Tuwa's Shanty and The Roots Canal

Friday, September 08, 2006:

Lee Dorsey -- Confusion

Lee Dorsey -- Confusion
Here's an energetic track about love and confusion--having your world turned upside down and shaken until everything falls out.

According to wikipedia, Lee Dorsey's highest-charting tracks were "Ya Ya," "Working In The Coal Mine," "Holy Cow," "Ride Your Pony," and "Do-Re-Mi," which leaves me wondering what happend to "Night People," "Draining," and "Yes We Can" (yes we can, I know we can, yes we can can).

According to the liner notes of All Ways Funky, Lee Dorsey worked in an auto shop and went out and cut some records whenever the pay was good and he had the time and inclination. And according to Dorsey, usually others would work out the track's instrumentation and arrangement; he would just go in and provide the vocals, occasionally suggesting changes on the rest. It's a disarming admission that he saw himself as nothing more than a hired gun; if it's true, maybe it points to the influence (read: brilliance) of Allen Toussaint that most of Dorsey's work is so good and has aged so well.

Aside from Toussaint, another frequent collaborator (director?) was The Meters. This track has Toussaint but not The Meters--that's Allen Toussaint on piano (but you knew that as soon as you heard it, didn't you?), Frank Trepanier on trumpet, Wendell Eugene on trombone, Nat Perilliat on tenor sax, Carl Blouin on baritone sax, Walter Peyton on bass, and June Gardner on drums. There's some doubt (confusion) about who it is on guitar--Roy Montrell, or maybe Vincent Toussaint, or maybe John Moore.

All Ways Funky is out of print; the track is originally from New Lee Dorsey, which allmusic.com considers to have two great tracks and the rest just good; it's also on Wheelin' and Dealin', a greatest hits collection that allmusic.com has higher regard for.

...
"Funtwo" with Pachelbel's "Canon in D maj". The New York Times looks into it, finds his identity (Jeong-Hyun Lim, from Seoul); NPR covers it, helpfully pointing out the obvious (he plays tastefully & with great skill), then saves the piece with a mention of a man playing a twelve-string guitar with a spoon for a slide. Now this is amazing, and it's also a good tune. As for the man's identity, Beware of the Blog says his name is Hannes Coetzee and the clip is from Karoo Kitaar Blues, which IMDb doesn't know about and which seems to sell for $295, a price guaranteeing that the film will remain obscure.

Labels: RnB

posted by Tuwa @ 23:23 | permalink |