Lil Band O Gold (Shanachie)

Lil Band O Gold

(Shanachie)

A Louisiana supergroup of sorts, Lil Band O Gold has produced a debut that faithfully re-creates the sound of swamp pop's heyday. The band consists of accordionist Steve Riley of the Mamou Playboys, guitarist C.C. Adcock, veteran swamp pop drummer Warren Storm, Richard Comeaux of country act River Road, File's pianist David Egan, and bassist Dave Ranson, best known for his work with John Hiatt and Sonny Landreth. A horn section that includes David Greeley of the Mamou Playboys and Pat Breaux of Beausoleil augments this core group. Together they've concocted a mixture of energetic romps and soulful ballads that evokes the sound of Excello Records circa 1959, or for the more contemporary-minded, the Iguanas, fellow Louisianians that have tried to capture this spirit on album several times and been only occasionally successful. This is fun music made for dancing, not for deep analysis, and except for a couple of clunkers along the way, Lil Band O Gold achieves its objective with finesse and a luster that would be expected from such accomplished musicians. There are a couple of original tunes from Adcock, the mournful "In Another Time," and Egan, the country-soul-styled "First You Cry." For the most part, however, they take songs from the songbooks of John Fred (the bouncy "Shirley"), Dewey Balfa (the traditional Cajun "Parlez Nous a Boire"), and Huey Meaux (the Doug Sahm classic, "Please Mr. Sandman") and others, injecting them with just enough affection and sweet-tempered personality to make the entire set a pleasurable listen.