So this is swamp blues? Yes, there is some blues on the disk and several swamps are located in the region around Vidrine Recording Studios in Opelousas, but this is not “swamp blues” in the traditional style of Slim Harpo, Rockin’ Tabby Thomas or Lonesome Sundown.

What Chenier, cousin of late-great zydeco legend Clifton Chenier, really conjures is a gumbo of different styles of blues, sprinkled with hoarsely delivered lyrics and rather unbalanced instrumentation, whether layered or live.

The opening track, “Genieve” may be the best of the 10-song bunch. The Delta-influenced acoustic number features some fine slide guitar work arid deep-throated vocals. Everything that follows sounds as though it came from a different session. As juke-joint music heard live In some back roads club somewhere on the Cajun prairie, the stuff’s pretty good, but the recording fails to capture the true essence of the artist and his sidemen.

The third cut, “Reconsider Baby,” finally moves the disc into swamp-blues territory, but it’s too quickly followed by “Baby Please Don’t Leave,” a mediocre example of New Orleans R&B in the Fats Domino tradition. “Casino Woman” and ‘Whiskey Drinking Woman” rock the project back to life, then comes a cover of Larry Johnson’s “Walkin the Dog.”

Closing out Swamp Blues is “I’m Crying Now; a Bobby Bland-styled tune penned by Chenier. It features solid organ backing and from the standpoint of production and musicianship, is one of the better cuts on the disc. Still, it fails to register a save.

Overall, Swamp Blues is a mediocre effort by some talented and diverse artists from one of Louisiana’s most culturally rich regions.