Where There's Smoke There's Fire

AMG Review of Where There's Smoke There's Fire

Adam Greenberg
All Music Guide

A great album of zydeco party anthems (and others) from Buckwheat Zydeco, the heir apparent in zydeco after the death of Clifton Chenier. This album features a number of Buckwheat's (Stanley Dural's) compositions, along with covers of a few standards from other genres, most notably "Route 66," Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin," and the Stones' "Beast of Burden." Aside from the more heartfelt "Beast of Burden," the album is generally packed with danceable groove-laden zydeco, complete with horn arrangements and a blasting accordion solo. This is superior in many ways to the music of Chenier (though, of course, he's a worthy listen as well), due to its generally happier mood and quicker, more emphasized beats and basslines. One last noteworthy item on the album: to finish off the set, Dural shows off some versatility by sitting at the piano and punching out one of the most complex lues solo piano standards in existence with "It's Getting Late." A must have for any zydeco fan, and a should have for anyone with a pulse.