Rolling With The Punches: The Allen Toussaint Songbook on CD
Rolling With The Punches: The Allen Toussaint Songbook
CD
CD (Compact Disc)
Conventional CD, playable with all CD players and computer drives, but also with most SACD or multiplayers.
- Label:
- Ace
- Year of recording ca.:
- 1961-85
- Item number:
- 3138135
- UPC/EAN:
- 0029667050623
- Release date:
- 29.10.2012
* Mono/Stereo
Toussaint produzierte die Titel 'Right Place Wrong Time’ für Dr. John und
den No. 1 Funk-Hit ’Lady Marmalade’ für LaBelle (1974). Die Pointer Sisters
übernahmen im August 1973 ’Yes We Can Can’ als ihre erste Single
(Original von Lee Dorsey vom August 1970), aus Toussaints Soloalbum
’Southern Nights’ (1975) koppelte Glen Campbell den Titelsong aus,
und machte daraus im Februar 1977 einen millionenfach umgesetzten
Country-Hit. Der umtriebige Produzent und kreative Kopf hinter dem New
Orleans-Sound sowie Solo-Artist findet endlich auch in der von Kritikern
bejubelten Songwriter-Serie von Ace Berücksichtigung.
Die 24 erlesenen Tracks sind eine ausgewogene Mischung formidabler Pop- und Southern Soul-Hits der 1960er und 70er Jahre. U. a. mit Boz Scaggs – ‘Hercules‘, Warren Zevon – ‘A Certain Girl‘, Robert Palmer – ‘Sneakin’ Sally Thru The Alley’, The Meters – ‘Ride Your Pony’, Frankie Miller – ‘Shoora’, Aaron Neville – ‘Let’s Live’, Glen Campbell – ‘Southern Nights’, Bonnie Raitt – ‘What Is Success’ u. v.a.
It should surprise no-one that Allen Toussaint has been added to Ace’s songwriter series. In a career that’s in its seventh decade, this quietly spoken, modest son of New Orleans has written some of the greatest hits ever to grace the Great American Songbook. And on his own, too – there can be very few black American composers who have written so many successful songs without the aid of a collaborator. Between 1960 and 1980, barely a week went by without his compositions appearing on the R&B or Hot 100 charts. Some were subsequently revived, in multiple versions, and often with renewed success. Most of them are the kind of popular music standards of which any songwriter would be proud.
“Rolling With The Punches” is a compilation that celebrates Allen’s glittering career in a rounded and highly appropriate manner. Other anthologies of his work as a songwriter have tended to be built around the numbers he wrote during the first 10 years of his career – and we couldn’t omit titles such as ‘Ride Your Pony’, ‘Fortune Teller’ and ‘Working In The Coal Mine’ here. However, rather than massively duplicate what those other collections have to offer, this one focuses primarily on the later songs Allen penned in a period when he was looking beyond the constraints of the 3-minute single and moving his writing in new directions.
Many of the tracks featured here are sung by some of Allen’s biggest musical admirers. Robert Palmer, Boz Scaggs, Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat’s Lowell George all recorded multiple of his songs, so we were often spoiled for choice as to whose versions of which songs to include. We also couldn’t omit Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, Lee Dorsey or Ernie K-Doe, all of whom have career-long associations with Allen. No tribute to him could be complete without at least one contribution from each.
Neither could we leave out the man himself. The compilation features pristine examples of Allen’s work as a vocalist (‘Soul Sister’) and instrumentalist (the Rhine Oaks’ ‘Tampin’’). More than anything, these show that Allen Toussaint should have been as big a star as those whose careers he helped as a writer, arranger and / or producer, had he not been content to remain behind the scenes.
It’s always nice to get the approval of someone whose work we seek to anthologise. When we sent the proposed track listing for this compilation to Allen, his reply read as follows: “Absolutely wonderful choices. I’m looking forward to hearing this myself! Thank you very much.” Of course, it’s we who should be thanking him.
By Tony Rounce
(acerecords. co. uk)
,,Eine überaus willkommene Ergänzung zu Toussaints Werkschau-Doppeldecker Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (siehe GoodTimes 3 / 2011), der erneut bestätigt, dass er als Komponist, Produzent und singender Musiker zum lebenden Inventar von New Orleans zählt und fast immer Songs liefert, die eine Klasse für sich sind.
Gemeinsames Kennzeichen des unnachahmlichen, oft gemütlich bis zur entspannten Trägheit trabenden, aber zugleich musikalisch ausgeschlafenen Toussaint-Shuffl e ist seine melodische Ausgefeiltheit, die ein großes Spektrum an Arrangiermöglichkeiten mit sich bringt. Die hier weidlich genutzt werden, was zu null Sekunden Langeweile führt." (Good Times, Februar / März 2013)
Die 24 erlesenen Tracks sind eine ausgewogene Mischung formidabler Pop- und Southern Soul-Hits der 1960er und 70er Jahre. U. a. mit Boz Scaggs – ‘Hercules‘, Warren Zevon – ‘A Certain Girl‘, Robert Palmer – ‘Sneakin’ Sally Thru The Alley’, The Meters – ‘Ride Your Pony’, Frankie Miller – ‘Shoora’, Aaron Neville – ‘Let’s Live’, Glen Campbell – ‘Southern Nights’, Bonnie Raitt – ‘What Is Success’ u. v.a.
Product Information
It should surprise no-one that Allen Toussaint has been added to Ace’s songwriter series. In a career that’s in its seventh decade, this quietly spoken, modest son of New Orleans has written some of the greatest hits ever to grace the Great American Songbook. And on his own, too – there can be very few black American composers who have written so many successful songs without the aid of a collaborator. Between 1960 and 1980, barely a week went by without his compositions appearing on the R&B or Hot 100 charts. Some were subsequently revived, in multiple versions, and often with renewed success. Most of them are the kind of popular music standards of which any songwriter would be proud.
“Rolling With The Punches” is a compilation that celebrates Allen’s glittering career in a rounded and highly appropriate manner. Other anthologies of his work as a songwriter have tended to be built around the numbers he wrote during the first 10 years of his career – and we couldn’t omit titles such as ‘Ride Your Pony’, ‘Fortune Teller’ and ‘Working In The Coal Mine’ here. However, rather than massively duplicate what those other collections have to offer, this one focuses primarily on the later songs Allen penned in a period when he was looking beyond the constraints of the 3-minute single and moving his writing in new directions.
Many of the tracks featured here are sung by some of Allen’s biggest musical admirers. Robert Palmer, Boz Scaggs, Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat’s Lowell George all recorded multiple of his songs, so we were often spoiled for choice as to whose versions of which songs to include. We also couldn’t omit Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, Lee Dorsey or Ernie K-Doe, all of whom have career-long associations with Allen. No tribute to him could be complete without at least one contribution from each.
Neither could we leave out the man himself. The compilation features pristine examples of Allen’s work as a vocalist (‘Soul Sister’) and instrumentalist (the Rhine Oaks’ ‘Tampin’’). More than anything, these show that Allen Toussaint should have been as big a star as those whose careers he helped as a writer, arranger and / or producer, had he not been content to remain behind the scenes.
It’s always nice to get the approval of someone whose work we seek to anthologise. When we sent the proposed track listing for this compilation to Allen, his reply read as follows: “Absolutely wonderful choices. I’m looking forward to hearing this myself! Thank you very much.” Of course, it’s we who should be thanking him.
By Tony Rounce
(acerecords. co. uk)
Rezensionen
,,Eine überaus willkommene Ergänzung zu Toussaints Werkschau-Doppeldecker Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (siehe GoodTimes 3 / 2011), der erneut bestätigt, dass er als Komponist, Produzent und singender Musiker zum lebenden Inventar von New Orleans zählt und fast immer Songs liefert, die eine Klasse für sich sind.
Gemeinsames Kennzeichen des unnachahmlichen, oft gemütlich bis zur entspannten Trägheit trabenden, aber zugleich musikalisch ausgeschlafenen Toussaint-Shuffl e ist seine melodische Ausgefeiltheit, die ein großes Spektrum an Arrangiermöglichkeiten mit sich bringt. Die hier weidlich genutzt werden, was zu null Sekunden Langeweile führt." (Good Times, Februar / März 2013)
-
Tracklisting
Disk 1 von 1 (CD)
-
1 Here come the girls / Ernie K-Doe
-
2 Hercules / Boz Scaggs
-
3 What is success / Bonnie Raitt
-
4 Occapella /Lee Dorsey
-
5 Let's live / Aaron Neville
-
6 Everything I do gonh be funky (from now on) / Don Covay
-
7 Ride your pony / Meters
-
8 Soul sister / Allen Toussaint
-
9 Working in the coal mine / Judds
-
10 Get out of my life woman / Solomon Burke
-
11 Sweet touch of love / Irma Thomas
-
12 Shoorah / Frankie Miller
-
13 Yes we can can / Pointer Sisters
-
14 Fortune teller / Benny Spellman
-
15 Freedom for the stallion / Bill Medley
-
16 Sneakin' sally thru' the alley / Robert Palmer
-
17 Whoever's thrilling you (is killing me) / Z.Z. Hill
-
18 Brickyard blues (play somethin' sweet) / Maria Muldaur
-
19 What do you want the girl to do / Lowell George
-
20 I'll be rolling (with the punches) / Millie Jackson
-
21 Tampin' / Rhine Oaks
-
22 A certain girl / Warren Zevon
-
23 Holy cow / Lee Dorsey
-
24 Southern nights / Glen Campbell
Rolling With The Punches: The Allen Toussaint Songbook
Current price: EUR 15.99
