Vintage Beausoleil

Beausoleil's triumph as the world's finest Cajun band and one of America's most popular dance bands seems obvious now, but it wasn't so apparent in 1986. Back then Cajun music, like Cajun cuisine, was still an obscure oddity, and almost no Cajuns made a fulltime living at music. That was the year the five members of Beausoleil took the plunge by quitting their day jobs and hitting the road hard to carry the Cajun message to the rest of the world. Thirteen songs from 1986 and '87 shows have now been collected into an album called Vintage Beausoleil. Since Beausoleil thrives in a room full of sweaty dancers, this is an invaluable document of the band during its transition from hometown heroes in Lafayette, Louisiana, to international roots-music legends. --Geoffrey Himes