Just in time for Mardi Gras, Tipitina’s Record Club releases Earl King’s Street Parade for the marching masses in the Crescent City and funky vinyl collectors everywhere.
Originally released in 1981, the album was recorded in the early 70’s with producer/arranger Allen Toussaint helming the session and The Meters supporting King. Just reading those names gives away the sound throughout; a funky good time. The excellent guitarist/singer/songwriter King partnered with Toussaint to try to kick start his career and while that never came to be, the title track became a Mardi Gras classic and the album as a whole has tons of fun tunes.
King was known as a dynamite guitar player, but it is his singing that takes center stage throughout. The slower ballads like “You Made Me Feel Good” with its sweet keys and “This Is What I Call Living” in particular display powerful vocals from King around swelling sounds. King shifts to the blues with both “A Mother’s Love” and “A Part of Me” as guitar solos shine, but King’s singing is the true song-stealing force.
With The Meter’s behind him though, this record can’t help but be funky. “This Is What I Call Living” feels like a classic joint from the sweet spot of the Meters/Toussaint collaborations with King riffing on top as the bouncing beat pushes and pulls powerfully. The deep bass is the engine in “Love Look Out For Me”, the hip-shaking fun of “Mama & Papa” blares with bright horn work while the funk almost overloads King’s vocals on the crowded “Some People Are”. Better is the bonus track “Up On The Hill” which kicks up the strutting vibe as the band percolates in a get-down fashion, driving, ducking, and weaving with expertise.
The weirdest hip track here kicks off side two. “Medieval Days” finds King describing a rock and soul party from over a thousand years ago as troubadours, maids, and kings get down and greasy; partying around a bouncing bass line and driving drumming.
This is all solid stuff, but it is the title track that is the true shining star as “Street Parade” finds The Meters in full New Orleans second-line form. King injects the party track with vitality and “Yeah, You Rights” as the funk and fun flow jubilantly. Wah-wah guitar, strong horns, tuba-like bass, and slapping percussion make it a tasty King Cake-like treat, which is so tasty it gets an instrumental reprise on the B side of the vinyl.
A fantastic single headlines Earl King’s Street Parade, but the album as a whole is a fun ride as The Meters, Allen Toussaint, and King combine to bring that New Orleans funky soul to the rest of us, as the party rolls on.
