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Happytown | 
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| Artist: Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys
Label: Rounder / Umgd
Category: Music
List Price: $17.98
Buy New: $12.14
You Save: $5.84 (32%)
New (18) Used (5) from $10.74
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 32324
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 616098
UPC: 011661609822
EAN: 0011661609822
ASIN: B0000584XU
Release Date: February 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
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| Tracks:
| • | Creole Stomp (Happytown) - Steve Riley, Roger, Aldus | | • | Big Boy Waltz - Steve Riley, Broussard, Leroy | | • | Gros Jean/Big John - Steve Riley, Broussard, Leon | | • | Seems to Me - Steve Riley, Riley, Steve [1] | | • | Les Vigilants/The Vigilantes - Steve Riley, Greely, David | | • | La Creve de Faim/Starvation 2-Step - Steve Riley, Riley, Steve [1] | | • | Patoutville - Steve Riley, Greely, David | | • | Poche Bridge - Steve Riley, Hebert, Kyle | | • | Mes Enfants/My Children - Steve Riley, Greely, David | | • | Heat Lightning/ Clairs de Chaleur - Steve Riley, Riley, Steve [1] | | • | Pointe aux Chines/Oak Point - Steve Riley, Greely, David |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Updating a traditional music form is a perilous task, and more often than not the soul of the older style is lost in the attempt. Happytown, a CD by accordionist Steve Riley and his band the Mamou Playboys, is a textbook example of how to use modern studio techniques like sampling and drum loops and still maintain a distinctly Cajun feel. The first two tracks, the instrumental "Creole Stomp" and "Big Boy Waltz," which is sung in French by Riley, prove they can play rollicking, old-style Cajun music that would set the feet of the staunchest traditional tapping. But by the third track, the spooky, slide-guitar-drenched murder ballad "Gros Jean/Big John," Riley and his companions are off on an exploration of new sonic territories. Selections such as "Seems to Me," which features heavily processed vocals and a sample taken from an Alan Lomax field recording, and "Pointe aux Chenes," a pungent piece of swamp rock, show that in the hands of skillful musicians like the Mamou Playboys an adventurous musical spirit doesn't need to cancel out a respect for tradition. --Michael Simmons
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| Customer Reviews:
 cajun prog rock? November 6, 2003
There's Cajun country, Cajun pop and Cajun boogie. But Riley and the Mamou Playboys remain the sole merchants of Cajun prog rock - a style which has these southern Louisiana musicians filling dancehalls in their home state and selling out concerts around the world. Happytown, their eighth album, is yet another alt-world offering of the band's brash fusion of traditional roots with 21st century sensibilities. This time around it's an examination of the emotions of creole slave poetry with a crafty mix of fevered accordion, massive electric guitars, meticulously meshed fiddles, drum loops and sampled bits of black plantation singing from the dirty `30s. And in the hands of Riley and company it's large fun, a seductive adventure that rocks with the power of a Who concert and dazzles with the grace of a ballerina. While much of the album is built on a strong traditional backbone, only the two lead-in tracks come across as otherwise standard Cajun music - the exuberant Creole Stomp and the tipsy Big Boy Waltz. From there it's a French language free fall built on slabs of psychedelic swamp rock (Seems To Me, Patoutville, Big John, Heat Lightning)and glimpses at a warped waltz (My Children), a diabolic ballad (The Vigilantes) and rocking two-steppers (Starvation 2-Step, Poche Bridge) - quite enough to make most music lovers sit up and listen.
 Gets better with each listening May 14, 2002
Bliss 149 (Olive Branch, MS United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's pretty cool to see a review here by Peter Schwarz, former drummer for the band - a very talented guy himself. I have to agree with Peter that this is a complex record. I have all the CD's from this group and at first I wasn't sure I liked HappyTown. It's not an "easy" record and I wouldn't recommend it for the casual Cajun listener but for those of us who lap this stuff up like dark brown gumbo, it's one of the best.
Out of NC May 5, 2001
I like the music out of Louisiana, know little, sample around, trying to learn. This CD was one of the recs for me from amazon. I read the reviews, downloaded a few samples, ordered the CD, can't stop playing it. Wow. If all CDs were just this good!
A Chicago Fan April 2, 2001
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a great band. Over the years that I have been going to see them live, and in listening to their CD's, I have realized the depth and range of their impressive talents. Happytown is a layered composite of songs that reveals its excellence with each listening. This CD has been "stuck" in my player since I bought it. From the bouncy, joyful dance tunes to the atmospheric almost eerie emotions of other songs; it proves this band is packed with talent and the ability to wed new sounds and ideas with traditional Cajun music. This all sounds a little heavy but trust me - these guys are great fun! Buy this CD - you won't be disappointed!
Old band member likes Happytown February 11, 2001
Peter Schwarz (Austin, TX United States)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I'm biased because I was on the inside for seven years. But I can give you a basic idea: 1) Unless you've spent a lot of time listening, it is hard to tell the difference between good and mediocre bands in Cajun music. After 12 years, this band is still the best and getting better (always the critics choice). Think of it this way: if this were wine it would be the $100 bottle. The more familiar you get, the more you will appreciate these guys. 2) You won't hear any accordions slapped on covers of rock-n-roll, or lyrics laden with alligators, crawfish, bayou moon and fais do do or blue fiddles. This is the self-expression of forward-looking musicians who deeply respect their heritage. It is not tourism. 3) This is a deep record that gets more fascinating with each listen. At times you may want to dance, but it is a complex journey of mood and emotion. 4) If you like this record, it means that you get the power of rhythm, that you are fascinated by unique regional musics, that you believe there is excellent music outside of the mainstream music industry, that you are not stuck on nostalgic musical re-hashings, that you demand the highest sonic quality and production, and that you are respected by your friends as having great taste in music. Do you get it yet? Of course, as I said, I'm biased.
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