The story goes like this: Mama Rosin and HipboneSlim and the Kneetremblers met in France while performing at a blues festival’s
Voodoo Rhythm jam stage. You can’t
really say the rest is history because there was no history until this release,
Louisiana Sun, came out. Mama Rosin together with Hipbone Slim and the
Kneetremblers. If you are familiar with
the two bands, your reaction was probably a lot like mine. “What?”
Mama Rosin is Cajun from Switzerland. Hipbone is rockabilly from London. Both bands are terrific in their own right,
but when you first think of their sound combined … well, it’s not exactly
peanut butter and chocolate. Then you
hear “Voodoo Walking” and think, “Okay, this is going to work.”
The two bands complement each other so well that it
sounds like a brand new musical entity, though you can hear elements of the
bands in each song. If you are familiar
with the bands, you can’t help but be a little mystified by it all. If you never heard either band before, you’d
be hard-pressed to figure out where one band begins and the other ends. It sounds like one cohesive unit of musicians
who have been playing together for years.
There are a dozen songs to choose from here. Not a single one is over three-and-a-half
minutes long. Not a single one is a
disappointment, unless you don’t like this type of music. I’m a fan of Cajun and rockabilly done
Voodoo-style, however. Foreigners once
again prove they can do our music better than ourselves. They still believe there’s magic in it,
something that was beat out of our musicians in the ‘80s. And for you surf fanatics, the title track is
a take on “California Sun.” You know the
song. It’s been in about 800
commercials. It sounds better here.
Another brilliant release from Voodoo Rhythm.
Mandatory FTC Disclaimer: I DID receive this CD to review, and clicking on a link=commission.
Mandatory FTC Disclaimer: I DID receive this CD to review, and clicking on a link=commission.