ALBUM REVIEWS - PILETTE BREAKDOWN

New Orleans, LA, Dan Gilbert, January 2004 Lost Bayou Ramblers - Pilette Breakdown - Swallow Records Last month you heard me rave about Cajun/western swing kings the Red Stick Ramblers; now it's time for another higher-than-hell recommendation from the wilds of Acadiana, the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Led by brothers Louis and Andre Michot on fiddle and accordion respectively (Andre also plays one of the meanest lap steel guitars you'll ever hear!), the Ramblers don't just play music in a French style; they dwell within its very essence. With a natural talent and raw youthful energy that bring to mind the brilliant irreverence of Gulf Coast pioneers like fiddler Harry Choates and accordionist Lawrence Walker (both of whom are appropriately interpreted here), it's no surprise that the Ramblers' similarity to their heroes transcends musicality and moves firmly into the spiritual realm. Like Choates and Walker - not to mention string bands such as Leo Soileau's Aces and the Rayne-Bo Ramblers - the Michot brothers perfectly embody the transition of French music from the "house dance" style of the 1920s into the dancehall era of the 1950s. Unlike many of the current Cajun bands who try to give their traditional roots a rock veneer, their stripped-to-the-core style swings and rocks with that rare rustic verve that sparked magic on many of the greatest post-war Cajun recordings which, in actuality, were rock 'n' roll without trying to be in the same way that Hank Williams and Louis Jordan were. Like their recent self-released CD Un 'Tit Gout, Pilette Breakdown was recorded at the band's fishing camp in Milton, Louisiana, with the exception of two great live cuts; Choates' "Louisiana Boogie Woogie" and their showstopper medley of "O Bye" and "Bluerunner." The result, of course, is yet another awesome effort from the boys from Lafayette.

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