When I think of the genius of the late, great Allen Toussaint, I think of the masterpiece he made with Lee Dorsey in 1970.

This song, produced by Mark Ronson as part of the “Re:Generation” project, is like a neutral-ground hang, a crawfish boil, and a Saints tailgating afternoon rolled into one. That legendary drummer Zigaboo Modeliste is at the center of things should come as no surprise. But producer Ronson, best known forRead More

Drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, the grease-popping soul stylist of Meters fame, settles into a creamy seasonal groove here — sounding in no small way like chitlin-circuit crooner Tyrone Davis. Appearing on this year’s New Life, a genre-busting triumph, “Holiday Kiss” turns the typical Christmas-time theme on its ear — following theRead More

Here’s a look back at the Top 10 stories from last month on SomethingElseReviews.com, based on page views from our readers. Click through the titles for complete details … No. 10 — ONE TRACK MIND: ALEX MACHACEK, ‘VERY SAD’: Alex Machacek, whose thrilling pyrotechnic brilliance we’ve already raved about, peelsRead More

Zigaboo Modeliste discusses how his celebratory writing style has continued to grow, and why he never expected one of the Meters’ most memorable sides to see wide release.

“If there is a 13th wonder,” fellow Meters co-founder George Porter Jr. once said of Zigaboo Modeliste, “then he is it.”

New Life arrived amidst much anticipation of something in keeping with drummer Zigaboo Modeliste’s mythically groovetastic tenure with the Meters. And, bless him, I got it. But that wasn’t all. Take the title track. “New Life” doesn’t mimic the expected grease-fire funk of his old band, so much as forcablyRead More

Even today, there’s still no roadmap for Dr. John and the Meters’ crazy-eyed co-mingling of R&B, jazz, island beats, blues, boogie funk and hoodoo.

A tucked-away treasure, the Meters never found their own fame like Booker T. and the MGs. No matter. Let it be our secret. Our funky, funky secret.

Decades before it became a catchy rallying cry for an historic presidential campaign, “Yes We Can” was associated with an inspired message of another kind: the essence of New Orleans-styled funk. Crescent City all-world songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint has done more in his behind-the-scenes role to shape New OrleansRead More