Personnel includes: Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, Jr. (vocals, accordion, keyboards); David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar); Lee Allen Zeno (guitar, bass); Eric Clapton, Selwyn Cooper, Jimmy Reed, Paul Senegal, Melvin Veazie, Mike Melchione, Joesph "Cookie" Chavis (guitar); Wilbert Miller (harmonica, percussion); Anthony Butler (alto saxophone); Dennis Taylor, Vince Williams (tenor saxophone); Steve Berlin, Roger Lewis (baritone saxophone); Lee Thornberg, Gregory Davis, Curtis Watson, Andre Carter (trumpet); Reginal M. Dural (keyboards, rubbord, percussion); Gerald Dural, Patrick Landry (keyboards); Herman "Rat" Brown, Nat Jolivette, Nathaniel Jolivette, Kevin Menard (drums); Lisa Mednick, Allison Young (background vocals).

Producers include: Ted Fox, Scott Billington, Lieb Ostrow, Buckwheat Zydeco, Rick Fenton.

Compilation producer: Ted Fox.

Includes liner notes by Ted Fox.

The Buckwheat Zydeco Story: A 20-Year Party paints a nice portrait of Buckwheat Zydeco's rise from independent labels to stardom, following him from Turning Point, his first record for Rounder in 1983, to 1997's Trouble, the last record he cut for a major label. In the years separating those two albums, he recorded a wealth of great music, more than can fit on a 15-track collection, but The Buckwheat Zydeco Story is nevertheless a good, concise sampler that works as an excellent introduction for neophytes. Yes, longtime followers will probably have a few favorites missing, but they'll only need to turn here for the previously unreleased 1998 live recording of "Hey Baby," which is really good. Curious listeners, however, will find that this gives a nice feeling for the arc of Buckwheat Zydeco's career, and that it gives a good idea of where to turn to next -- whether that would be the early Rounder material or the Island albums that made him a near-household name. That makes the compilation a good introduction to Buckwheat, even if it may not be definitive. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine