Who Stole My Monkey?

Album Review

Boozoo Chavis continued to roll on, pumping out joyous zydeco music on this session recorded in September 1998. With a relaxed feel to everything here, Chavis turns out 16 classic examples of the form minus the commercial overlay found on most modern zydeco records. With his regular working band, the Majic Sounds, following every quirky move of his irregular time and meter, Boozoo lays down tunes just like he was working a dance in Louisiana rather than making a record in the sterile confines of a recording studio. As a result, the time gets constantly shifted on and off the beat on several tunes ("Bottle Up and Go" is a classic example of this, at times sounding like there are two different takes of the same song being played simultaneously), an odd byproduct of what is, after all, dance music. But the overall result is amazing, capturing the good-time feel that is at the heart of Chavis' music. Highlights include "Dance All Night," "I'm Going Away to Stay," "Lucille," "Baby Please Don't Go," "Valse de Derniere Fois," and the title track. Rubboard player Charles Chavis takes the vocals on "Marksville Slide" and "Sock It to Me," and Boozoo finishes off the album with recut versions of both sides of his X-rated single, "Deacon Jones" and "Uncle Bud," two tracks not for the weak of heart or the prudish.