Across the Parish Line
In "You Should Know Your Way By Now" this Louisiana firebrand explains his music's complex, pan-cultural roots, sprung from the African, French, Portuguese, and Caribbean settlers of his homeland. Likewise, this album reflects many of the silk-voiced singer-accordionist's own musical interests, influences, and associations. These 15 tunes embrace the stark traditionalism of "You Used to Call Me"--a primal 21-year-old performance with Paul Simon lending guest vocals to its delightfully creaky rub board, squeezebox, bass and drums arrangement--as well as the balladic majesty of Simien's duet with Marcia Ball on Willie Nelson's "You Were Always on My Mind" and the spunky world-music turntablist bent of the mix track "Ta Pa Gonne Avec Ça." All that plus collaborations with Los Lobos's David Hidalgo and the Band's Rick Danko and Garth Hudson cements Simien's standing as the most creative, diverse musician in modern zydeco. But what ultimately makes this album a winner is the beauty of the songs that are driven purely by Simien's sweet flexible voice. His interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Mississippi" and Randy Newman's "Louisiana"--songs of loss and disaster that take on new resonance after Hurricane Katrina--are absolutely angelic.--Ted Drozdowski