Keith Frank – Live at Slim’s Y-KiKi, Vol. 2 CD

Keith Frank often asks his live audiences, “Do you wanna go back?” The question teases his crowd, hungry for another nugget in his endless string of greatest hits. But the question is also a statement of fact, a sly flex of muscle by a rare artist strengthened by family musical history that dates back to the 1800s. Yet Frank’s talent for reinvention keeps his music hot for generations raised on iPhones and Android devices. In today’s world of zydeco, filled with talented newcomers, also-rans and pretenders, few can go back like Keith Frank. Since the early 1990s, Frank has eared the title of Zydeco Boss with unending crowd pleasers, like “Get on Boy,” “The Hamilton Club,” “Casanova” and “Haterz.” Frank’s accordion-flavored version of “Moving on Up,” the theme of the classic TV sitcom, “The Jeffersons,” gave many in Generation X their first taste of zydeco. “Oh Mom” evokes memories of Louise Frank, Keith’s mother, who dies in 2013 in a traffic accident. Louise sat by the bandstand from the band’s beginning, signed off on every song heard on this CD, including the sizzling swing-out, “Teddy Bear.” Her spirit was felt in this live recording as the Zydeco Boss goes back yet keeps pushing zydeco forward. ~excerpt from Herman Fuselier. *NOTE: “Teddy Bear” is the only studio recording on this live album. Released in July 2014, 16 tracks.