Triple vinyl LP pressing. 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 collecton 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 it's 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, we 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. Now in a lower-priced black vinyl edition for crate-diggers everywhere!
K**L
Certified Banger
This 3 LP release is slamming with all the fly Meters joints.
I**G
Excellent package and Excellent sound.
A perfect collection of The Meters!
F**E
Awesome anthology of the great Funk Band.
Highly recommended !
J**H
Five Stars
YES
J**R
Twenty years after the release of Rhino Records's excellent 2-CD career
Twenty years after the release of Rhino Records's excellent 2-CD career, spanning anthology (“The Meters Anthology: Funkify Your Life”) Real Gone Music has released this fine 2-CD set. This time around, the collection is comprised exclusively of songs that were issued as singles. Yes, the Meters recorded some great LP tracks that are always nice to hear; but, they weren't issued as singles, so they don't belong on this collection.If you have the Sundazed discs (or their German counterparts from 2001) or even the Rhino collection mentioned above, I'd have a hard time calling this set a “must-have.” If you're a newbie, this collection is a fine place to start an exploration of the Meters' music. If you're a Meters completist who wants to hear the original single mixes, this is a cost-effective way of doing that. I have no idea how the sound quality of this disc compares to that of the original Josie singles. I will defer to the previous reviewer (“Amazon Customer”) re the sound quality. Perhaps to some, the sound quality of this release will disappoint; to my old ears, even the worst-sounding tracks on this set still sound fine.Odd to me that “Amazon Customer” specifically cited “Look-Ka Py Py” as a lesser-quality track. For me, that song is by far the most interesting one here. I'd love to know what the source of that recording was because it's different than any version I've ever heard elsewhere. For the most part, it's the same track I've heard countless times with two differences. It fades out about 15 seconds sooner than any other version I possess AND it is totally lacking the intro vocals. On this version the song starts with a couple measures of solo drums. (I don't own a copy of the original mono single, so I don't know if this is how the intro actually sounded on the mono single or if this was an error when the CD was produced. Regardless, this is the kind of anomaly that appeals to me as a completist.)As “Amazon Customer” stated, disc two sounds very good, but those who own the Sundazed CDs won't really find much noteworthy here. Five of the 18 tracks (“Chug Chug Chug-A-Lug” Parts I + II, “Hey Pocky A-Way,” “People Say” and “Running Fast”) were released as bonus tracks on the Sundazed releases. “Be My Lady” was issued as a bonus track on the German (Rhino) release of the band's “New Directions” LP as well as on the “Essentials” compilation here in the USA. The single versions of “Africa” and “They All Ask'd For You” are each about 15 second shorter than the LP versions. The other 10 tracks are the same length as the LP versions and sound very much like those LP versions (although I haven't sat down and compared the LP and single versions to see if there are subtle – or even not-so-subtle - differences in the mixes.)Again, if you're just starting to explore the Meters, this is a great place to start. If you already have a fairly thorough collection, you need to decide if the Josie single mixes are worth the cost of admission.
R**N
Five Stars
Great CD
A**R
It's okay
I'm a big fan of the Meters, and Real Gone's remastered Gris-Gris cd and their King Curtis set sound wonderful. So I was really looking forward to this set. But the first couple songs on disc one sound like needledrops and others sound like they were ripped from old cassettes (especially Look-Ka Py Py). Yes, RG warns you on their site that five of the songs are not from tape. And some of these recordings are almost 50 years old, so if the tapes weren't stored properly, there's gonna be some damage. I guess you get what you pay for.Disc two really isn't essential. Sound quality's fine, but a lot of those single mixes were released as bonus tracks on the Sundazed editions 15 years ago (which sound great).All in all, it's still the Meters. If you're not that picky, and this is your first time diving into the Meters's work, go ahead and get it. It's a nice summary of their career. But if you're a lifelong fan with all their albums, and you wanna hear the original mono single mixes in the best possible quality, go buy the old 45's.
H**D
ニューオーリンズ・ファンクの雄ミーターズ入門編
ミーターズデビューから77年までのシングル集。バンドの変遷としては、Disc1の隙間の多い後ノリなインスト中心のグルーヴから、徐々に歌もの（どちらかというと添え物といった感じですが）も織り交ぜたファンキーなものへと微妙に変化していきます。Disc2の後半から76年以降という時代なのか妙にディスコチックになってタイトなノリになってきます。どの時期をとっても演奏は一糸乱れぬものでとても良質なので賛否はあれどバンドの個性は初期～中期にあるのかなという感じです。ミーターズのアルバムはどこから入ればいいかわからない人にとってもこのアルバムは入門編となるはず。Disc1(68年～71年)はまるまるモノラルなので聴きづらいと思う人はいるかも。ただ、モノラルで聴けるというのも貴重ではあるし、バンドの圧が感じられるバージョンではあります。
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