Various Artists – Boppin’ by the Bayou Again

Ace’s second collection of swinging rockabilly and Cajun rock & roll from the depths of southern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, Boppin’ by the Bayou Again maintains the high standards of its 2012 predecessor. A good chunk of these 28 songs is unreleased — 12 songs, to be precise, all coming from the vaults of J.D. Miller and Eddie Shuler — and the rest popped up on such regional imprints as Crazy Cajun, Hilton, Zynn, Hammond, Goldband, and Pel. Apart from Rusty Kershaw and Mickey Gilley (and perhaps Al Ferrier), there are no big names here (some performers remain a mystery to history), nor were any of these songs subjected to popularity through latter-day covers, either. This music was about a specific moment — specifically, the music made in the wake of Elvis Presley and before the British Invasion — and the songs live in that specific moment, still capturing that backwoods hillbilly boogie and swing. With their reverb twang still echoing, these sides still sound alive and jumping. Much of this rock & roll and hyper-kinetic Cajun music wound up morphing into stomping swamp pop a few years down the line, and what’s appealing about the music on Boppin’ by the Bayou Again is its primitive nature. These cats still had one foot in the Cajun woods but were enraptured by rock & roll, and there’s a joy to be had hearing the joy they have making noise.   Stephen Thomas Erlewine