Happytown
Updating a traditional music form is a perilous task, and more often than not the soul of the older style is lost in the attempt.Happytown, a CD by accordionist Steve Riley and his band the Mamou Playboys, is a textbook example of how to use modern studio techniques like sampling and drum loops and still maintain a distinctly Cajun feel. The first two tracks, the instrumental "Creole Stomp" and "Big Boy Waltz," which is sung in French by Riley, prove they can play rollicking, old-style Cajun music that would set the feet of the staunchest traditional tapping. But by the third track, the spooky, slide-guitar-drenched murder ballad "Gros Jean/Big John," Riley and his companions are off on an exploration of new sonic territories. Selections such as "Seems to Me," which features heavily processed vocals and a sample taken from an Alan Lomax field recording, and "Pointe aux Chênes," a pungent piece of swamp rock, show that in the hands of skillful musicians like the Mamou Playboys an adventurous musical spirit doesn't need to cancel out a respect for tradition.--Michael Simmons