Squeezebox Boogie is among the late-'90s CDs that came from Just a Memory's Collectors Classics series, which also gave us blues titles by
Muddy Waters, the Reverend Gary Davis,
James Cotton, and the
Sonny Terry/
Brownie McGhee team. Collectors Classics is an appropriate name for the series, for it was aimed at serious collectors rather than casual listeners.
Squeezebox Boogie isn't meant to serve as an introduction to the talents of
Clifton Chenier, but seasoned fans will find a lot to admire about this rare recording made in August 1978 at the long gone Rising Sun Club in Montreal. True to form, the bilingual Louisiana singer excels as a bluesman on "I'm a Hog for You," "Bon Ton Roulet," and
B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby," but is equally impressive as a zydeco artist on "Zydeco Cha Cha" and his familiar "Joli Blonde." Also quite infectious is
Chenier's blues/jazz/zydeco interpretation of the Glenn Miller smash "In the Mood." The sound quality is fine; those who complained about the sound quality and distorted vocals on
Muddy Waters' Hoochie Coochie Man (another Collectors Classics title recorded at the Rising Sun Club in the late '70s) will find that the sound is much cleaner and sharper on this CD. Although not for novices,
Squeezebox Boogie is easily recommended to seasoned
Chenier fans. ~ Alex Henderson