Floyd Soileau's Ville Platte, Louisiana-based Maison de Soul label has been cranking out a lot of fair-to-middling zydeco, and
Zesty Zydeco is another effort that fails to rise from the pack. That's too bad, because as one of few female zydeco singers,
Rosie Ledet has potential to stand out. There are two terrific songs on this disc: "Casino Nights" (a catchy little tune in which she warns her man that he'll lose her love as well as his money if he keeps going out to play the slot machines instead of staying home with her) and "I'm Gonna Take Care of Your Dog" (a deliciously sexy song about a "pussycat" who threatens to steal another woman's "dog" that keeps coming into her yard). More than any other music in America, zydeco remains a family affair, and her band consists mostly of other Ledets. Zydeco is a simple music form -- that's part of its charm -- but the same pentatonic ostinatos played over and over on the accordion become monotonous over the length of this CD. ~ Steve Hoffman