how the rest of the song might sound like and at 0:22 everything, including the instruments, starts off with only the vocalist singing “I wanna tell you ’bout an Ooh Poo Pa Doo” and as soon as he hits the “Doo” all instruments starts playing at the same time. 5/5
Track 7 – Keep a Knockin’
Nothing special to write about this track, other than it’s a great one. A fast one. I like the accordion and washboard sooo much in this song. 5/5
Track 8 – Bad Luck And Trouble
It’s a very slow blues song, but it’s not a bad one! There’s a lovely organ solo at around 2:23 that I love so much. The song is over 7 minutes and then you might think it could be boring to listen to it, since nothing might happen in it. But actually there’s ALOT of solos and such things happening. 5/5
Track 9 – Show Me How To Zydeco
Another song you feel like you want to get up and dance to. 5/5
Track 10 – Tell Me Why
The rhythm here in this song also makes you want to get up and dance. Let’s Zydeco! 5/5
Track 11 – Bring Back the Old Time Zydeco
This is actually the only song from the album that I don’t like very much. It’s a happy one though, but it’s not my style. It’s okay. But some great solos. 3/5
Track 12 – How Sweet It Is
This is an unexpected song for this album. If you listen to all the previous songs mentioned above, you might wonder “What is this? Is it another album I’m listening to now?”. Actually, it feels like you’ve picked a song from the 1960s. But it’s actually one of my favorite ones from this album. 5/5
Track 13 – Listen to the Music
According to the title of the track it says you should listen to the music. Is it the previous tracks he means or just music in general? However, it’s an excellent last song for the album. It feels like I’m listening to a country song/folk song or similar though, but that doesn’t matter, since I’m having fun and enjoying it very much.
Rating – The album as a whole
If you listen to the whole album from top to bottom, track 1-13, either shuffling or not, you might discover (in my opinion) that there’s alot of different genres and styles. It’s an excellent mix of songs. Despite the fact that I gave a few songs only 3/5 in rating I will give this album 5/5.