Search - :: Gaga For Yaya: Zydeco Madness

With iconic cover art and a title that refers to novelist Rebecca Wells's Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, this 14-song collection reaches into zydeco's roots via Buckwheat Zydeco covering Clifton Chenier's "Hot Tamale Baby" and extends forward to catch rising stars like Geno Delafose at their best. Gaga for Ya-Ya distinguishes itself also by including a host of tunes that survey the zydeco landscape of styles. Sweet, vintage R&B touches make Terrance Simien's "May Your Music Live On" an emotional pillow for the ears, just as Cajun maestro Danny Collet's "Juke Box Songs" takes the Dixie Cups' bright cheer and speeds it up to foot-stomping speeds. Delafose offers yet another, rootsier acoustic revision of zydeco's R&B-angled progress after the 1970s. And then there's Beau Jocque's uncontainable party-anthem run-through on "Tequila," rife with extralyrical shouts and howls. As always with releases on the esteemed Winter & Winter label, this also comes in a great package that emulates a hardbound book. --Andrew Bartlett