Simply Toussaint

I wish I could say Allen Toussaint doesn't need any introduction. But for some reason he still does. Despite his '98, long overdue, induction into the R&R Hall of Fame, most people were very much in the dark on who Allen was when Elvis Costello decided to record with him last year for "The River In Reverse". Allen Toussaint doesn't need any introduction amongst Soul fans, not even amongst the more casual admirer of the genre. But beyond that people hardly have a clue of who he is, hardly have a notion of the vastness of his legacy. With "The River in Reverse" a critical success, commercially even being relatively successful, there has been some new attention to the man. His albums have finally all been re released hopefully leading to more of a notion again of Allen Toussaint's influence on the development of popular music. On top of that, Costello's and Toussaint's successful tour has been released on DVD. Allowing people to see the man live in action. A rarity since Allen has always been an artist that preferred to be in the shadows of R&B's greatest.



Toussaint, at first glance, is a perfect example of how the influence of Black artists on R&R generally seem to be forgotten. The sense of importance fading over time. Allen Toussaint was essential in developing the sound of New Orleans. A sound that eventually spread out through artists like Dr. John, the Band and the Rolling Stones to a world wide audience. The brilliance of those acts is heralded, the origin of their brilliance a fading memory. In the case of Allen Toussaint this might not be so surprising. He mostly created behind the scenes. Allen wrote, produced, arranged and played for the greats of Soul music. At the age of 18 Allen was already a very accomplished piano player, mimicking the style of the great Professor Longhair. Soon Toussaint found himself filling in for no other than Fats Domino in the studio. Fats being mostly on the road, where the real money was, hardly had the time to record. Toussaint would play the piano on the studio track laid down in New Orleans for Fats, the instrumental would then be sent to a studio in the neighborhood of where Fats was on tour at that moment, and Domino would simply do the vocal. To this day it's uncertain on which tracks Fats played himself and what tracks Toussaint delivered for him . His studio work would eventually lead to an album of instrumentals under the name of Tousan for the RCA label. Although the album failed to chart and Toussaint was dropped from the label, it gave him enough clout to become a producer.

Toussaint's work at Minit records in the early sixties is an essential part of R&B history. Toussaint wrote numerous hits for the likes of Lee Dorsey ("Ya Ya"), Irma Thomas ("Ruler Of My Heart"), Chris Kenner ("Land Of A 1000 Dances"), Benny Spellman ("Lipstick Traces") or Aaron Neville ("Over You"). Meanwhile "Fortune Teller"recorded by Jessie Hill would become a staple for a great variety of British Invasion acts, such as The Who and the Rolling Stones. Minit and Toussaint defined the sound of New Orleans as much Stax did for Memphis or Motown for Detroit. Toussaint did as much to create what we now call Soul as those two labels did. It is therefore highly ironic that his biggest commercial success came when he let bubble gum cocktail Pop artist use his "Whipped Cream" on what would become one of the most successful albums of the sixties. Believe it or not, but at the time Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass Band outsold even the Beatles. The instrumental would go on to be used as the trailer for the immensely popular TV show "The Dating Game". The royalty checks of that one song must have softened the lack of commercial recognition for his own records later on down the road a bit.

After his service in the army Toussaint went on to produce a second string of impressive hits with his own production company Sansu, formed with partner Marshall Sehorn in the early sixties. At Sansu his sound would become decidedly funkier. Classics 45s like Lee Dorsey's "Ride Your Pony" or "Working In The Coal Mine" are floor fillers even today. On Sansu Allen also started his collaboration with the Meters, a funk band whose influence on the genre is trumped by James Brown only. Even though it is very possible that Toussaint's work with Dorsey and the Meters is where Brown found the raw material for his polyrhythmic revolution. Brown may claim otherwise, but nothing is born in a vacuum. Brown ants came crawling in his pants all the way down from New Orleans to Augusta Georgia. In turn the sound of the Meters was highly indebted to the earlier mentioned Professor Longhair, who created that mix of R&B and Rumba that became so typical for the New Orleans sound. The history of Funk originates in New Orleans and beyond. It was born out of a sweaty fusion of styles and Toussaint was one of its main ingredients.

Finally in 1968, after recording so many brilliant sides for others, Toussaint started to explore his own voice at Bell records with a string of three singles, amongst which the upbeat civil rights anthem "We The People" and his own version of the Lee Dorsey hit "Get Out My Life, Woman". Together with the album that followed those 45s, "Toussaint", these singles our now re-released on yet another great Kent records compilation, "What Is Success: The Scepter & Bell Recordings". "Toussaint" was somewhat of a mixed affair. It became a showcase of his talents. Mixing instrumentals with new materials and re-recordings of a few songs he had earlier produced for Lee Dorsey. Especially when you hear the latter you can't help but wonder why he didn't record for himself sooner than he did. Maybe it has something to do with his demeanor. Toussaint has always been a quiet force, lacking the gusto and bravura that is so common in the world of Soul. Allen is a man of a gentle smile sooner than a roaring laugh, more at ease in the back ground it seems. But as "Toussaint" demonstrates he has a voice to be reckoned with. Allen's delivery is gentle yet commanding, somewhat distant but simmering with contained emotion through out. Toussaint continuously sounds warm and gentle, even on his more confrontational songs.

"Toussaint" is filed with gems. There's the painful "From a Whisper To A Scream", after which the album would later be named when released in the UK. "From a Whisper" has emotions simmering to a boil. The song finds us looking into a relationship falling apart because of blindness. Subtle guitar work underscores the desperation of one of the partners as he franticly tries to make amends, yet we feel it all falling apart. "Whisper" would later be brilliantly covered by Esther Phillips. The instrument "Pickles" lightens things up a bit after that, smooth, seductive and sexy. But also a demonstration of Toussaint's forte as a pianist. Allen was never the musician to let it all hang out, always subtly supporting the songs he recorded for others, always in the service of. On "Pickles" we finally hear how great a pianist he really is. The re-cut of Dorsey's "Everything I Do Is Gonh Be Funky" is every bit as catchy as Lee's version. The album's center piece "What is Success" ask some very confrontational questions. It might be Toussaint's most personal song on the album. But it doesn't stay that way. "What is Success" is one of those songs that forces you to reevaluate your own life. The song is a mirror to your own Soul, questioning you on your own personal happiness. It is one of those songs that, to a willing ear, can kick start change in one's life.

For some reason Kent chose to mix up the playing order of the original album. Mixing the Bell singles with the album. This does take away some of the power the original album held. When "Toussaint" was originally released on Tiffany, "From a Whisper to a Scream" for example was followed by "Chocking Kind", adding to the claustrophobic feel relations can sometimes have. I'd like to advise using the program function on your CD player to restore the album to its original glory. Even though "Toussaint" failed to make a dent on the charts, it did take Allen's career to the next level. Bonnie Rait soon covered "What is Success" on her classic "Streetlights" album. Allen went on to produce for and with the Band, Doctor John, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney. Toussaint gained the recognition he deserved amongst his peers at least. "Toussaint" led to him being signed at the Warner subsidiary Reprise, where he recorded two of Soul's finest albums, "Life, Love and Faith" and "Southern Nights". Both albums were re-issued last year as well.



"What is Success"
"Pickles"
"We The People"

The Beauties & The Swamp Dogg

Swamp Dogg might be Soul's quintessential ladies man. Being one almost comes with the job subscription when it comes to Soul. The genres seductive quality is one of its major appeals. Many men have tried to impress their girlfriends with a nice bottle of wine, some candle light and Teddy Pendergrass' suave sounds oozing out of the speakers. Quite a few men have had Soul's greats do the seducing for them, have let Marvin Gaye do the talking, reaping the fruits. But the Dogg isn't that kind of man. His own erratic records are hardly the silky records you'd spin hoping to get lucky. Swamp Dogg's commitment to women goes a little deeper than that, throughout his career he gave women a voice few performers could. Producing for the likes as Doris Duke or Irma Thomas, he spoke for them and through them. Swamp Dogg connected to the very Soul of women, leaving many men looking like clueless fools in the process.

Born Jerry Williams in 1942, Swamp started his career as "Little" Jerry in 1954. A forgettable 78rpm titled HTD Blues (Heartsick Troublesome Downout Blues) issued by the Mechanic label. What is striking however is that Williams wrote the song himself at age twelve. Aside from the question how the hell a twelve year old knew anything at all about heartache, an R&B artist writing for himself at any age was far from the rule. Williams showed he had potential from the very beginning. A potential he'd sadly never silver in any commercial sense. His erratic behavior, or strong headed character and bad luck, took him on a bumpy ride across numerous labels. As an artist his albums never fully materialized, as a producer he got stuck with the B roster at most companies. His records, performed or produced, seldom got any promotional push, so his big successes were very few indeed.

What Williams lacked in success he made up in spades with artistic merit. Amongst the hard core Soul devotees, such as Dave Godin, Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams is widely heralded as one of Soul's best writers. Numerous reissue labels have collected the work he's done for the various labels over the years. Endlessly repackaging them. I wouldn't be surprised if Williams records sell better now than they did when first marketed. No label has done Swamp's work with the ladies as much credit as the UK based Kent records. So far they've issued comprehensive collections of Dogg's work with Irma Thomas, Doris Duke and recently Sandra Philips and Bette Williams.

"I'm a Loser: The Swamp Dogg sessions" collecting his work with Doris Duke in 2005 was the logical starting point. Amongst collectors her sides and her first two albums with Williams are still highly sought after. The opening song on the "I'm a Loser" album, "He's Gone", demonstrates perfectly what Swamp Dogg is about. This isn't Soul for the faint hearted. The song, the arrangement and Duke's voice cut to the bone. The sides cut for Doris are harsher and grittier than the already very Soul deep releases on Stax. In his song writing Williams doesn't spare the listener and Doris Duke was his perfect vessel. Even on the lighter and breezier songs like "The Feeling Is Right" there's a pleading quality that is rare even in the world of Soul. In Williams and Duke's hands the optimistic lyrics turn into desperation. Doris turns it into a song on love out of reach, a song on unsatisfied graving. Yet Williams doesn't stop there, with Doris Duke he seemed determined to shed light on the entire female experience. There's the defiant and resilient "Feet Start Walking", a song dealing with female pride in Doris' hands. On the other end of the spectrum there's "I Don't Care Anymore", a prostitutes lament, a story of a woman broken down. Jerry Williams reunited both ends in his work with Duke. On "How Was I to Know You Cared" Williams and Duke add a little of love's alienation to the mix. Williams' songs carry none of Pop's rose color clouds, their appeal is in their messy realism. Williams' brand of Soul is as adult as you can get, not for those of us stuck with the romantic notions of our teens. Since a large majority of the record buying public prefers illusions it is no surprise Jerry's work never hit big.

Next to Doris Duke sides, the work Williams did with Irma Thomas almost fades in comparison. Kent records' release "A Woman's Viewpoint" collects their collaboration together with some other sides Thomas cut with other producers in the seventies. The Swamp Dogg and Irma Thomas collaboration suffer somewhat from the latter's incredible sixties output. Even Williams songwriting could hardly compete with the Allen Toussaint productions on Minit. Not helping the fact was that the singles were released on Williams' own Fungus subsidiary on the already struggling Canyon records. If there ever was a label more horrible and unappealing in name, I haven't heard about it. To top it off, the "In Between Tears Album", the center piece on Kent's compilation, arguably has the worst looking album sleeve in the history of Soul. And that's saying something. With Canyon going belly up, Irma's Swamp Dogg sides never amounted to much. Hearing them now it is a mystery they never did. Irma's clout and the sheer quality of the title track should have resulted in yet another smash for Thomas.

The third, and for now final, installment on Kent, "Swamp Dogg's Southern Girls", covers the work of Sandra Phillips and Bette Williams. Two of Swamp's more obscure artists. Yet listen to the opening notes on Phillip's "Rescue Song" and you'll realize Kent struck gold here. The collaboration with Phillips is an odd one in the world of Soul. Swamp Dogg produced a stand alone album for Sandra, "Too Many People In One Bed" with no singles to promote it. Possibly because the Canyon label simply didn't have the money for it. The album was released shortly before Canyon kicked the bucket. Dee Dee Warwick would later make "She Didn't Know (She Kept On Talking)" into a solid R&B hit, so who knows what the material could have done for Phillips and Canyon. One can only guess what would have happened if a 45 had hit the market. The material Williams did with Sandra Phillips is by far the most accessible of all his Canyon work. That doesn't mean the Phillips material is lacking in depth. It's just that in comparison to the Doris Duke material the Phillips sides sound clearer, better played. No sessions details survived, but the band backing Philips is very accomplished indeed. Phillips' voice is smoother than Duke's making the harsh realities in Williams' songs easier to digest. The hurt and pain in Swamp Dogg's classic adultery songs such as "To The Other Woman" (I'm The Other Woman)" is disguised better, softening the punch without taking away the sting. The second artist on the compilation, Bette Williams, is somewhat more raggedy by comparison but no less impressive. Very little is known about Bette, she never gave any interviews and her sides were never reviewed. But thanks to Kent her timeless sides have now been saved from obscurity.

Doris Duke "I Don't Care Anymore"
Irma Thomas "In Between Tears"
Sandra Phillips "Rescue Song"
Bette Williams "If She's Your Wife (Who Am I)"