Posted 04 Jun 2011 in 60s, Albums of 1969, Albums of the 60s, Funk

Today’s Cool Album of the Day(#395 in the Series) is The Meters, Look-Ka Py Py

Today we’re going to take a look at The Meters’ classic album called Look-Ka Py Py. Classic you say? Well, for its genre it is. Actually you can probably say maybe even more than that. We’ve referred to that Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of all-time list more than once in these parts. Well, The Meters had the #138 entry with Rejuvenation while Look-Ka Py Py was listed at #218. So I guess they actually had a pair of classic albums.

So you’re not familiar with The Meters you say and “what genre is that of you speak?” Yeah, I guess I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The Meters were (and actually sometimes “are”) a New Orleans based funk band. Maybe even funk rock. I’d almost go with “funk funk rock funk.” How does that sound? In some aspects, they were the forerunners to what the Neville Brothers did a few years later. The Meters keyboard player was The Neville Brothers’ Art Neville. Look at the cover, you can see him. The other members included Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste on drums, Leo Nocentelli on guitar and George Porter, Jr. on bass.

They also are sometimes known as “The Funky Meters.” That isn’t the exact same band but it’s pretty darn close. It can pretty much be considered its twin band, but in this case, fraternal, not identical.

This was instrumental funk. The most well-known song on the album was the title cut. Which other ones stood out? I don’t know, I play the whole album, and it’s instrumental. I don’t know what most of the tunes names are, they blend together like a good jam, they’re all good, that I do know.

I’ve included the full album on the playlist, so check it out. If you’re a Meters fan, I’ve included a link to the petition to get them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you feel that way, then please give them your support. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

Look-Ka Py Py was produced by the New Orleans great, Allen Toussaint.