Where There's Smoke There's Fire

Where There's Smoke There's Fire is an album by the American musician Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 1990.[1][2] Zydeco and his band, Ils Sont Partis, supported the album with a North American tour.[3] The album peaked at No. 140 on the Billboard 200.[4]

Where There's Smoke There's Fire
Studio album by
Released1990
GenreZydeco
LabelIsland
ProducerDavid Hidalgo
Buckwheat Zydeco chronology
Taking It Home
(1988)
Where There's Smoke There's Fire
(1990)
On Track
(1992)

Production

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The album was produced by David Hidalgo, who also played guitar.[5][6] Dwight Yoakam duetted with Zydeco on the cover of Hank Williams's "Hey, Good Lookin'".[7] "Beast of Burden" is a cover of the Rolling Stones song.[8] Putting aside his accordion, Zydeco played a Hammond B-3 on "Maybe I Will".[9] Steve Berlin played baritone sax on the album.[10] Hidalgo duetted on the cover of Bobby Troup's "Route 66".[11]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
Calgary HeraldB[13]
Chicago Tribune    [14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [15]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[16]
The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD     [17]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide     [18]
Orlando Sentinel     [10]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings    [19]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [20]

The Toronto Star praised the "scalding, inventive tracks like Dural's own 'We're Having a Party', an experimental groove that levitates zydeco into the land of George Clinton psychofunk, replete with Hidalgo's sniping guitar, pop-bass and interplay of horns and accordion."[7] The Calgary Herald opined that "Buckwheat doing his own material, particularly the instrumentals, could raise the dead and get them up dancing."[13] The Gazette wrote that "Buckwheat chooses his cover songs with a beautifully blithe disregard for stylistic boundaries."[21] The Chicago Tribune noted that "Hidalgo has had plenty of experience navigating those narrow straits where traditional sounds and contemporary styles can mingle smoothly and not create a roiling mess."[14] The Orlando Sentinel deemed the title track "a rocking instrumental with a wonderful, bluesy guitar solo."[10]

AllMusic concluded that "this is superior in many ways to the music of [Clifton] Chenier ... due to its generally happier mood and quicker, more emphasized beats and basslines."[12] The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD called the album "fun, intelligent 'Creole blues.'"[17]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."What You Gonna Do?" 
2."Buck's Hot Rod" 
3."Hey, Good Lookin'" 
4."We're Having a Party" 
5."Beast of Burden" 
6."Be Good or Be Gone" 
7."Maybe I Will" 
8."Pour Tout Quelque'un" 
9."Where There's Smoke There's Fire" 
10."Route 66" 
11."It's Getting Late" 

References

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  1. ^ Aiges, Scott (15 June 1990). "Record Reviews: Buckwheat Zydeco". The Times-Picayune. p. LAG6.
  2. ^ Gladstone, Jim (21 July 1990). "Records: Where There's Smoke There's Fire". The Atlanta Journal. p. WL18.
  3. ^ Barr, Greg (20 Apr 1990). "Concert Gossip". Ottawa Citizen. p. E3.
  4. ^ "Buckwheat Zydeco". Billboard. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  5. ^ Gettelman, Parry (8 June 1990). "Music". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 24.
  6. ^ Snider, Eric (2 Nov 1990). "Spicy Squeezing". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 21.
  7. ^ a b Potter, Mitch (18 May 1990). "Buckwheat Zydeco Where There's Smoke There's Fire". Toronto Star. p. D9.
  8. ^ Burliuk, Greg (7 July 1990). "Beyond the Polka". Magazine. The Kingston Whig-Standard. p. 1.
  9. ^ Warren, Jill (15 June 1990). "It'll Be Party Time When You Hear Zydeco". The Indianapolis Star. p. D5.
  10. ^ a b c Gettelman, Parry (27 July 1990). "Buckwheat Zydeco, Where There's Smoke There's Fire". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 25.
  11. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (June 29, 1990). "Buckwheat Zydeco 'Where There's Smoke There's Fire'". The Washington Post.
  12. ^ a b "Where There's Smoke There's Fire Review by Adam Greenberg". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  13. ^ a b Haynes, Dave (24 May 1990). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. H3.
  14. ^ a b Heim, Chris (5 July 1990). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  16. ^ Sandow, Greg (June 8, 1990). "Notable music for the week of June 8, 1990". Entertainment Weekly.
  17. ^ a b Hadley, Frank-John (1993). The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD. Grove Press. p. 33.
  18. ^ MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 105.
  19. ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 87.
  20. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 94, 95.
  21. ^ Lepage, Mark (16 June 1990). "Buckwheat Zydeco Where There's Smoke There's Fire". The Gazette. p. H11.