Allen Toussaint

The Allen Toussaint Collection	Southern Nights Containing Some of the Best Songs He's Written, Southern Nights is Allen Toussaint's 1975 "Swing for the Fences" Attempt at a Full-out Masterpiece. Somewhat of a Concept Album, with Reoccurring Instrumental Themes Usually Based on the Title Track Popping Up Between Songs, "Southe...	Life, Love and Faith While a Soul Record Through and Through, this Effort from the Multi-talented New Orleans Native Shares Some of the Singer/Songwriter Vibe of his Contemporary Labelmates, Such as Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and Lowell George and Little Feat. Stand Out Tracks Include "Soul Sister,...	What Is Success: The Scepter & Bell Recordings This CD restores to catalogue Toussaint's second album - the first that he released under his own name - titled originally "Toussaint", then renamed "From A Whisper To A Scream" - augmented with the A- and B-sides of three Bell 45s from 1968 and 1969. Five of these have never bee...	Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino It wasn't until Fats Domino's New Orleans house was heavily damaged in Hurricane Katrina that many people realized the great R&B pioneer was still alive. Now 79 and fairly reclusive, Domino had a tremendous influence on '50s popular music, his infectious boogie-woogie and triplet...
Dr. John's Gumbo After the studio bloat of 1971's The Sun, Moon & Herbs, Gumbo is a tightly focused return to Rebennack's musical roots. His band is full of Louisiana legends (Harold Battiste, Lee Allen) plus lesser known but equally important 'Nawlins heroes: Ronnie Barron, Alvin Robinson, and a...	From a Whisper to a Scream	Back To The River Back To The River is Susan Tedeschi's 2008 album, her second recording for Verve Forecast. Susan writes, sings and plays on a hard-driving collection of new songs that offer an emotionally honest look at love and life. Produced by George Drakoulias (Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker...	Pacific Ocean Blue (Legacy Edition) Apart from the non-release of Smile, the biggest lament of hardcore Beach Boys fans is that Bruce Johnston aside, none of the non-Brian Wilson solo albums are available on CD. But now, for fans of late drummer Dennis Wilson, there's reason to celebrate as his only-released solo a...	The River in Reverse Some inspired music has arrived in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (mainly on New Orleans-themed benefit albums), but nothing as audaciously ambitious as this cross-generational collaboration between Crescent City mainstay Allen Toussaint and former British upstart turned adventuro...

+1/2 -- Seminal New Orleans songwriter/pianist's 1971 solo LP
By the time Allen Toussaint recorded this 1971 LP he was already a New Orleans R&B legend, first as a pianist, then as an arranger and soon thereafter as a songwriter and producer. Under both his own name and his nom de plume "Naomi Neville," Toussaint spun off a string of hits that turned the rhythms of New Orleans into R&B icons, including Ernie K. Doe's "Mother in Law," Benny Spellman's "Fortune Teller," and Lee Dorsey's "Ya Ya" and "Working in the Coal Mine." His songs would be recorded and re-recorded, branching out to hits by Herb Alpert ("Whipped Cream") and the oft-covered "Get Out of My Life Woman" (which found its way into the diverse hands of Solomon Burke, Iron Butterfly, Freddy Fender, The Leaves, Mountain and dozens more!). Toussaint had recorded an album of instrumentals in 1958, but the intimate nature of this 1971 release makes it feel like an artist's debut. Toussaint offered up eight originals (including re-workings of several songs previously given to others) and re-imagined covers of Harlan Howard's "The Chokin' Kind" and Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." The latter two, a country song and a West Coast jazz instrumental, might have been out of place if not for Toussaint's brilliance as both an arranger and pianist. The former, originally recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1967 and given an R&B treatment by Joe Simon in 1969, was extrapolated into funky southern soul that's barely recognizable as the original; Toussaint realigned the lyrical emphasis and buried the trademark title hook in the chorus, arcing the song to a terrific riffing end. Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" was taken at a slower, more loping tempo and given deliciously bluesy chordings on Toussaint's piano. Recorded in Los Angeles (much like Dr. John's "Gumbo," the following year), Toussaint surrounded himself with players from New Orleans (including Dr. John on guitar and organ), and together they laid down terrific funk-inspired soul. The instrumentals layered brassy horn charts on funky bottom ends, bringing to mind both the Meters and the jazz grooves of the Crusaders. Toussaint double-tracked himself for the lead-off track's pleading lyric of lost love, playing it desperately cool against the hot backing vocals of Merry Clayton and Venetta Fields. "Sweet Touch of Love" offers the sort of mid-tempo Southern soul plied by Joe South with a snappy horn chart and superb percussion. "What is Success," is punchy and sly, mapping out the arrangement that Bonnie Raitt would use a few years later, and Lee Dorsey's "Working in the Coal Mine" plays up its New Orleans origins with a thickened second-line rhythm. Finally, the swampy arrangement of "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky" distinguishes itself from Lee Dorsey's sparer rendition, and even farther from the bass, organ and horns of jazzman Lou Donaldson's 1967 take. The CD's two bonus instrumentals include the Ramsey Lewis-styled "Number Nine" (which sounds like Young-Holt Unlimited recorded at Muscle Shoals), and the lengthy "Poor Folks," which segues back and forth between romantic piano interludes and syncopated funk workouts. Toussaint waxed several more fine albums in the '70s before taking a hiatus as a front-line artist. Though not technically his debut, this is clearly his true start as a solo artist, providing a good helping of both his vocals and piano playing. Varese's CD crisply reproduces the album's original ten tracks and adds a pair of bonus instrumentals. A pricier reissue (titled "What Is Success: The Scepter & Bell Recordings") on the UK Ace label adds a trio of earlier singles that are worth hearing. Either way, this is an album worth owning. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]

What You Need To Know
Allen Toussaint is one of the greatest songwriters to emerge from the city of New Orleans. The astonishing array of artists who have recorded his tunes include The Rolling Stones ("Fortune Teller"), Lee Dorsey, The Judds and Devo ("Working In The Coal Mine"), Glen Campbell ("Southern Nights"), The Band ("Holy Cow"), The Pointer Sisters ("Yes We Can"), Robert Palmer ("Sneakin' Sally Thru The Alley") and Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass ("Whipped Cream,") to name just a few. This highly sought after album was first issued in the early 70s, and features Allen playing several of his hit songs. This CD also includes two tracks not included on the original album. Features DR. John on organ and guitar, with Merry Clayton on backing vocals.