New Orleans Party Classics (CD - 1992)

The lazy, rolling piano sounds that open this album are not played by Fats Domino, who never whistled like this. It's Professor Longhair, who blazed trails for Domino and generations of other Crescent City musicians with his definitive version of "Go to the Mardi Gras." The legendary Professor returns later with "Big Chief" and Domino checks in with an affable "Jambalaya." Pianists, especially those with a strong left hand, dominate many songs as New Orleans Party Classics, this generous 18-track CD reissue lets us relive Mardi Gras year round. We might expect "Iko Iko" by Dr. John, "Hey Pocky Way" by the Neville Brothers, "Don't You Just Know It" by Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns and even "Sea Cruise" by Frankie Ford. But a reggae-influenced gem like "Meet de Boys on the Battlefront" by a self-described band of N'awlins "Indians" helped by the Neville Brothers and calling themselves the Wild Tchoupitoulas is a delightful surprise. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Rebirth Brass Band cover the Dixieland segment of the broad New Orleans musical spectrum. A Little Richard tune might have made this disc perfect. ~ Mark Allan minimize