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Music CD - The Balfa Brothers: The Balfa Brothers Play Traditional Cajun Music, Vols. 1-2
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Music CD: The Balfa Brothers Play Traditional Cajun Music, Vols. 1-2
Artist: The Balfa Brothers
List Price: $16.98
Our Price: $11.57
Your Save: $ 5.41 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Swallow Records
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Tracks:
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1. 'Tit Galop pour Mamou
2. Je Suis Orphelin
3. T'En as Eu, T'En Auras Plus
4. Two Step de l'Anse à Paille
5. Danse de Mardi Gras
6. Je Me Suis Marillié
7. Enterre-Moi Pas
8. Chère Joues Roses
9. Chère Bassette
10. J'Ai Passé Devant Ta Porte
11. Flammes d'Enfer
12. Madeleine
13. Valse du Bambocheur
14. Lacassine Special
15. My True Love
16. Valse de Grand Bois
17. Family Waltz
18. Newport Waltz
19. Indian on a Stomp
20. T'Es Petite et T'Es Mignonne
21. Two Step a Hadley
22. Valse de Balfa
23. Parlez-Nous à Boire
24. Blues du Cadien
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0046346601129
Label: Swallow Records
Manufacturer: Swallow Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Swallow Records
Release Date: 1994-03-22
Studio: Swallow Records
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Balfa Brothers Play Traditional Cajun Music Vols. 1-2
Comment: This is the Best of the best. I listen to it daily and never get tired of it. Classic but holds up well against anything modern. Blows all other Cajun CD's away by a mile!
Customer Rating:
Summary: music from film southern comfort
Comment: This is the album which features the haunting tracks from the film southern comfort,played in the cajun village toward the end of the movie. its a superb introduction to cajun music in general.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Essential!
Comment: No fan or student of Cajun music or folk/traditional music in general should be without this essential album. Every song here is a classic in the Cajun repertoire, and is presented in true Balfa Brothers form: outstanding! The liner notes include all the song lyrics in Cajun French and English. If you don't own this album, you really have no excuse. Buy it now!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Essential, Haunting and makes you want to move...
Comment: I grew up in Mamou, Louisiana and went to grade school with Dewey's nephew, Tony. So, I think I might have some credentials in reviewing this album. Out of all the Cajun music I have in my collection, this CD gets played more than all the others combined. And that includes Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, headed by a guy closer to my age and from my hometown. Granted, the Balfa's were also from the Mamou area (closer to Basile). Steve Riley learned from Dewey Balfa, for one thing, and as good as he is, will never be able to capture that something special that was the Balfa Brothers.
I think, primarily, the Balfa Brothers captured the sound of an era that was in its twilight. Everything since will always be different (read: more modern) mainly because of the cultural changes and secondly because of the technological advances in music.
In the 60's and 70's, the revival of Folk music also awakened those of us growing up in culturally rich places such as Mamou. Cajun music became "cool" again against the backdrop of great music from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John and others of that time. People started flooding into places like Fred's Lounge to hear the music in public again instead of just at house parties.
It is the pureness, the simplicity (but certainly not simplistic - just ask the many very good musicians who have struggled to learn these riffs), the raw emotion and most of all the sheer beauty of the music that stands out. The twin fiddling, the truly distinctive vocals (with some nasal tone absolutely necessary for Cajun sound), the haunting waltzes and the "joy-in-your-heart" upbeat tempos all lead to a musical experience hard to explain or exceed.
You almost have to be from Acadiana to really understand what I mean, but I think if you find that you love Cajun music, you do understand. When I hear these songs now, I'm carried back to my youth. Not just for nostalgia, but because it is such strong and meaningful music. It has become part of the soundtrack of my life. Thank goodness for that!
For anyone looking for something even more raw and unpolished, but very good, I can wholeheartedly recommend a compilation called Folksongs of the Louisiana Acadians. Let me emphasize again, it is very unpolished, but if you love Folk and particularly Cajun music, it is very good. I also may be a little biased, since it includes a few songs with my grandfather, Isom J. Fontenot playing a very unique harmonica style, possibly never duplicated.
This might be old and cliche', but it's about the only Cajun French phrase I actually know... Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouller!
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Important Albums In Cajun Music
Comment: Leave your Wayne Toups discs at the door. If he is what you call Cajun music, you've got it all wrong. Being Cajun, I don't like it when people get artists like Toups confused with real, traditional Cajun music. I'm not bashing Toups. As a matter of fact, I quite enjoy his music. But most people outside of Louisiana think he's the real thing. The Balfa Brothers are REAL Cajun music. They play traditional and cherished songs of the Cajun people of Louisiana. Their recordings are crucial since most of the artists before them never made it into a recording studio. If you are Cajun, or have ties back to Louisiana, I highly suggest you get this recording if, for no other reason, to have a piece of your culture in your possession.
Go out and enjoy Wayne Toups and some of the new, peppier stuff that mixes zydeco and Cajun, but always remember that the Balfa's laid the ground work.
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