Monday 25 February 2013

The Rhine Oaks

I recently picked up a copy of 'Rolling with the Punches: The Allen Toussaint Songbook', a compilation on Ace Records. Many of the selected performances on the album are familiar, Lowell George's 'What Do You Want the Girl to Do' and The Pointer Sisters' 'Yes We Can' for example, although The Judds version of 'Working in the Coal Mine', serviceable though it is, strikes me as an odd inclusion.

One tune previously totally unknown to me, however, was 'Tampin' by The Rhine Oaks - and what a belter it is. 'Tampin' was recorded in 1969 as a one-off single by Allen Toussaint himself, accompanied by members of New Orleans' finest, The Meters, which explains its lugubrious grooviness. Worth the price of admission alone I'd say.

6 comments:

C said...

Ooh what a great piece of lazy moody grooviness. I love those little "shimmery" bits especially!

The Swede said...

C. If I were cool enough to use such a phrase, this would surely be my latest 'jam'.

Kolley Kibber said...

That is LOUCHE!

Anonymous said...

This is fantastic. I've not heard this before and I now must own it. Could only be The Meters and master Toussaint. I shall be listening to this over and over.

The Swede said...

KK. Perfect description!

SB. I still can't get enough of it. I haven't been able to track down the b-side, but apparently it was not a patch on this, so it really is a one-off.

Old Pa's Corner said...

Fabulous track Mr S what a great find

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