Good old funky music. Not only are they one of the funkiest bands of the 70s, The Meters are deeply ingrained in the hip-hop sampling canon, having been chopped up and looped by everyone from A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Shadow, EPMD, Public Enemy and Mantronix all the way down to NWA, 2 Live Crew and Big K.R.I.T. This black triple vinyl compilation collects each of their singles released on the Josie, Reprise and Warner Brothers labels in the late 60s and early 70s, most of which were produced by the late Allen Toussaint. Tracks like “Handclapping Song,” “Cissy Strut,” “Sophisticated Cissy,” “Here Comes The Meter Man” and “Dry Spell” laid the foundation for the New Orleans funk sound and provided fuel for the SP-12s and MPCs of hip-hop producers for decades to follow. The tracks culled from the Josie singles are the rare mono mixes, while the Reprise and Warner Bros tracks are stereo mixes, all sourced from the original master tapes wherever possible (all but 5 to be precise). This is the first time the works of this essential group have been collected on this scale, with 40 tracks surveying nearly a decade’s worth of output, housed in a stunning triple gatefold with extensive liner notes and photos. Recommended.

• triple vinyl pressing
• 40 tracks total
• triple-panel gatefold sleeve
• music label: Real Gone Music 2022

reviewed by frau farbissina 11/2017