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Pine Leaf Boys: 2008 CD
Hommage au Passé
The Pine Leaf Boys’
second Grammy-nominated CD, Hommage au
Passé,
is, as the title says, a tribute to some of
the great music from the Cajun tradition
performed by a young band that can make the
past present. In addition, the CD also makes
a contribution to the tradition with
original songs that recapture the past,
especially the energy and feeling that give
Cajun music its enduring vitality.
Among the Cajun
classics on the CD are Adam Hebert’s
“Country Playboy Special,” a lively,
irresitible two-step that has filled dance
floors for decades; Iry LeJeune’s “J’ai
fait une grosse erreur,” one of the most
popular waltzes in the Cajun repertoire
(with a melody borrowed from Hank Williams’
“I Can’t Help It If I’m Still in Love with
You”); “Je cherche tout partout” by Eunice
fiddler Wallace “Cheese” Read; “Le Delaysay”
(abandoned one) from Vin Bruce, the King of
Cajun Soul; and Belton Richard’s “I’ll
Always Take Care of You” (translated by
Belton into French from Webb Pierce’s song).
The latter three are sung by Drew Simon.
Drew also sings his own composition, “Je
veux rester avec toi,” which channels all of
the frustrated desire from past Cajuns songs
into more loneliness and heartbreak.
Hommage au Passé
is the first Pine Leaf Boys CD featuring
fiddler Courtney Granger, great-nephew of
Dewey Balfa. Courtney has lead vocals on one
of the most joyous of all Cajun songs, Dewey
Balfa’s “Parlez nous
à
boire,” and he sings “Newport Waltz,”
another song by his uncle, commemorating the
legendary performance by Dewey and other
Cajun musicians at the 1964 Newport Folk
Festival. Courtney expresses his own
appreciation for a celebrated Lafayette
music festival in his song “Le Two Step des
Festivals Acadiens.”
Accordionist Wilson
Savoy contributes three original songs:
“T’es pas la même,”
a sad but lovely song about the way people
change; “J’suis gone pour me saouler,” to a
tune recorded by other bands as “Old
Pipeliner”; and “Catin, catin,” with
original lyrics accompanied by melodies
inspired by Aldus Roger’s “Hicks Wagon Wheel
Special” and Octa Clark’s “Freight Train
Blues.”
The CD is the Pine Leaf
Boys’ first release through
Lionsgate Music and Publishing. The CD
was available as a download in late 2008 and
released in CD format in early 2009.
Click here to go to
the Pine Leaf Boys Official Web site.
Click here for LSUE's first page on the Pine
Leaf Boys.
The photos on this page were taken at the
2008 Festivals Acadiens et Créoles
in Lafayette.
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