Chuck Guillory, Grand Texas, and: Wade Frugé, Old Style Cajun Music (review)

music recor· Reviewed by GavinJames Campbell, Music Editor Chuck Guillory, Grand Texas Arhoolie, 1998 cd 473, $15.00 Wade Frugé, Old Style Cajun Music Arhoolie, 1998 cd 476, $15.00 Though born in the same state within only three years of each other, Chuck Guillory and Wade Frugé reflect two very different genres within Cajun music. Following World War II Chuck Guillory formed the Rhythm Boys, which blended the Cajun tunes he learned from his fiddling father, western swing, and country. (The legendary country-western singer GeorgeJones worked for the Rhythm Boys for six months.) The new cd from Guillory covers the Rhythm Boys' wide-ranging musical interests , including old classics like "Jolie Blonde," two versions ofGuillory's signature piece "Grand Texas," and steel-guitar-backed country with a distinctive Cajun twist. Guillory's smooth bow and die vocals of Preston Manuel give the music a jovial, relaxed feeling, and the band's infectious yells take the songs out of the recording studio and onto the dance floor. The tide ofWade Frugé's OldStyle Cajun Music neady summarizes its contents. This re-issue of a 1989 lp includes an additional ten selections not previously released that were recorded at various house parties. Assisted by Cajun standouts Marc and Ann Savoy and by singer and drummer Vorance Barzas, Frugé includes tunes learned from his father and grandfather, as well as pieces influenced by black fiddlers Frugé heard. Less fluid than Guillory and less influenced by country music, Frugé plays what he laughingly called the "yokedy yokedy" style ofold-time Cajun fiddlingwith numerous elegant grace notes. In addition to Frugé's fiddling, die cd highlights the singing of Barzas, whose high-wailing tenor on songs like "La Valse de Choupique" goes to the very heart of the old Cajun sound. Reviews 113 ...