The music on this historical collection comes from Avoyelles Parish, on what is described as the northern fringe of "Cajun country" in Louisiana. The three musicians represented here are little known, even in their own region, and made recordings that were not distributed widely outside of their native territory. These 24 songs represent the full range of Cajun music at the time and include folk ballads, some dance tunes, and plenty of back-porch-style folk songs. The set is interesting as a historical document of a small region, but the recording quality is pretty poor (which is probably a result of the originals as much as the records that these CDs were mastered from); the musicians are good, not great; and few of the performances are remarkable for either content or musicianship. Exceptions include a few of accordionist John Bertrand's pieces, which have a rough, idiosyncratic style that will certainly appeal to Cajun squeezebox enthusiasts. This one is strictly for ardent collectors of old Cajun music. --Louis Gibson
