Search - Various Artists :: New Orleans Funk

Read the Book - Then Play the Album!

J P Ryan | Waltham, Massachusetts United States | 11/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The UK label Soul Jazz has issued some eye- and ear-catching packages in recent years, and among their most treasured compilations is this mouth-watering collection "New Orleans Funk". Subtitled 'The Original Sound Of Funk 1960 - 75', the compilers bite off fifteen years - and these fifteen were a period of constant musical growth in popular music. New Oleans was teeming with talent, and a vast amount of great music got made by the city's stars, well known eccentrics, and local legends as well. There's an astonishing amount of terrific work - some of it still being (re) discovered and issued by grey-area labels - by more obscure names, those who had the opportunity to make a single or three; lest we forget, the beloved and influential masters who made their livings outside the limelight except for the rare 45, yet helped shape the soul of the Crescent City, as prolific session players. This album's scope really expands to twenty years when you realize that the compilers have wisely included one sublime example of Huey 'Piano' Smith & The Clowns' output for Ace, 1957's 'Free, Single and Disengaged'. This is one ambitious single CD, and though I am very happy to have it, the 24 tracks (also available in a luxurious 3 LP set) can't help but fall a bit short of its ambitions. For contrast check out a few more narrowly focused yet completely successful projects: the three volume "Gumbo Stew" series (issued on Ace/UK in the mid-90s), which examines in depth the legendary artist-run A.F.O. label (Harold Battiste, Roy Montrell, Red Tyler, Melvin Lastie, John Boudreaux, and Pete Badie were the artists-as-executives), an amazing accomplishment considering the high quality of the material (the Ace retrospective has over 65 tracks) A.F.O. recorded, and that the label was in operation for less than two (!) years (1961 - 63).

A similar example, and one still happily in print, is Sundazed's 2-CD "Get Low Down! The Soul Of New Orleans 1965 - 67" a 50-track survey of the Sansu/Amy sides written and produced by the impossibly prolific Allen Toussaint for one of the great N.O. auteur's imprints. After the terrific body of work he produced at Minit (1959 - 63) the consistancy should not be surprising, but the amount and sheer scope of fine work still amazes me. Again, "Get Low Down!" is packed with rarely heard gems (and the occasional hit) by the likes of Lee Dorsey, Eldridge Holmes, Earl King, Betty Harris Benny Spellman, Art Neville (two 1967 singles issued under Art's name represent the first recordings by The Meters outside their capacity as session players for Toussaint).

But with fewer constraints in terms of labels or eras, "New Orleans Funk" uncovers obscure funk bombs rarely heard outside the city limits, and overall it's a pleasure. Even though there has been no attempt to program the set chronologically, and one soon puts aside any reservations about the over-ambitious concept. The lavish booklet, however, is an effective and concise survey of the city's musical history: mini-chapters are devoted to 'The Birth Of New Orleans', 'Jazz Funerals', 'Parades', 'New Orleans and the West Indies', 'N. O. and the music industry' etc, and of course the expected artist profiles. The booklet (and the inner sleeves of the LP edition) features scores of rare single labels reproduced, and it's frustrating that many of the impossible-to-find 45s pictured are NOT on this set..

So, at 24 tracks that still leaves a lot of great you probably don't have AND a nifty book. I was, however, surprised to find I already own at least a third of the material (Lee Dorsey, The Meters, Huey Smith, Dr. John among others). But the suff I didn't know included two bursts of irresistable funk by The Explosions, produced by Eddie Bo - who is himself represented by 'Hook 'n' Sling (Part 2)' and 'Check Your Bucket' (which grooved in my head for days after a mere two plays), a classic jazz/funk groover by June Gardner, Aaron Neville's 1973 'Hercules' (one of several Meters-backed tracks), Professor Longhair's proto-funk (1964) 'Big Chief', and a hot entry by Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indian Band, not to mention titles or artists new to me: Sonny Jones, Mary Jane Hooper, and Chuck Carbo. And if you don't already have The Meters, Dr. John, or Lee Dorsey on CD, you will certainly be seeking them out after hearing the tracks included on this highly enjoyable party platter. The packaging is nifty too. There's plenty of terific New Orleans funk and soul and r&b (and jazz!) out there to explore, though researching and collecting can seem dauntin. If you get this I guarantee a good time. So order it now, then prepare the libations of your choice....

"

Like hotpants on an alligatooor!

Dr. Louis Cochs | Oslo, Norway | 11/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best funk compilations you can get. Trust me, I was born with the funk, I got the afro to prove it, goddamnit, and this is one funky mother! Standout tracks like Big Chief, Can I Be Your Squeeze, Hercules and Just Kissed My Baby are worth the CD alone. Get your wallet out, get juiced up and get down!"