In some ways, Leroy Thomas’s first CD in five years picks up where his Maison de Soul Records debut left off. On his 2010 release, Jewel of the Bayou, he blended a few contemporary country numbers with zydeco, an ingenious move that worked well with his club constituency.

Here, he trumps again with George Strait’s “Troubadour” and Darius Rucker’s number one hit “Wagon Wheel” that’ll likely appeal to the Wrangler-wearing demographic.

Still, with 16 tracks, it’s a mouthful of zydeco that comes in all shapes and sizes. Some (“I Tried”) bounce euphorically with a ska skitter; a few (“Hey, Hey Mom”) sung in Creole French should delight the elders. Thomas’ novelty “She Can’t Hen Like She Did Back Then” is the opposite-gender answer song of sorts to Zydeco Joe’s “You Can’t Rooster Like You Used To.”

But in other ways, Thomas gains new ground by taking chances. A couple tracks blend zydeco and Cajun (“Zydeco Two Stepping,” “Cherokee Waltz”), thanks to co-producer Travis Matte’s swirling twin fiddles. The swinging rendition of Ray Charles’ “What I’d Say” is not only apropos given zydeco’s close kinship to blues and R&B, as well as Charles’ Louisiana connection, but is all the more fun when Buckwheat Zydeco comes out of nowhere for a killer ride on keys. When the results are this good, five years between releases is practically a blink of an eye.