Allen Toussaint: Louie
From Toussaint (Scepter, 1971).
Klaus Wunderlich:Summertime
From Hammond Fur Millionen (Helidon, 1973)
It’s hard to believe that it took Allen Toussaint until 1971 to record his first solo album but New Orleans #1 musical mastermind was probably too busy producing other NOLA acts to get this own material underway. Alas, his Toussaint LP was considered a failure, at least relative to his massive success with other artists. Forget all that – this LP is a worthy purchase on the strength of “Louie” alone, a piano track is so sizzling in soulful, funky goodness that it’s all the proof one needs that Toussaint is godly. Check out the arrangement: this isn’t just some pretty loop but a song with some actual thought put into its joyous jumps and turns.
Meanwhile, for an entirely different sound…Wunderlich has been nicknamed “the Super-Organ Wonder”. [Insert your own joke here]. His organ playing is damn cheesy by today’s standards. No, actually, you’d have to think it was damn cheesy by 1970s standards too. I mean, how can you do a Hammond cover of “Hey Jude” with a straight face? “Summertime” howver, sounds like it was aspiring to some kind of heavy Hammond greatness, slipped and fell into funkiness instead. It’s something the Beatnuts would have sampled. Or maybe they actually did? Try it. You’ll like it.
BY THE WAY
I’ve been quite pleasantly surprised by the positive response to me bringing Deep Covers back in stock. I should have enough copies to accomodate interest: I’ll try to make a point to keep a backstock in the house just in case. If you’re still interested in getting a copy: Holla.
chatter