Rhino Records has upped the ante in re-issues with Rhino Reserves, a new audiophile vinyl series featuring obscure but extra awesome titles. How awesome? The Reserves series kicked off this month with Allen Toussaint’s “Southern Nights” and Eddie Hazel’s “Game, Dames And Guitar Thangs” — ’70s LPs your cool uncle’s cooler aunt’s rad cousin has in their collection.
No musician has ever had Toussaint’s skill set — he stood in for Fats Domino on piano on a recording, he wrote cheeky tunes such as Ernie K-Doe’s “Mother-in-law” and Lee Dorsey’s “Working in the Coal Mine,” he arranged horns for the Band, he produced Dr. John’s best LPs. Yet, the world was unprepared for 1975’s “Southern Nights.”
Toussaint’s masterpiece, “Southern Nights” has a boogie unlike anything else. His version of soul, r&b, and New Orleans gumbo delivers an earthy apparel that starts with his “second line” style piano. With his piano, his sense of rhythm and harmony, as the base, Toussaint gets starry with his vocals and words.
All originals, these tracks look up at the night sky and explore his tender side. As the musicians boogie along (oh, those magnificent horn lines!), Toussaint pines for lost loves, new loves, and home — see “Back in Baby’s Arms,” “What Do You Want the Girl to Do?” and the title track. It’s a set of songs that gives you a buzz like, as Toussaint says, something “between the moonshine and the shining of the moon.”
Hazel’s 1977 “Game, Dames And Guitar Thangs” looks forward to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Blood Sugar Sex Magic” and back to Jimi Hendrix’ “Electric Ladyland” — maybe only Hazel had Jimi’s sublime touch, taste, and tone. Working with his pals from Parliament-Funkadelic including producer George Clinton and bassist Bootsy Collins, Hazel creates a psychedelic jazz-disco fever dream over 40 minutes.
The LP gets deep under the covers. Hazel plays with the structure of the Mamas & the Papas’ “California Dreaming,” letting his guitar dance and strut over the melody line, sometimes reducing the song to a funk vamp. On the Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” he drives the song forward into a bubbling jam, so groovy, so thumping, so heavy.
The originals aren’t as obviously awesome, but they do show off Hazel’s range. “What About It?” evokes Jimi, sure, but listen for the Meters’ vibe in it. “So Goes the Story” hints at the guitarist’s pure blues influences while nodding to the fusion heroics of a player like Jeff Beck.
“Game, Dames And Guitar Thangs” has been impossible to find for too long thanks to falling in and out of print. Rhino has made things right with this release.
