There was a time when legends Clifton Chenier, Mance Lipscomb and Lightning Hopkins were mere mortals exposing their music to fertile audiences. At the time of this live recording, Texas bluesman Hopkins was best known to Golden State audiences, having compiled a mammoth body of work since the ’30s. Fellow Lone Star acoustic bluesman Lipscomb was also a familiar figure, having only been “discovered” by Arhoolie six years prior and was making up for lost time. For Clifton Chenier, his first West Coast appearance was a pivotal one as interest in this strange French music broadened as a result of this recording.

Despite Lipscomb’s rocking-chair personality and intricate finger picking paired with Hopkins’ easy-rolling, mean strings, the night belonged to Chenier. And unlike any Chenier you’ve ever heard, here he plays accordion accompanied by only a drummer, no band. It was the first zydeco experience for most and judging by the reviews (included in the liner notes), the receptive media was pleasantly taken aback. With funky bass notes and shrill high-end treble, Chenier holds his audience through nine tunes including the raucous feel of “Louisiana Shuffle,” “French Zydeco” and the swinging “Clifton’s Boogie Woogie.” He apologizes for his version of “Scratch My Back” then proceeds to tear up the joint with a low down sensuous groove. There’s even a soulful waltz, “Old Country Waltz,” and a dazzling technical display on “Louisiana Rock.” If it’s true that they don’t make records like this any more, it’s only because things like this don’t happen anymore.