Blues Revue Magazine June 2001
Call it party zydeco sunburned black, barefoot and drunk on cheap beer. Sure, zydeco is meant to move your feet in the first place, but this half-live, half-studio disc takes it to the next level; it sounds like a funked-up, wound-up, swamp-rat Booker T. & The MG's featuring accordion instead of Hammond B-3. This dance ain't for everybody, only the sexy people. I defy you to tell the live stuff from the studio stuff without checking the liner notes.
That live stuff was recorded on a hot night in Maryland, of all places, but it matters not to Carrier, whose family was full of zydeco legends long before "My Toot-Toot" (sort of) catapulted the genre into the mainstream. Ever the crowd pleaser. Carrier covers "My Toot-Toot" on Whiskey-Drinkin Man, putting some backbone (or is that neck bone?) back into it, and he also performs his '87 hit "I Found My Woman," a curveball of a cuckolds lament that he prefaces thusly:
"It ain't good to travel too much, 'cause you gonna find somebody like this."
Through it all, the tempo is hot, the call-and-response constant and the groove as tight as any ska or funk band's . Each song a direct (if unintentional) slap in the face to those who would use South Louisiana dance music as a background for car commercials. Among other surprises. Carrier and Co. pay tribute to their bandleader's mentor, John Delafose, on a rousing cover of his "Co-Fet?" And check the liner notes for the story behind the aptly titled "Time To Start," where half the band has to be encouraged to leave the crowd and get on stage. "Russell, where are you?" Carrier calls out, worriedly, as the rubboard duels with the rhythm section. Now, that's a party.
ROBERT FONTENOT
Offbeat Magazine April 2001
Take a look around and after all this time, old-time zydeco stylists are still visible on the horizon. Boozoo Chavis continues to hold court and probably will forever; Willis Prudhomme and Fernest Arceneaux are also active old schoolers while their youthful contemporary, 54-year-old Roy Carrier, brings up the tail end of this esteemed class. Through his tutelage and Offshore Lounge hang out, he?s helped out many along the way, like urging John Delafose to play publicly and Beau Jocque to find his bombastic boogie. Though Carrier possesses a confusing discography of one-shot micro-label deals and hard-to-find pressings, his latest presents the truest picture of the zydeco man as you?re apt to find. It?s label honcho Wayne Kahn?s best Carrier to date; one that?s not as suburban smooth as its predecessor Twist & Shout nor as cantankerously rough as the live Nasty Girls recording. In terms of energy, it?s closer to the latter, starting with the title track that literally jumps off the platter to dance with ya. And the best thing is, it?s not a one or two-track type of highball either. Several tracks fall between smokin? and slammin? as tracks ?Allons Danser,? ?Take Me Back,? and ?Bugga Bear? state that point well. Drummer son Troy?s shuffling kick beat motors the band through the passing lane while papa bear Carrier never lets off the gas to even check the rearview mirror. When they do let up, it?s usually for a screaming blues shot or a righteous waltz that are disappearing from the zydeco horizon these days. Of interest to Carrier fans, this is the first all-Carrier disc to feature his inaugural jukebox hit ?I Found My Woman? that previously appeared on Rykodisc?s 1990 Zydeco Blues & Boogie collection. Additionally, there are six live tracks from an East Coast jaunt that are indistinguishable from the studio tracks recorded in Eunice. Kahn and mastering engineer Bill Wolf establish an all-out live feel here as each track jumps into the next with minimal delay. Just like the live shows, when the artist is as real as Roy Carrier, you keep it that way.
?Dan Willging
Real Blues Magazine
One of my life's dreams and desires is to travel down to Louisiana and spend a Friday/Saturday night in some bayou dance hall wearing out my shoes to Roy Camer & The Night Rockers. From what I've heard from other zydeco maniacs, Roy is even deadlier than most of the zydeco Hall of Fame performers when it comes to 'party-til-the-cows-come- home'. His CDs are my kind of zydeco: blues-drenched, old school swamp zydeco. None of this disco zydeco for Roy. Funk, rock... forget it! Mr. Carrier carries a picture of Cifflton Chenier next to his heart and Jimmy Reed, Slim Harpo and Lonesome Sundown are some of his idols. Most of today's zydeco bands play a form of the music that has purists up in arms and while one has to be open to change, it's like comparing a '57 Chevy to a '98 Chevy Cavalier. And, we of course, have the attitude of: if it ain't broke - don't fix it. So, with that as our motto we have been continuously awarding Roy's band with the REAL BLUES BEST ZYDECO BAND prize. "They've been churning out fantastic albums for Wayne Kahn's Right On Rhythm label for several years now and "Whiskey Drinkin',..." Follows the same tried and true formula. "Gotta Right To Love That Woman" is perfect blues zydeco, while "Found My Woman" is more of a traditional Cajun-influenced two-stepper while "Ti Garcon" (Little Boy) is definitely Cajun in origin. All these tunes were recorded in one (or two at most) takes and that's the way it should be.
Zydeco acts like Roy Carrier & The Night Rockers have a work ethic and commitment to their form that makes all other performers seem like slackers. 6- hour sets are not uncommon and you'll still hear recent stories about dances that have gone on all night. And, the interesting thing is that most old-style bands like Roy's will record an album the same way he'd perform in a club with the songs selected for the dancers, IE. fast, medium slow waltz, fast, medium tempo, etc. so it makes sense to have an audience of dancing fans on hand in the studio.
Roy is of course, father of current zydeco star Chubby Carrier, and while Chubby can do old style blues zydeco, their styles are as different as night and day. "Alons Dancer" is a killer jump- out-of-your-chair dance inducer that typifies Roy Carrier. "Bad Luck" is another butt-shaker. "Found My Woman" is old school all the way and a supreme physical fitness test (why hasn't anyone marketed a zydeco workout video?). "Time To Start'' is a live club opener and it's driven along by fantastic accordion and rubboard playing. Roy is known as the King of Zydeco with all the Creoles and that's what counts. What a sound. What a band. Guaranteed to inject joy into your soul and put a smile on your face. 6 big bottles for the best zydeco on the planet. Oh, I wanna go to Lafayette!
ANDY GRIGG
Check out the artist's website:
http://rightonrhythm.comTrack List:
1. Whiskey Drinkin' Man
2. Gotta Right To Love That woman
3. Allons Dancer
4. Bad Luck
5. I Found My Woman
6. Ti Garcon
7. Co-Fet?
8. Time To Start
9. My Toot Toot
10. Take Me Back
11. Take Me Home
12. Don't you leave Me
13. On my Way back Home
14. Rock-it Like Roy
15. Bugga Bear
16. Boogie All Night
Suggested CDs:
Other Genres:
