Alligator Stomp, Vol. 4: Cajun Christmas

You probably haven't traveled enough if you've never heard Cajun music, and there's a good bet you've never really two-stepped around the Christmas tree until you've two-stepped to either a Beausoleil or Cajun Gold Christmas classic like those found on this 17-track compilation. Alligator Stomp features fiddles, triangles, and accordions a-blazin' along with the French-sung carols and other classics. Henry Fontenot turns in a decidedly different kind of "Jingle Bells," while Belton Richard belts out the holiday blues standard "Please Come Home for Christmas" in his delectable Cajun tongue. Michael Doucet, the ace fiddler for Beausoleil, however, steals some of the thunder here with a charged number, "Bonne Année," a performance piece that highlights his fiddle playing and singing. As they say down on the Bayou, "Bon temp rouler!" --Martin Keller