June 06, 2023

The Meters - Good Old Funky Music (rel. in 1990)

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Good ol' funky Meters
The complicated history of the Meters. This band is a big paradox : despite their legendary reputation as musical innovators, “inventors” the New Orleans funk style (also baptized “second line funk” or “bayou funk”), and extraordinary live act, and although they recorded hit songs, they never managed to establish themselves as a mainstream group.

Formed in 1965, The Meters developed a brilliant combination of tight melodic grooves and syncopated New Orleans "second line" rhythms highly charged with the organ, guitar, bass and drums each weaving lines trading off melody and rhythm roles seamlessly.

L. to R.: Leo, George, Zigaboo & Art

In 1965, keyboardist & vocalist Art Neville recruited bassist George Porter Jr., young innovative drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste (he was then 17 !) and guitarist Leo Nocentelli to form what soon became the house band for Allen Toussaint's record label, Sansu Enterprises. They put their particular style and sound as backing musicians to the service of other local artists like Lee Dorsey, Earl King, Betty Harris, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Labelle (in the 1974 mega hit “Lady Marmalade”), Chris Kenner, Toussaint himself, or “outsiders” like Robert Palmer or Paul McCartney.

Art Neville's brother Cyril joined the band in 1975 as a percussionist and vocalist. At the same period The Meters joined the Rolling Stones as their opening act on their American (1975) and European (1976) tours.

In 1976, the band, joined by Charles and Aaron Neville, helped the Mardi Gras Indian group Wild Tchoupitoulas, led by the Nevilles' uncle Big Chief Jolly (George Landry), to record their acclaimed eponymous album.

The Neville Brothers

The experience certainly played an important role in the formation of the Neville Brothers, after the Meters disbanded shortly after the release of their last album, “New Directions”, in 1977. After being revoked as the band's producer, Toussaint claimed the rights to the name ! The Meters gave up and called it quit. The Neville Brothers' time had come.

The Nevilles reached the successful stature that the Meters never did. Nevertheless, before the official end of the Neville Brothers in 2012, the Meters had already resurfaced under different names and varying line-up : The Funky Meters, The Original Meters, The Meter Men.

Russell Batiste had replaced Modeliste on drums. Four years later, Nocentelli left the band and was replaced by Brian Stoltz, who had played with the Neville Brothers, then by Ian Neville (Art's son) between 2007 and 2011, before Nocentelli's return. A bit confusing, isn't it ?

These different incarnations performed on and off, mainly in festivals. Since 2020, except for Art Neville who retired in 2018 before passing in 2019, the actual line-up is the original one : Porter Jr. (bass, background vocals), Modeliste (drums, vocals) and Nocentelli (guitar, background vocal). But except live albums and older unreleased material like this album, they haven't put out any new studio work.

The album. All the ingredients of the New Orleans groove can be heard in this collection of various tracks recorded between 1968 and the mid-1970s and produced by Allen Toussaint . Not all of them are pure funk though the Meters sound is basically funky.

Art Neville

The band delivers rocking numbers like the opener “Good Old Funky Music”, a dancing demonstration of early psychedelic funk a la Meters (prominent bass, wah-wah guitar, backing keyboard, and Modeliste special drumming style); like “Rock'N'Roll Medley” with its Dr John feel and typical multi-vocals by all members of the band; like the growling “He Bite Me” (hard bass & drum); like the outstanding “Pickin' And A Grinnin'” featuring Nocentelli impressive guitar over a devilish beat; like “Keep On Marching” with its rhythmic breaks.

The band alternates with the slow and sorrowful “Riddle Song”, an organ-led ballad sung by Art, which announces the future hits of the Neville Brothers sung by Aaron, and with soul numbers like “What More Can I Do?”,  the melodic and melancholic mid-tempo “I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You” or “Heartache”.

They also deliver a rejoicing version of “Jambalaya” in a kind of reggae-flavored zydeco, and close the album in a rather spooky psychedelic atmosphere with “Voodoo”, an important element of New Orleans cultural tradition. I strongly suspect Cyril to be the one behind it.

Probably not the best work of the Meters, but some tracks really deserve a good listen and have a real historical interest. ■

Keyboardist and singer
Art Neville already had an impressive career when he formed the Meters. In 1954, with his band the Hawketts he recorded “Mardi Gras Mambo”, an Afro-Caribbean romp in the Prof. Longhair tradition that became a beloved Carnival-season anthem in New Orleans. He also made brilliant R&B records as a solo artist, including “Cha-Dooky-Doo,” (1958) and “All These Things” (1962), a timeless regional favorite, especially among slow-dancers. "Poppa Funk", as he was dubbed, was the central figure of the Meters, the Neville Brothers and the “new” Meters.

Zigaboo Modeliste
, whose innovative beat, known as second-line funk, was later sampled by numerous hip-hop bands and artists, started a new chapter of his career after leaving the Meters, releasing a few albums and drumming for renowned artists as the Rolling Stones, Harry Connick Jr, Aaron Neville, Keith Richards, Professor Longhair, John Fogerty, Dr. John, Robert Palmer, Allen Toussaint, Patti LaBelle, Lee Dorsey... Relocated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980s, he performed with the band Zigaboo Modeliste and The New Aahkesstra, before returning with the Meters in 2020,

George Porter Jr
remained in demand as a session musician for many years, and recorded several albums (“Runnin' Partner” in 1990, “Things Ain't What They Used to Be” a live in 1995, “Funk This” in 1997), while sharing his time between his band Runnin' Pardners and the different versions of the revived Meters.

Nocentelli (left) & Cyril Neville
Leo Nocentelli played with the Funky Meters until 1993, when he decided to go solo and performed with different line-ups while becoming a prolific song-writer. In 2021, after being “lost” for fifty years, acoustic tracks recorded in 1971 with future Meters Porter and Modeliste, and with Toussaint on keyboards, were recovered and released on an album titled “Another Side”. He has been back with the Meters from 2020.


Videos
"Zigaboo" Modeliste
The Meters and their reincarnations (The Funky Meters, The Original Meters)
AUDIO  - “Good Old Funky Music”, the full album : https://youtu.be/ZPAkDvd59w8
With Dr. John, Prof. Longhair & Earl King, New Orleans, 1974 : https://youtu.be/_Ni86fbehf8
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1990 : https://youtu.be/LU1ec0cFjLw
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1992 : https://youtu.be/bTP7HbFSFOA
Leo Nocentelli
WorldJam Festival, Cincinnati, OH, 2000 :
Waterfront Independence Festival, Louisville, KY, 4th of July, 2011 :
“Cissy Strut”, Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, San Francisco, 2011 : https://youtu.be/iqkr4TsKOS4
George Porter Jr
Bear Creek Music Festival, Live Oak, FL, 2011 : https://youtu.be/ObrGMuX-cBM
The Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans, 2012 : https://youtu.be/psPFhu4kKgw
Nederland, CO, 2013 : https://youtu.be/24jDZ1zsTg8
Pisgah Brewery, Black Mountain, NC, 2015 : https://youtu.be/ibzQLtgacWE
With Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint (his last performance), Blues & BBQ Festival, New Orleans, 2015 : https://youtu.be/W4UCstWGdU0
"Just Kissed My Baby", New Orleans JazzFest, 2015 : https://youtu.be/_Ca7iw6Rs70
New Orleans, 2016 : https://youtu.be/ki-7jPzgmI0
The Music Box, Hollywood, CA, 2017 : https://youtu.be/Jm_4AstdCqU
''It Ain't No Use”, New Orleans JazzFest, 2017 : https://youtu.be/7O96wF1-58o

Besides the Meters : Leo Nocentelli / George Porter Jr. / Cyril Neville / Zigaboo Modeliste / Russell Batiste
Funky Leo
Short Documentary : “Leo Nocentelli : The Meters Funk”, 2020 : https://youtu.be/JddyO0Cts78
Leo Nocentelli :
Tipitina's, New Orleans, 2021 : https://youtu.be/E_ymmsIp8dM?t=464
The Funky Uncle, New Orleans, 2021 : https://youtu.be/iOOd3__FT4g?t=123
Leo Nocentelli and George Porter Jr, The Funky Uncle, New Orleans, 2021 : https://youtu.be/tvPHCRGIg-o?t=102
Porter
George Porter Jr, Ivan Neville, Johnny Vidacovich & June Yamagishi, Maple Leaf, New Orleans, 2011 :
“Papa Was A Rolling Stone” : https://youtu.be/DQIQJkjGFsI
“Let The Good Times Roll” : https://youtu.be/T0wPn7jcKTk
Art on stage
George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners :
Space, Evanston, IL, 2013 : https://youtu.be/yy0apLSZ5EU
Birthday Bash, The Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans, 2010 :
    - “He Bite Me” : https://youtu.be/8NM4Eu96nN8
    - “Check Out Your Mind” : https://youtu.be/SDIypvobNSE
    - “Junco Partner” with Anders Osborne, Stanton Moore & Kirk Joseph : https://youtu.be/xpLDfD3_h74
Salvage Station, Asheville, NC, 2017 : https://youtu.be/0_NwSF7YuKc?t=31
The Funky Uncle, New Orleans, 2021 : https://youtu.be/CeLpxJBQYnA?t=72
Zigaboo
George Porter Jr. Trio feat. June Yamagishi, NOLA Brewery, New Orleans, 2016 : https://youtu.be/rhPhYz7vJwQ
George Porter Jr. talks bass, 2016 : https://youtu.be/sjzK__zQUFE
George Porter Jr. with Widespread Panic, "Hey Pocky Way", New Orleans, 2019 : https://youtu.be/c5-d5FW_rxI
Cyril Neville with Royal Southern Brotherhood, Rockpalast, Germany, 2012 : https://youtu.be/4dReiFelE0o
Cyril Neville
Cyril Neville with Dr. Klaw (feat. Ian Neville on guitar) :
Fiya Fest, New Orleans, 2016 : https://youtu.be/0zLuPP5c06E
Crawfish Festival, New Orleans, 2018 : https://youtu.be/pN2Liy6sOLY
Cyril Neville's Swamp Funk, Louisiana Music Factory, New Orleans, 2019 : https://youtu.be/MRJZZu2Ulvg
Zigaboo Modeliste & The Coalminers, London, 2011 : https://youtu.be/xwM9d97Jpj4
Russell Batiste & The Gladiators, The Funky Uncle, New Orleans, 2021 : https://youtu.be/aN8wVbQnfKc?t=186
Allen Toussaint & the Funky Meters, "Ride Your Pony", Blues & BBQ Festival, New Orleans, 2015 : https://youtu.be/9N8HNYtNpl8

And also...
Labelle (Patti is on the left)
(Patti) LaBelle, “Lady Marmalade”, 1974 :
Patti Labelle at the White House, 2014 : https://youtu.be/gUCsrDrMdCA?t=31
Patti Labelle, 2017 (?) : https://youtu.be/PntBbFKntgE
Homage to the Meters by a group of French musicians (Vella Vincent : vocals; Benjamin Delarue : guitar; Romain Roussoulière-Ross : guitar; Nicolas Liesnard : keyboards; Jérôme Cornelis : sax; Julien Favier : percussions; Toma Milteau : drums; and Max Darmon : bass), Caveau des Oubliettes, Paris, France, 2018 : #1: https://youtu.be/7Z8EtOHXC84 / #2 : https://youtu.be/Fgb3RTR9nXw / #3 : https://youtu.be/DE8UFWqk_jM / #4 : https://youtu.be/tD5B9Sfa52I

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