Track Listing

1. Cissy Strut
2. Live Wire
3. Sophisticated Cissy
4. Look-Ka Py Py
5. Pungee
6. Tippi-Toes
7. Soul Island
8. Cabbage Alley
9. People Say
10. Hey Pocky A-Way
11. Just Kissed My Baby
12. Jungle Man
13. Out in the Country
14. Fire on the Bayou
15. They All Ask'd for You
16. Trick Bag

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66303 in Music
• Released on: 1997-06-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

Relentless New Orleans funk
Nearly all of the The Meters best-known sides are here, including their first hit recordings for Josie from the late '60s and more sophisticated tracks laid down for Reprise through the mid-70s. In addition to the seminal funk-soul of "Cissy Strut" and "Look-Ka Py Py," the Meters offered unusual touches like the banjo-like guitar hook of "Tippi-Toes," the happy-go-lucky organ topping "Soul Island," the 50's styled R&B novelty "The All Ask'd For You," and the New Orleans piano of "Cabbage Alley." Though the later works add horns, wah-wah pedals and even (gasp!) vocals, the Meters remained true to their New Orleans rhythmic roots throughout.

Each of the four original Meters was a master of New Orleans meter, with drummer Joseph "Zig" Modeliste showing especially deep mastery of second-line rhythms. Leo Nocentelli's guitar and Art Neville's keyboards combined in a similar way to the soul sounds heard from Booker T & The MG's, but there was an underlying funkiness (in no small part due to the rhythm battery of Modeliste and bassist George Porter, Jr., but also from the way Nocentelli and Neville played both melody to rhythm) that gave the band its distinctive sound.

This is a nearly perfect single-disc distillation of The Meters brand of rootsy New Orleans funk, with excellent, informative liner notes. Those who need a broader view should check out Rhino's double-disc "Funkify Your Live: The Meters Anthology," but most will find this nearly hour-long disc to be a compelling and sufficiently complete tour through the band's catalog.

A great place to start with the Meters
If you are already a Meters fan, chances are you own this recording. If you don't, you should. If you are not familiar with the Meters this is a great place to start. The first track alone, Sissy Strut, is more than worth the price of this cd! Think Booker T and the MG's but with MUCH MORE funk. I am not talking today's over-produced watered down definition of funk or R&B. No, no...we are talking historically significant music that makes you stop in your tracks, look around and say "man, that's good"!

A half-and-half mix of cream and milk
O.k., first off let me say that the Meters are, in my opinion, one of the greatest funk bands of all time. With respect to sheer rhythmic force, and especially drumming, they have no equal.

Now, with that out of the way, lemme explain the three stars. It has to do with track selection. Imagine, for instance, that someone compiled Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits but left out Billie Jean and Rock With You. While the remaining tracks would be great, you'd be leaving out some of, in my opinion, the best music MJ has to offer. Not everyone will agree with that, but for me it's important that quality of the track, and not just chart placement, be considered when compiling a "best of".

In the case of the Meters, there are several absolute musts that ought to be on here. The first three Meters albums -- "The Meters", "Look-ka py py", and "Struttin'" really defined the group. Stand out tracks from those albums include, in no particular order "The Handclapping Song", "Same Old Thing", "Funky Miracle", "Here Comes The Meter Man", and "Stormy" (one of the most underrated of Meters tunes). I'd also add to that list "Stretch Your Rubber Band", which appeared only as a single. Of these, the addition of "Funky Miracle", "The Handclapping Song", and "Stormy" in place of some of the newer Meters tracks (I'd boot "Hey Pocky A-Way", "Out In The Country", and "They All Ask'd For You") would add at least a star, and maybe two (if it was sequenced right) to my rating of this CD.

As it stands, the "very best" doesn't include songs that really are the very best of what the Meters had to offer. Later tracks, especially "Just Kissed My Baby", are a fine addition to one's Meters collection, but exclusion of older, better songs in the name of variety (which is what I think they were shooting for here) is bad form. And bad form only gets three stars from me.