V/A
"Allons en Louisiane"
(Rounder Records)
Looking to get away from it all? Is the fall weather causing you to consider a quick trip south? Before you book that trip to Miami, check out "Allons en Louisiane," a CD ROM plus audio CD that provides you with a quaint guide to South Louisiana and a heaping helping of Cajun music and Zydeco! This handy collection provides you with dance instruction (soon you'll know the difference between the "Zydeco Running Man and the "Traveling Two-Step") as well as cooking tips (with recipes for Crawfish Etuoffe and Sauce Piquant). There's plenty of information regarding Mardi Gras (do you know the difference between Creole Mardi Gras and the Cajun variety?) and travel tips for hotspots in cities like Lafayette, Mamou, Eunice, Abbville and New Orleans. There's information on restaurants, dance clubs, Creole culture and a whole lot more. The music CD is a more than decent compilation of Louisiana artists like Boozo Chavis, D.L. Menard, Beausoliel and Gino Delafose. Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin' sing about the "Lake Charles Connection" while Al Berard & The Basin Brothers perform "Dans la Lousiane." For an introduction to Zydeco and Cajun music, this is a good place to start. Remember that Mardi Gras in New Orleans is just a small drunken tip of what Louisiana has to offer. Written and produced by Scott Billington, "Allons en Louisiane" is a fine overview of South Louisiana and its cultural offerings.
by Mitch Myers
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.