An album by Zuider Zee, a band born in Lafayette, has made Rolling Stone’s 2018 list of the top 10 reissues.
Also on the list are artists like Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Prince and four guys from England who released a white album.
Here’s what the music magazine has to say about the 2018 reissue of “Zeenith”
Recorded in Memphis between 1972 and 1974 but left behind on the way to their 1975 self-titled overlooked debut for Columbia, these demos by this curiously named band originally from Louisiana combine power-pop charge and progressive-rock ambition, as if Yes had made the Beatles’ Abbey Road with David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust sidekick, Mick Ronson, on guitars. It’s the kind of rock-critic catnip that should have made Zuider Zee a cult sensation. It’s not too late.
Among the band’s members was Gary Bertrand, now known around Lafayette for his over-the-top Halloween displays. Bertrand was the drummer; the other members were singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Orange, bassist John Bonar, keyboardist Kim Foreman.
Described by music journalists as a “mysterious cult band,” Zuider Zee was born in Lafayette but shortly moved to Memphis.
Here’s a link to the Rolling Stone story.
And, here’s a link to an article about the history of the band, and how the reissue happened, posted on Rock and Roll Globe.
If you’d like to buy a copy, here’s the link to Light in the Attic Records page.
