Southern Funkin': Louisiana Soul 1967-1979

by N/A

Overview

None of these 22 Louisiana funk/soul obscurities (none of which postdate 1975) were on big labels. And almost none of the performers have any name recognition value among general listeners, with the possible exception of "Count" Rockin' Sidney (better known as the zydeco artist of "My Toot Toot" fame) and Katie Webster. That doesn't mean that such material isn't of possible interest, of course. But the questions that arise are: is it good, and does it have a distinct regional identity? Those are hard to answer with authority. This soul-bleeding-into-funk crossover is solid, but nothing to make the Meters sweat, being more derivative of national trends (particularly James Brown) than innovative of their own paths; some passing traces of Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Jean Knight (of "Mr. Big Stuff" fame), and other major soulsters of the time can also be whiffed from time to time. There's some Louisiana flavor to some of the vocal drawl and idiosyncratically loping rhythms, but the material is only average, and the Cajun influence is rather less than you might expect from reading the quite thoroughly researched liner notes. Plus, while the liner notes make pains to note this was culled from outside of the city of New Orleans (which had its own strong soul-funk scene going on), some of it does sound a little like local artists you might have seen enlisted as warm-up acts for the Meters. It's primarily for listeners who listen to funk as a main part of their diet, though there are some above-average cuts with less slick production than many of their big city counterparts. Take a listen, for example, to Dennis Landry's "Miss Hard to Get," with its hustling beat and wah-wah guitars, or Leroy Soileau's "Wish You Were Here," which sounds a little like a swamp pop Bill Withers (though the track here unfortunately suffers from some varispeed, slowing down briefly as though the battery's running down). ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	07/19/2005
Label:	Bgp
UPC:	0029667516815
Rank:	54583

Tracks

1. Wish You Were Here  -  Soileau
2. I Got a Groove
3. Black Water Gold  -  African Music Machine
4. One Day  - Rockin' Tabby Thomas
5. Soul Time  - Ernest "Tabby" Thomas
6. Soul Brother's Testify Pt.1
7. Bury the Hatchet  -  Rockin' Sidney
8. Crazy Girl Pt.1  -  Love
9. Stop  - Camille "Lil" Bob
10. Miss Hard to Get  -  Landry
11. Fix It  - Clifton White
12. I'm Gonna Put My Foot Down  - Bill Parker
13. No Sad Times  - Johnny Truitt
14. Concentration  -  Landry
15. Be a Man  - Dynamic Adam
16. Hell or High Water  - Katie Webster
17. Everybody's Doin' It  -  Love
18. Proud Man  -  Jacobs
19. Soul Power  -  Abraham And The Casanovas
20. Put It On  -  Rockin' Sidney
21. Soul Feeling Pt.1  - Eddy "G" Giles
22. Soul Feeling Pt.2  - Eddy "G" Giles

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rockin' Sidney   Primary Artist
Little Johnny Truitt   Primary Artist
Clifton White   Primary Artist
Abraham And The Casanovas   Primary Artist
Katie Webster   Primary Artist
African Music Machine   Primary Artist
Rockin' Tabby Thomas   Primary Artist
Dynamic Adam   Primary Artist
Freddie Love   Primary Artist
Dennis Landry   Primary Artist
Bill Parker   Primary Artist,Primary Artist
Camille "Lil" Bob   Primary Artist
Eddy "G" Giles   Primary Artist
Leroy Soileau   Primary Artist
Ernest "Tabby" Thomas   Primary Artist
Donnie Jacobs   Primary Artist
Notables   Primary Artist
J.J. Caillier   Primary Artist
Eddy "G" Giled   Primary Artist
Abraham & The Casanovas   Primary Artist
Count Rockin' Sidney   Primary Artist
Dalton Francis & The Flaming Arrows   Primary Artist
The Dukes   Primary Artist
Chester Randle's Soul Senders   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Jerry Ragovoy   Composer
Little Johnny Truitt   Composer
Edwin Williams   Composer
Johnnie Allan   Photo Courtesy
Louis Villery   Composer
Donnie Jacobs   Composer
Clifton White   Composer
Jon Broven   Photography,Photo Courtesy,Project Consultant,Research
Liquid Smoke   Composer
Robert Sacre   Photo Courtesy
Axel Kuestner   Cover Photo
Mike Leadbitter   Photography
Paul "Blind Man" Harris   Photo Courtesy
Nick Robbins   Mastering
Mort Shuman   Composer
Dennis Landry   Composer
Freddie Love   Composer
Ernest "Tabby" Thomas   Composer
Dean Rudland   Liner Notes
Leroy Soileau   Composer
Eddie Shuler   Composer