The Meters A Message from the Meters - The Complete Josie, Reprise & Warner Bros. Singles 1968-1977 3LP

How would you like to hear a new side - or should we say sides - of the world's greatest funk band?

This 3-LP, 40-track collection presents the A and B-side of every single that organist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter, Jr., and drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste cut for the Josie, Reprise & Warner Bros. label, virtually their entire singles output (all but two co-produced by the late, great Allen Toussaint) save for a few odds 'n' ends issued mostly overseas. That means that you not only get every hit along with its hard-to-find B-side but also the rare single mixes, including the especially rare original mono single mixes of the 1968-1971 Josie sides, very few of which have appeared on vinyl since their original 45 release (the first three LP sides are all mono; the last three, featuring the later Reprise and Warner Bros. singles, presents all stereo single mixes).

These songs represent the mother lode of New Orleans funk, classic tracks like "Sophisticated Cissy," "Cissy Strut," "Look-Ka Py Py," "Chicken Strut," "Hand Clapping Song," "Hey Pocky A-Way," and more. And, with liner notes by Bill Dahl featuring quotes from Nocentelli, Neville, and Porter, this 3-LP set offers the best vinyl retrospective to date of this enormously influential band.

And how's the sound? Well, after extensive and exhaustive tape research, Real Gone Music were able to come up with original tape sources for all but five of these single sides, and the remastering - by Mike Milchner at SonicVision - is tight!

Crate diggers, take your marks!

The Meters defined New Orleans funk, not only on their own recordings, but also as the backing band for numerous artists, including many produced by Allen Toussaint. Where the funk of Sly Stone and James Brown was wild, careening, and determinedly urban, The Meters were down-home and earthy. Nearly all of their own recordings were instrumentals, putting the emphasis on the organic and complex rhythms. The syncopated, layered percussion intertwined with the gritty grooves of the guitar and organ, creating a distinctive sound that earned a small, devoted cult during the '70s, including musicians like Paul McCartney and Robert Palmer, both of whom used the group as a backing band for recording. Despite their reputation as an extraordinary live band, The Meters never broke into the mainstream, but their sound provided the basis for much of the funk and hip-hop of the '80s and '90s.