Pick Up on This!

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Pick Up on This!
Studio album by
Beau Jocque
Released1994
RecordedOctober 1993
GenreZydeco
LabelRounder
ProducerScott Billington
Beau Jocque chronology
Beau Jocque Boogie
(1993) 		Pick Up on This!
(1994) 		My Name Is Beau Jocque
(1994)

Pick Up on This! is an album by the American musician Beau Jocque, released in 1994.[1][2] He is credited with his band, the Zydeco Hi-Rollers.[3] Beau Jocque supported the album with North American and United Kingdom tours.[4][5]

Production[edit]

Recorded in October 1993, the album was produced by Scott Billington; Billington later called Beau Jocque among the producer's most exciting finds.[6][7] "Hucklebuck" is a version of the dance tune.[8] "Zydeco Boogie Woogie" is an interpretation of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen'".[9] "Give It to Me" uses scratches by a New Orleans turntablist.[6] Pick Up on This! ends with an interpolation of War's "Low Rider".[10]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution[10]
Austin American-Statesman[12]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide[13]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[14]

The Baltimore Sun wrote that when the Rollers "get into a groove, they stay there until the song is over... That's one reason why Pick Up on This! makes for such great party music."[15] The Austin American-Statesman said that the album "reconfirms the band's dancefloor dynamism, though the derivativeness of the material makes it more conducive to quick stepping than close listening."[12] The Washington Post praised Beau Jocque's "eerie Howlin' Wolf-like baritone."[16]

The Philadelphia Inquirer concluded that, "unlike many zydeco artists, whose recordings are stiff, Jocque and the Hi-Rollers sound as loose as they do in performance."[17] Rolling Stone likened the album to "a shotgun wedding of Clifton Chenier and ZZ Top officiated by John Lee Hooker."[18] The Times Colonist stated that the "zydeco is grounded in the band's grinding, funk-inspired back beat."[19] Spin deemed the album "the hottest zydeco ever: a mixture of Cajun, funk, rock 'n' roll, and blues."[20]

AllMusic wrote that "the key is in the groove—there might not be much variety on the album, but [Beau Jocque] keeps the zesty zydeco rhythms pumping throughout."[11]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Give It to Me" 
2."Gardez Donc! (Look at That!)" 
3."Zydeco Boogie Woogie" 
4."Mardi Gras Blues" 
5."Comin' In" 
6."Don't Tell Your Mama, Don't Tell Your Papa" 
7."Yesterday" 
8."Do Right Sometime" 
9."Hucklebuck" 
10."Pick Up on This" 
11."Chere Mignonne (Dear Cute One)" 
12."Hi-Rollers Theme/Low Rider" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Beau Jocque Biography by Jason Ankeny". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  2. ^ World Music: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific. Vol. 2. Rough Guides. 2000. p. 567.
  3. ^ "'Pick Up on This!' Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers". The Sun News. 3 Apr 1994. p. 9D.
  4. ^ Fuselier, Herman (28 Apr 1994). "Zydeco's Beau Jocque is bringing his hot sound here". Daily World. No. 108. Opelousas. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Hi-rolling time in the Swamp". Derby Evening Telegraph. 30 Jun 1994. p. 17.
  6. ^ a b Billington, Scott (2022). Making Tracks: A Record Producer’s Southern Roots Music Journey. University Press of Mississippi.
  7. ^ Morse, Steve (17 Sep 1999). "Beau Jocque remembered". The Boston Globe. p. C14.
  8. ^ The Louisiana Field Guide: Understanding Life in the Pelican State. LSU Press. 2014. p. 162.
  9. ^ Nager, Larry (23 Apr 1994). "Recordings". The Commercial Appeal. p. C2.
  10. ^ a b Townsend, Bob (30 Apr 1994). "More great licks from Big Easy's best". Leisure. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 23.
  11. ^ a b "Pick Up on This! Review by Thom Owens". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b McLeese, Don (28 Apr 1994). "Some of the best of JazzFest". Onward. Austin American-Statesman. p. 6.
  13. ^ MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 408.
  14. ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 28.
  15. ^ Considine, J.D. (1 Apr 1994). "Pick Up on This! Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers". Features. The Baltimore Sun. p. 5.
  16. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (June 19, 1994). "New Releases". The Washington Post.
  17. ^ Moon, Tom (25 May 1994). "Mounting Challenges to Traditional Zydeco". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F1.
  18. ^ Fricke, David (Jun 16, 1994). "On the Edge". Rolling Stone. No. 684. p. 110.
  19. ^ Blake, Joseph (9 Mar 1995). "Cajun combo good with beans". News. Times Colonist. p. 1.
  20. ^ Olmstead, Robert (Jan 1995). "Ragin' Cajun". Spin. Vol. 10, no. 10. p. 25.
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