STRUTTIN' -HQ-

When the Meters went into Cosimo Matassa's New Orleans studio in 1970 to cut STRUTTIN, the band already had two albums under its belt and a lifetime of experience, thanks to thousands of hours of session work done for Allen Toussaint and Marhsall Sehorn. On the band's third album, the Meters continued recording instrumentals, but vocals start to creep into the mix for the first time. Organ player Art Neville was chosen to sing (by virtue of the fact that he'd already sang some sides as a solo performer as far back as 1955). Among the selections he croons are a cover of "Wichita Lineman," Lee Dorsey's 1963 smash "Ride Your Pony," and a sweet reading of soul singer Ty Hunter's "Darling, Darling, Darling." The only original sung by Neville is the previously unreleased Otis Redding-inspired "Funky Meters' Soul." Needless to say, the remaining members (guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter, Jr. and drummer Ziggy Modeliste) keep everything cooking, whether Nevillew is belting vocals out or not. Among the highlights are the chugging novelty song "Chicken Strut" (complete with Modeliste's cackling), the booty-shaking call and response of "Same Old Thing," and the crackling "Tippi-Toes."