Customer Reviews

Rock & Reel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This group has been playing for years in Canada and has performed to huge audiences. Unfortunately they are not as well known here in the US.

La Bottine Soutiante is a very high-energy Québécois band that makes fabulous use of a wide variety of instruments (fiddle, guitar, piano, concertina, harmonica, etc.). Like many bands, they are great visual performers, but their talent does not end there. Their unique style and energy shines through on this CD.

This may be one of their best CDs but you should not ignore the rest.

This CD is amazing. My RealJukebox defines it as Folk, but really it's more of Celtic/French/Jazz/everything. I played this in my music class and not one person didn't like it. The singing is almost as good as the instrumentals, though one track (Le Chanson de Mathurin, I think) is so annoying that it brings my rating of this CD down to a four star. My advice: skip track 4, and this will be one of your all-time favorites.

I first heard La Bottine Souriante at the Backstage in Seattle in the mid 80s and was enthralled. I have been hearing this kind of music since my early childhood in Northern Maine and was pleased to find it getting international attention. I promply bought every vinyl record I could find. Unfortunately, those have have not fared well (too much playing)and have disappeared in yard sales over the years. I heard the group again this past summer at the St. Michele Winery here in Seattle (and bought this CD) and was surprised at the direction that the group's music, arrangements, and instrumentation have evolved. Though I enjoyed the concert and the CD, I am disappointed that they have digressed from the more traditional, "home grown" sound that I cherish. For that reason alone, the older, more traditional CD's get more "air time" in my house.

I'm not even sure how to describe this CD. I first heard of the group on the Chieftan produced "Fire in the Kitchen" album where this French-Canadian ensemble performed one of the most energetic and toe-tapping tracks I have ever heard. I was captivated, so I decided to take a chance and buy this CD. As a seasoned celtic music fan, I am always looking for unique twists on celtic or celtic-related music. Well, I found it. They manage to mix celtic influences with French-Canadian themes, Latin Salsa, and jazz-like styles that create a sound unlike any other that I have heard before. I love it. I don't speak French, so I was worried a bit by this album, which contains some tracks with French lyrics, but I have learned to sing along, even though I have no idea what the words mean. You just can't help yourself. I also love the foot tapping that you hear throughout the CD. It helps give it a "live" feel, and really keeps the music moving. I cannot say enough good things about this album, so buy it no matter what your musical tastes are. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

I had never even heard of La Bottine Souriante before I saw them at Irish Fest this summer in Milwaukee. My group was actually walking down to hear Tommy Makem when someone in the group said he had heard that La Bottine were good, so we decided to stop for a listen, thinking we would move on if we didn't like them. WELL - we were instantly enchanted, and stayed through the whole concert!!! To start off, I kept hearing this tapping sound and wondered to myself where it was coming from. Then I finally could see the fiddle/guitar/mandolin/snare drum player at the right of the stage - Michel - sitting down, playing the fiddle and tap dancing the entire time. Incredible - have never seen anything like it in my life. And the music was joyous and infectious.

That was on Sunday, and Monday morning I immediately came out to Amazon.com to see if I could find a CD by La Bottine Souriante - I did and ordered Rock and Reel. It has been an absolute delight - it is currently loaned out to a friend. The most fun thing about the CD is that you can hear Michel tapping away throughout, and one of the instruments listed for him on the notes is "feet" - Indeed!

I would recommend this release to anybody who likes folkie music. The sound reminds me somewhat of Cajun music, which I think makes sense since they are from the area of Quebec where the Acadians came from.

A mix of the Chieftens, Chicago, Beusoleil, Blood Sweat and Tears, Latin rythms, Native American and probably a host of others too numerous to mention. This group is one of the tighest and most eclectic groups I have ever heard. Please, seek out some of their other work and put them in your catalog. You'll have one happy (and I'm sure others) customer!

Folk/Jazz fusion from 9 of the jolliest looking French-Canadians ever to grace a set of liner notes.

Music so infectious you cannot just sit and listen you must dance!

ROCK AND REEL by La Bottine Souriante is a must-have for lovers of "world music". Their offerings can be loosly categorized as Celtic in origin but with its own energy and modernism.

This 9 member Montréal based band takes the traditional Musique Québecoise to new heights. Brass, percussion, reeds, etc are perfectly blended into the traditional gigues and reels so popular in the French speaking sections of Canada.

You just can't sit still while this CD is on. To attend their concerts and be stuck in seats while the music is being performed is sheer torture. This is dance music par excellence! Even the lullaby-like "Ciel d'automne" demands your attention.

This, their 10th CD, combines their talents with 3 guest "World Music" performers. Their recent PBS show will help their popularity in the USA.

French lyrics are translated. This program is equally divided between vocal and isntrumental selections.

Irish, Quebecois and original reels with horns and a back beat like nothing you've ever heard. Take natalie McMaster, Eileen Ivers and give them driving percussion and a horn section and you're close. This is La Bottine Souriante's tenth album. Translated, La Bottine Souriante means "The smiling boot a reference to their percussion and drive which is centered around traditional Quebec-style foot-tapping. And the singing! You don't need French to want to sing along, but it helps. The one album I kept in the work truck to play all summer; it was played every day, from the dump to the trails, to the beach and back again. I loved it, the college-aged summer help loved it.

One sultry summer day in Central Park, this band ambled onto Summerstage, murmured a few insoucient remarks about Les Yorkers Nouveau and proceeded to light up the stage with an inferno of world music. They cooked up a gumbo of cajun, Irish jig, Brazilian samba, jazz and traditional Quebecois - and that was just the first tune. Doc Martens turned magically into "laughing booties" and no one could stop from dancing. These guys are unbelievably good. Like nothing you have ever heard. But please please please, oh Amazon gods of e-commerce, go find their live CDs, like "En Spectacle". This group was meant to invade your living room for a PARTY.