Five Card Stud (album)

Five Card Stud is an album by the American musician Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 1994.[1][2] It peaked at No. 14 on Billboard's World Albums chart.[3] Zydeco supported the album with a North American tour.[4] Five Card Stud was released around the same time as Zydeco's children's album, Choo Choo Boogaloo.[5]

Five Card Stud
Studio album by
Released1994
GenreZydeco
LabelIsland
ProducerSteve Berlin
Buckwheat Zydeco chronology
Choo Choo Boogaloo
(1994)
Five Card Stud
(1994)
The Best of Louisiana Zydeco
(1996)

Production

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The album was produced by Steve Berlin; his Los Lobos bandmate David Hidalgo contributed to some of the tracks.[6][7] Zydeco was interested in trying a variety of musical styles, in part to gain radio airplay.[4] Mavis Staples sang on "This Train".[8] Willie Nelson played guitar and sang on the version of his song "Man with the Blues".[9][10] "Bayou Girl" was written by Van Morrison, who had recorded but not released his version.[10] "Hey Baby" is a cover of the Bruce Channel hit.[11]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [13]
The Indianapolis Star    [14]
Orlando Sentinel     [11]

The Edmonton Journal wrote that "Dural leads an eight-piece group, and calls on his punchy three-piece horn section to fill out the arrangements with pizzazz."[9] The Indianapolis Star opined that "it lacks the ambiance, energy, soul or whatever quality that drives these rhythms."[14] The Orlando Sentinel praised the "loose, live feel... You can hear the wood of the drums, the brass of the horns and the cheap metal of the spoon raking across the rubboard."[11]

Stereo Review noted that, "without the guests on hand to supply most of the Tabasco, Five Card Stud would be a strictly back-bayou offering."[15] The Chicago Tribune said that Zydeco "especially shines when he leaves the bayou for the horn-blasting, James Brown-esque title cut."[16] The Times Colonist called the album "soupy, swampy funk with whiplash horn arrangements by Buckwheat and a lived-in production."[17]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Hey Baby" 
2."Make It Easy on Yourself" 
3."Man with the Blues" 
4."I.R.S." 
5."This Train" 
6."Trust Me" 
7."Five Card Stud" 
8."Baby Doll" 
9."Bayou Girl" 
10."Secret of Love" 

References

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  1. ^ Tam, Pauline (7 July 1994). "Three-day blues party will provide funds for Dinners Unlimited". Ottawa Citizen. p. E1.
  2. ^ Gardner, Rayna (18 Nov 1994). "Blues, Down by the Riverside". Showtime. Sun Sentinel. p. 20.
  3. ^ "Buckwheat Zydeco". Billboard. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b Feist, Daniel (14 Oct 1994). "Buckwheat Zydeco at Cafe Campus rates as party bargain of the year". The Gazette. Montreal. p. C7.
  5. ^ Herndon, David (17 Feb 1995). "From the Heart of Zydeco Country". Newsday. p. B26.
  6. ^ Weatherford, Mike (26 Aug 1994). "Scheduling your fun will require strategy". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 2E.
  7. ^ Graff, Gary (9 Feb 1995). "Buckwheat Zydeco loves playing music". Calgary Herald. Knight Ridder. p. A24.
  8. ^ Thompson, Clifford, ed. (2020). Contemporary World Musicians. Taylor & Francis.
  9. ^ a b Levesque, Roger (18 Sep 1994). "Zydeco shakes off straitjacket; Roots, etc". Edmonton Journal. p. C4.
  10. ^ a b Sculley, Alan (29 Sep 1994). "Buckwheat Pushes Zydeco Envelope". Calendar. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 9.
  11. ^ a b c Gettelman, Parry (28 Oct 1994). "Buckwheat Zydeco". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 10.
  12. ^ "Five Card Stud Buckwheat Zydeco". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  13. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  14. ^ a b Meyers Sharp, Jo Ellen (17 Oct 1994). "Buckwheat Zydeco 'Five Card Stud'". The Indianapolis Star. p. D3.
  15. ^ "Five Card Stud by Buckwheat Zydeco". Stereo Review. Vol. 59, no. 12. Dec 1994. p. 128.
  16. ^ Dicksinson, Chris (20 Jan 1995). "Buckwheat Zydeco, Saturday at Cubby Bear". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. P.
  17. ^ Blake, Joseph (9 Mar 1995). "Cajun combo good with beans". Sound Advice. Times Colonist. p. 1.