| Too Much Fun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Studio | Ardent | |||
| Genre | Zydeco | |||
| Label | Alligator | |||
| Producer | C. J. Chenier, Bruce Iglauer | |||
| C. J. Chenier chronology | ||||
| ||||
Too Much Fun is an album by the American musician C. J. Chenier, released in 1995. [1] [2] He is credited with his backing band, the Red Hot Louisiana Band. [3] It was his first album for Alligator Records. [4] Chenier supported it with a North American tour. [5] The first single was "Man Smart, Woman Smarter". [6]
The album was produced by Chenier and Bruce Iglauer. [6] It was recorded over a week, the longest amount of time that Chenier had spent working on an album; his main concern was ensuring that all the songs sounded different, rather than employing the same zydeco tempo. [7] Chenier played alto saxophone as well as accordion. [8] The Memphis Horns and Vasti Jackson contributed to the album. [9] [10] "Zydeco Cha Cha", "Louisiana Two Step", and "You Used to Call Me" were written by Chenier's father, Clifton. [11] "Down Home Blues" is a cover of the song made famous by Z. Z. Hill. [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [12] |
| The Associated Press | [13] |
| Blade-Citizen | B+ [14] |
| MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide | [15] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [16] |
The Washington Post wrote that the album is "an arousing example of how zydeco's polyrhythms can benefit from the ballad conventions and horn charts of Memphis soul." [10] The Telegram & Gazette said that "Chenier's singing is as impressive as the band's playing, with his voice carrying the rich resonance of a pure bluesman." [17] The Chicago Tribune concluded that "much of the music comes off as zydeco-peppered blues rather than freshly- seasoned zydeco." [18]
The Record determined that "Chenier's flamboyant accordion-playing is complemented by his smooth, soulful baritone voice and a superb backing band." [19] The Journal & Courier opined that the "reigning crown prince of zydeco delivers the instant party record of the season." [20] The Associated Press stated that Too Much Fun "works better than most studio zydeco albums." [13]
AllMusic noted that "it would be unthinkable in the zydeco tradition to have too much fun without dancing being on the agenda, so dance tunes rule the record." [12]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" | |
| 2. | "Bad Luck" | |
| 3. | "Richest Man" | |
| 4. | "Too Much Fun" | |
| 5. | "Give Me Some of That" | |
| 6. | "Louisiana Down Home Blues" | |
| 7. | "Zydeco Cha Cha" | |
| 8. | "Lost in the Shuffle" | |
| 9. | "Got You on My Mind" | |
| 10. | "Squeaky Wheel" | |
| 11. | "I'm Not Guilty" | |
| 12. | "You Used to Call Me" | |
| 13. | "Louisiana Two Step" |
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.
Clifton Chenier, was an American musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983.
Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis was an American accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was one of the pioneers of zydeco, the fusion of Louisiana Creole and blues music developed in southwest Louisiana.
Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the Living Blues magazine in Chicago in 1970.
Lonnie Brooks was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in Rolling Stone, stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, brimming with novel harmonic turnarounds, committed vocals and simply astonishing guitar work." Jon Pareles, a music critic for the New York Times, wrote, "He sings in a rowdy baritone, sliding and rasping in songs that celebrate lust, fulfilled and unfulfilled; his guitar solos are pointed and unhurried, with a tone that slices cleanly across the beat. Wearing a cowboy hat, he looks like the embodiment of a good-time bluesman." Howard Reich, a music critic for the Chicago Tribune, wrote, "...the music that thundered from Brooks' instrument and voice...shook the room. His sound was so huge and delivery so ferocious as to make everything alongside him seem a little smaller."
Bruce Iglauer is an American businessman and record producer who founded Alligator Records as an independent record label featuring blues music.
C. J. Chenier is the Creole son of the Grammy Award-winning "King of Zydeco", Louisiana musician, Clifton Chenier. In 1987, Chenier followed in his father's footsteps and led his father's band as an accordion performer and singer of zydeco, a blend of cajun and creole music. With five previous albums to his credit, by 1994, Chenier began to record for Chicago-based Alligator Records.
Cornelius Green III, known professionally as Lonesome Sundown, was an American blues musician, best known for his swamp blues recordings for Excello Records in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Nathan Williams Sr. is an American zydeco accordionist, singer and songwriter. He established his band Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas in 1985.
Louisiana Music is an album by the zydeco musician Rockin' Dopsie, released in 1991. His major label debut, it was also his final album.
Boogie Woogie Zydeco is an album by the American zydeco band Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, released in 1991. The album was part of the zydeco revival of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was noted for its especially fast tempos and rock elements.
Hot Rod is an album by the American musician C.J. Chenier, released in 1990. He is credited with the Red Hot Louisiana Band. Although Chenier grew up listening primarily to R&B, he considered Hot Rod to be a traditional zydeco album.
There's Room for Us All is the second album by the American musician Terrance Simien, released in 1993. It was recorded with Simien's band, the Mallet Playboys. Simien supported the album with a North American tour.
Follow Me Chicken is an album by the American musician Nathan Williams, released in 1993. He is credited with his band, the Zydeco Cha Chas.
Boozoo Chavis is an album by the American musician Boozoo Chavis, released in 1991. It was part of the Elektra/Nonesuch American Explorer series. The album was the culmination of a comeback for Chavis that had begun in 1984. Chavis supported the album by playing the Newport Folk Festival.
In the Shadow of the City is an album by the American musician Maurice John Vaughn, released in 1993. Vaughn supported the album with a North American tour. "(Everything I Do) Got to Be Funky", which was a minor, regional radio hit, appears on the soundtrack to Major League II.
Where There's Smoke There's Fire is an album by the American musician Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 1990. Zydeco and his band, Ils Sont Partis, supported the album with a North American tour. The album peaked at No. 140 on the Billboard 200.
I'm Here! is an album by the American musician Clifton Chenier. It was released in 1982 via Alligator Records. Alligator licensed the album in the hope that label head Bruce Iglauer could produce the follow-up. Chenier is credited with His Red Hot Louisiana Band. The album was reissued in 1993.
No Foolin'! is an album by the American musician Katie Webster, released in 1991. It was her third album for Alligator Records, and her final studio album before her stroke. Webster supported the album with a North American tour.