| Best Kept Secret | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2000 | |||
| Studio | Ultrasonic | |||
| Genre | Zydeco | |||
| Label | Rounder | |||
| Producer | Scott Billington | |||
| Chris Ardoin chronology | ||||
| ||||
Best Kept Secret is an album by the American musician Chris Ardoin, released in 2000. [1] [2] He is credited with his band, Double Clutchin'. [3] Ardoin supported the album with a North American tour. [4]
Recorded at Ultrasonic Studios, in New Orleans, the album was produced by Scott Billington. [5] [6] Sean Ardoin left the band prior to the recording sessions. [7] Chris Ardoin played rhythm and lead guitar, accordion, rubboard, and bass. [8] Ardoin wrote most of the album's songs. [7] "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a version of the song made famous by the Temptations. [9] "If It Makes You Happy" is a cover of the Sheryl Crow song. [10] "I Don't Want Nobody Here but You" was written by John Delafose. [11]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Age |  [9] |
| AllMusic |  [12] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [8] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |  [11] |
OffBeat wrote that, "track after track, the accordion whiz kid puts on the show, pumping out endless sequences of innovative and improvised riffs—flying up and down the scales while hammering out barrages of squealy high notes along the way." [13] The Orlando Sentinel determined that "Ardoin and rhythm guitarist Nat Fontenot lock their guitar parts as tightly as a couple of funk players who've been gigging together for decades." [8] Billboard said that "Ardoin's accordion is propulsive and imaginative; he attacks the rhythm line like a jazz soloist, but he never loses the zydeco groove." [6]
The Boston Globe noted that "unexpected pop salutes (a bit of George Michaels here, Bobby McFerrin there) play into the rhythmic jams." [14] Bass Player praised Curley Chapman's "tight, punchy tone and unfailing groove." [15] Keyboard stated that the "hybrid mixture blends the traditional elements of Cajun, zydeco, and Creole with contemporary elements." [16] The Herald-Sun listed Best Kept Secret among the best albums of 2000. [17]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Holdin' On" | |
| 2. | "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" | |
| 3. | "What You Got Down There? Part 2" | |
| 4. | "Best Kept Secret" | |
| 5. | "Hold That Tiger" | |
| 6. | "What's in That Bayou?" | |
| 7. | "Lyin' Cryin' and Tryin'" | |
| 8. | "If It Makes You Happy / It Just Ain't Right" | |
| 9. | "I Don't Want Nobody Here but You" | |
| 10. | "Storm Don't Last Long" | |
| 11. | "Get Gone" | |
| 12. | "Chris's Trail Ride" |
Zydeco is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles such as la la and juré, using the French accordion and a creole washboard instrument called the frottoir.
Stanley Dural Jr., better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music group was formally billed as Buckwheat Zydeco and Ils Sont Partis Band, but they often performed as merely Buckwheat Zydeco.
Chris Ardoin is a zydeco accordionist and singer. He is one of the young artists that helped form nouveau zydeco, a new style of music that fused traditional zydeco with various styles including hip-hop, reggae and R&B.
Just Before the Bullets Fly is a studio album by the Gregg Allman Band, released on Epic Records in 1988. The album peaked at number 117 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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John Irvin Delafose was an American French-speaking Creole Zydeco accordionist from Louisiana.
Turn the Page is an album by the American musician Chris Ardoin, released in 1998. His band, Double Clutchin'—which included his brother, Sean—is also credited. Ardoin was still a teenager when the album was recorded.
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Joe Hall is an American accordionist and vocalist who performs Creole la la, Cajun, and zydeco music.
Who Stole My Monkey? is an album by the American musician Boozoo Chavis, released in 1999. He is credited with his band, the Majic Sounds. Who Stole My Monkey? was the first zydeco album to include a Parental Advisory label. Chavis supported the album with a North American tour.
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