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1942 - THE RED STICK RAMBLERS - Made In the Shade (2007)

RED STICK RAMBLERS ''MADE IN THE SHADE'' SEP 2007 49:39 SUGAR HILL 1/Made in the Shade Linzay Young/2:31 2/Evenin' Mitchell Parish/3:20 3/Les Oiseaux Vont Chanter Eric Frey / Linzay Young/3:26 4/The Cowboy Song Chas Justus / Linzay Young/3:26 5/Katrina Eric Frey / Linzay Young/3:08 6/Don't Cry, Baby Stella Unger/3:20 7/Laisse Les Cajuns Danser Belton Richard/2:21 8/Hot Tamale Baby Clifton Chenier/4:37 9/Some of These Days Shelton Brooks/3:33 10/Tes Parents Ne Veulent Plus Me Voir (Your Parents Don't Want to See Me) Canray Fontenot/6:34 11/Unsentimental Chas Justus/3:38 12/The Smeckled Suite Chas Justus/9:45 Glenn Fields /Drums Eric Frey /Bass, Guitar (Bass), Vocals Chas Justus /Guitar, Vocals Blake Miller /Accordion Blake Miller /Piano Dirk Powell /Guest Artist, Guitar (Acoustic), Piano, Producer Wilson Savoy /Guest Artist, Piano Chris Stafford /Guest Artist, Guitar (Electric) Kevin Wimmer /Fiddle, Vocals Linzay Young /Fiddle, Vocals REVIEW by Steve Leggett Louisiana's Red Stick Ramblers, led by the twin fiddle attack of Kevin Wimmer and Linzay Young, are a versatile little modern string band as likely to burst into some Hot Club jazz as they are to update some classic Cajun 2-step into a chooglin' bit of swamp blues. On Made in the Shade, their fourth album and first for Sugar Hill Records, they do both of these things and more, employing everything from flamenco to Creole strains in their musical gumbo, a mix the band calls "Cajun gypsy swing." Warmly recorded (Dirk Powell handled most of the production work) and full of an easy, joyous ambiance, Made in the Shade's 12 tracks show a band that is at once traditional and experimental (often within the same song) and expert at fusing the two without sounding like they've created some sort of 2-step Frankenwaltz in the process. From the first track, the title tune "Made in the Shade," a gliding, easy rolling account of distilling corn mash, to the final one, "The Smeckled Suite," an Eastern-sounding flamenco tango jazz stew, the Ramblers deliver a delightful set of swamp-tinged vernacular roots music. Other highlights include a loose-as-a-goose Cajun blues called "Katrina" (named after the 2005 late summer storm that nearly wiped New Orleans off the map), a cover of Bob Wills' "Don't Cry, Baby," and a rollicking version of Clifton Chenier's classic zydeco stomp "Hot Tamale Baby." A wonderful album by a wonderful band.

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