Although she’s from Cajun country and often performs with Bonsoir Catin, The Lafayette Rhythm Devils, and Balfa Toujours, on this outing Yvette Landry is more Kitty Wells than Christine Balfa. With the exception of the funky Zydceo offering “Yeah, You Right!,” a wild fling with Geno Delafose on accordion and drums, Lil’ Buck Senegal on guitar and Eric Adcock on Hammond C-3, almost everything else on No Man’s Land is ’50s-style country. But as presented by Landry, there’s nothing wrong with that.
“Dog House Blues” is an interesting conglomeration of western swing fiddle from ’12’s Louisiana State Fiddle Champ Beau Thomas ‘ and ’50s country era pedal steel courtesy of Richard Comeaux (Lil’ Band O’ Gold, River Road,) overlaid by Landry’s twang, sounding more Texas than Louisiana.
Landry’s half spoken word “Butterfly Kisses” sounds like Kitty Wells backed by Comeaux’s weepy pedal steel and Thomas’ low country fiddle.
“I walked into a barroom just to ease the pain,” Landry croons on her original “Three Chords and A Bottle,” that sounds like a vintage honky-tonk drinking song. “You can always count on Patsy/ to help you see the light,” she moans. “3 chords and a bottle is all I need tonight.”
Steel guitarist/dobroist extraordinaire Cindy Cashdollar steps up on “What I’m Thinking” to punctuate Landry’s lament that her soon to be ex beloved is leavin’ but when she catches up to him that sumbitch gonna wish he wuz dead.
Landry dishes out more death wishes along with a Cajun fiddle infusion from Betse Ellis on “I’d Love To Lay You Down.” This ain’t no love song, but a fervent prayer that she can lay down her sleeping around spouse who’s been a-layin’ all the women in town. “About 6 feet under the ground sounds good to me,” she says of her desire to place him in a house with no windows, a marble roof and an inscription out front for all the world to see that his cheatin’ days are done.
Despite all the cheatin’ and drinkin’ and threats of mayhem, No Man’s Land sounds like it was as much fun to make as it is to listen to. You can party with it, drown your sorrows to it, and get up and dance if you can still stand up after all the boozin’ and foolin’ around. Its well worth the trip if you can just survive the journey.
By Grant Britt
