The Meters - The Meters 1969

Initially created to be the house band for Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn's Sansu Enterprises, the Meters started out backing such famous names as Lee Dorsey and Betty Harris. Led by organist Art Neville, the quartet was rounded out by jazz-influenced guitarist Leo Nocentelli, along with the bubbling rhythm section of bassist George Porter, Jr. and drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste. Booker T. & the M.G.'s may have been the most obvious influence, but the Meters differentiated themselves by injecting a healthy dose of New Orleans funk into their sound. Led by Neville's fat-sounding organ, the Meters quickly scored hits with the sinewy "Cissy Strut" and the more languid "Sophisticated Cissy." Simplicity is the hallmark of this impressive debut and nuance is paramount, whether it's Nocentelli's lazy riffs echoing throughout "Ease Back" or Modeliste unobtrusively riding his hi-hat along the perimeter of the Memphis-fried "6V6 La." Not unlike the M.G.'s, the Meters were masters of interpretation -- the band here moves easily from a chugging reading of Sly Stone's "Sing a Simple Song," to kicking back on a smoky version of the Classics IV's "Stormy." AMG.

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The Meters - Rejuvenation 1974

The title is a tip-off, as is the garish, blaxploitation-chic photo on the cover -- Rejuvenation, the Meters' second album for Reprise, should be seen as a bit of a new beginning for the quintessential New Orleans funk group. It's not a clean beginning, since they were pointing in this direction on Cabbage Alley, but this is where their glistening, clear production, crisp performances, rock influences, and hard-edged funk coalesce into a sound distinct from their Josie recordings -- not better, just different. As such, this is the definitive Reprise album from the Meters, not just because the material is stronger (which admittedly is true), but because the performances are continually inspired and the production is professional but hits at a gut level, resulting in a first-class funk album. [Sundazed's 2000 reissue contains the single versions of "People Say" and "Hey Pocky-A-Way" as bonus tracks.] AMG.

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