"Another Saturday Night" Classic Recordings from The Louisiana Bayous 1990

Loosely described as a Cajun compilation, the discerning listener will also detect some Rhythm & Blues, Two-Steps and Waltzes all of which is dominated by Ace Records' favourite instrument - the accordion!This was Oval's first album in 1974, and although we no longer control the rights to its material, Another Saturday Night belongs on our site as the first milestone in our journey. Almost all of the tracks were licensed from Jin and Swallow Records, an independent label based in Ville Platte, Louisiana, whose founder-owner Floyd Soileau made us very welcome on our scouting trip in 1972. At the time, there had never been an album released in the UK which combined French language Cajun music (featuring fiddles and accordions) with South Louisiana pop (sung in English and featuring saxophones, piano and electric guitar). In much the same way that the soundtrack album of The Harder They Come introduced a new audience to reggae, Another Saturday Night opened the door for UK listeners to the music of Louisiana. Biggest Hits: The song that attracted most interest was the Cajun version of Chuck Berry's 'Promised Land', sung by Johnnie Allan and featuring an accordion break by Belton Richard. Released as a single, 'Promised Land' was play-listed by several commercial stations including Capital Radio in London. By cruel coincidence, Elvis Presley's version of the same song was released a few weeks later to tie in with his fortieth birthday, and it was never going to be a fair fight. In 1980, we reissued Another Saturday Night with additional tracks. and put 'Promised Land' out as a single again, this time with 'Sweet Dreams' by Tommy McClain on the other side. Clyde Radio in Glasgow made 'Sweet Dreams' the theme music of a late night show, and we sold over 5,000 copies in that one city. Stiff Records joined us for one more try in 1983, and invited Johnnie to come over for a promotional trip. Once more, we came close to a hit, but never made it onto the charts. Total UK sales for 'Promised Land' over the ten years were over 20,000, while the album sold over 10,000 in the same period.

trax:

01. BEFORE I GROW TOO OLD - Tommy McLain 02. I'M A LONESOME FUGITIVE - Belton Richard 03. TRY TO FIND ANOTHER MAN - Tommy McLain & Clint West 04. JOLE BLON - Vin Bruce 05. I CRIED - Cookie & The Cupcakes 06. OH LUCILLE - Belton Richard 07. WHO NEEDS YOU SO BAD - Gary Walker 08. DON'T MESS WITH MY MAN - Margo White 09. OPELOUSAS SOSTAN - Rufus Jagneaux 10. THE GREAT PRETENDER - Carol Fran 11. ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT - Clint West 12. ANOTHER SLEEPLESS NIGHT - Belton Richard 13. THE PROMISED LAND - Johnnie Allan 14. TWO STEP DE BAYOU TECHE - Austin Pitre 15. SWEET DREAMS - Tommy McLain 16. BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO - Cookie & The Cupcakes 17. LAISSER LES CAJUNS DANCER - Belton Richard 18. IF YOU WANT GOOD LOVIN' - Donnie Jacobs 19. DOWN HOME MUSIC - Rufus Jagneaux 20. GEORGIE LOU - Cajun Gold