Tim Maia
Tim Maia

Few funk groups have had as far-reaching an influence as New Orleans band The Meters, the project of keyboardist/vocalist Art Neville, and the famed house band of Allen Toussaint. During their mid-60s-to-late-70s heyday they released a heavy mixture of instrumental and vocal albums and singles of Louisiana-inflected soul, R&B, and funk music that continues to inspire and marvel, and get covered by groups and artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jaco Pastorius, Widespread Panic, and even The Grateful Dead. A major change occurred for the band, leading up to the release of their 1972 album Cabbage Alley; Josie Records, the label which had long the home of The Meters, went bankrupt. The band left Josie for Reprise Records, which brought a crisp, and slicker sound, as well as a newfound interest in both reggae music, and the works of Professor Longhair. Cabbage Alley featured 10 Toussaint-produced cuts of funky New Orleans splendor, (And even a Neil Young cover) with less of their signature instrumental jams, and more of Art Neville's vocals taking the forefront. It may not have been the widespread success Josie albums like Look-Ka Py Py and Struttin' were, but Cabbage Alley was still a rock-solid collection of funk, and a sign of greater things to come from their time at Reprise.

How Zambia’s Liberation Led To A Rock Revolution. 1972-1977. An overview of the Zamrock scene, from its ascension to its fall to its resurgence, presented as two volumes, both as 2LPs and hardcover book/CDs. By the mid 1970s, the Southern African nation known as the Republic of Zambia had fallen on hard times. Though the country’s first president Kenneth Kaunda had thrown off the yoke of British colonialism, the new federation found itself under his self-imposed, autocratic rule. Conflict loomed on all sides of this landlocked nation. Kaunda protected Zambia from war, but his country descended into isolation and poverty as he supported rebel movements in neighboring countries Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and stood up against apartheid South Africa. This is the environment in which the 70s rock revolution that has come to be known as Zamrock flourished. It’s no wonder that the Zambian musicians taken by American and European influences gravitated to the dark side of the rock and funk spectrum. Fuzz guitars were commonplace, as were driving rhythms influenced by James Brown’s funk and Jimi Hendrix’s rock. Musical themes, mainly sung in the country’s constitutional language, English, were often bleak. When Now-Again Records’s Eothen “Egon” Alapatt started his investigation into this scene, he found that Zamrock markers were few. Only a small number of the original Zamrock godfathers that remained in the country survived through the late ’90s, when the music recorded in ’70s Zambia became the final frontier for those global-psychedelic rock junkies searching for their next fix. AIDS decimated this country, and uncontrollable inflation forced the Zambian rockers that could afford to flee into something resembling exile. This was not a likely scene to survive – but it did. Following Now-Again’s previous anthologies centered around Zamrock bands WITCH, Ngozi Family, Amanaz and Musi-O-Tunya, Welcome To Zamrock!, presented in two volumes, arrives; these two volumes highlight Now-Again’s decade-long investigation into this musical movement and present the definitive overview of its most beloved ensembles. Zamrock’s ascension, its fall and its resurgence is detailed in an extensive book written by Alapatt and Zambian music historian Leonard Koloko.

Originally recorded in 1971 by Fela Kuti’s band, Africa 70, with the addition of former Cream drummer Ginger Baker, this album contains 4 songs plus a bonus track 16-minute drum duet between Baker and Africa 70’s drummer Tony Allen recorded at the 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival.Label: Knitting Factory Records – KFR2003-3Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Stereo, Red Vinyl, LP, Single Sided, Album, Etched, Limited Edition, Reissue, Stereo, Red