Bayou Ruler is an album by the American band Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, released in 1998.[2][3] A couple of its English-language songs were regional hits, although they proved controversial to some Cajun traditionalists.[4][5] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[6]

"Let Me Know" was promoted to radio stations all over the United States, a rarity for a Cajun single.[7]

Production

The album was produced by C.C. Adcock and Tarka Cordell.[8] The band continued to incorporate into their sound rock and blues styles; in their spare time the band listened more to rock than Louisiana music.[9][10] "Mama Told Papa" is a cover of the Clifton Chenier song.[11] "My True Love (Voyage d'amour)" is a cover of the Dewey Balfa tune; "je suis pas un couillon" is a cover of the Belton Richard song.[12][13] Jimmy Domengeaux played guitar on the album, his last with the band; he died in a motorcycle accident in January 1999.[14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[15]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide	[8]

The Los Angeles Times called Bayou Ruler "a scattered-sounding, misdirected album that Riley describes as 'swamp pop' ... Its layers of brass, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, Hammond B3 organ and other pop-friendly devices are murky indeed."[16] The Star Tribune opined that "'Tough Get Going' is a particularly anemic rocker, and the swamp pop stuff just needs to be greasier."[12]

The Washington Post praised the "convincing" Cajun-rock fusion, writing that "one has to go back to the swamp-pop glory days of Tommy McClain and Cleveland Crochet to find such a convincing hybrid."[17] The Province determined that the title track possessed a "Foreigner-goes-Cajun sound."[18] The Albuquerque Journal noted that the album "expands the group's horizons with a mixture of rock 'n' roll, R&B, and zydeco."[19]

AllMusic wrote that the band, "purveyors of traditional Cajun music, range far out of the bayous to incorporate most all the musical styles of Southern Louisiana."[15]

Track listing

References