A short instrumental with a funky beat and a clean riffing guitar, bubbling organ and prodding, exploring bass rifling through the draws in your head. The guitar line pure as snow and the organ a secret stew. But it’s the drums that has you pushing your limbs out in all directions – you have no say. The hi-hat has you on the end of a string, it manipulates you like a puppeteer. It makes you dance, makes you twist your neck, hits you in the hips, narrows your eyes and has you tap your thumbs on the table. It takes you driving on a highway and sits you down in a club. It drags you off the bar stool in the night and re-upholsters your convertible in the afternoon sun. It’s a drug, an addiction, it takes over your mind and demands your focus and yet there’s no pressure. You ease into its spell, you go willingly, you stop everything you’re doing. You are distracted mid-sentence, taken away from your thought, re-started, like a switch was thrown. You woke up somewhere you weren’t before, the scenery just changed, you erased your plans – you just discovered The Meters.

The Song: The opening track from the debut album was released as a single and reached No.4 on the R&B Chart and No. 23 on the Billborad chart. The song featured in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown in 1997.

The Band: Art Neville on keyboards and vocals, George Porter Jr. on guitar, Leo Nocentelli on bass and Joseph ‘Zigaboo’ Modeliste on drums. Later joined by Cyril Neville on vocals/percussion.

The Origin: Hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana they became the house band for legendary, composer, producer, musician Allen Toussaint. They backed New Orlean’s legends  Dr John and Lee Dorsey.

The albums: All eight albums from beginning to break up are essential – The Meters 1969, Look-Ka Py Py 1970, Struttin’ 1970, Cabbage Alley 1972, Rejuvenation 1974, Fire On The Bayou 1975, Trick Bag 1976, New Directions 1977.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Meters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cissy_Strut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Meters_(album)