''Cabbage Alley'' is the fourth studio album by the funk group the Meters, produced by

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, describ ...

and

Marshall Sehorn Marshall Estus Sehorn (June 25, 1934 – December 5, 2006) was an American A&R man, songwriter, music publisher and entrepreneur who played an important role in the development of R&B and popular music in New Orleans between the 1950s and 1970 ...

and released in May 1972 by

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. It was the band's first album for the label, following the demise of Josie Records a year earlier, and the signing afforded the group a higher recording budget and re-introduced organist and keyboardist

Art Neville Arthur Lanon Neville Jr. (December 17, 1937 – July 22, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist from New Orleans. Neville was a staple of the New Orleans music scene for over five decades. He was the founder of the funk band ...

to the lineup, having briefly left the band some time earlier. The Meters used the album to explore a variety of musical styles, including

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

, rock and

boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a music genre, genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans ...

, while retaining the group's distinctive second line-based, syncopated funk music. The music is softer and jammier than the group's earlier records and also sees them increase the use of

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of note ...

s and vocals, particularly from Neville, marking a further departure from the group's instrumental beginnings. The group also incorporated then-popular studio effects like tape delay and

phasing A phaser is an electronic sound processor used to filter a signal, and it has a series of troughs in its frequency-attenutation graph. The position (in Hz) of the peaks and troughs are typically modulated by an internal low-frequency oscil ...

. The album is named for a then-recently demolished back alley in the group's native

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

album sleeve was inspired by the art of

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bounda ...

The title track and "Do the Dirt" were issued as singles. On release, ''Cabbage Alley'' received wide acclaim from music critics, some of whom deemed it the group's best album yet. Despite the reviews and the album's smoother sound, it was a commercial disappointment, which was partly attributed to Reprise's poor marketing. The album has been re-released several times, including by

Sundazed Records Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...

in 2000.

Background and recording

Active since the 1960s, the Meters were regarded as leaders in authentic New Orleans funk, with a danceable, rhythmic sound characterised by the second line syncopation of drummer

Zigaboo Modeliste Joseph "Ziggy" Modeliste (born December 28, 1948), also known as Zigaboo, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of the funk band the Meters. He is widely considered an innovator in the funk genre and New Orleans style drumming. ...

and bassist George Porter Jr., complemented by organist and keyboardist

and

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompanim ...

-oriented guitarist

Leo Nocentelli Leo Nocentelli (born June 15, 1946) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the funk band The Meters. He wrote the original versions of several funk classics such as "Cissy Strut" and "Hey P ...

. By 1972, the group had achieved several R&B hits in the United States with danceable instrumentals, but spent much of their time as the house band for

and

's production company Sansu Enterprises. As the group's single "Chicken Strut" (1970) was rising in popularity, Neville acrimoniously exited the band due to an inter-band dispute regarding whether to sign with

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blue ...

's manager,

Phil Walden Phil Walden (January 11, 1940 – April 23, 2006) was a co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records, along with former Atlantic Records executive Frank Fenter. Biography Walden received his undergraduate degree in economics from ...

. In 1971, the Meters' label Josie Records went bankrupt, leaving the group with substantial unpaid royalties. According to Porter Jr, Sehorn–serving as the group's manager–negotiated a deal to sign the Meters with a bigger label,

, a subsidiary of

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The deal necessitated that Neville return to the group. Porter Jr later reflected: "For the band, it was a good move or Neville to rejoin We’re getting ready to go to a better label, get a better budget for recording and stuff." The move from Josie to Reprise did not compromise the Meters' relationship with Sansu, as they retained Toussaint as producer and Sehon as manager. The group's first album for Reprise, ''Cabbage Alley'' was produced by Toussaint and Sehorn, and unlike their earlier albums, the band recorded it in their own sessions, "instead of on the tail end of somebody else's," as described by Cliff White of ''

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as '' NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a ...

''. According to '' Let It Rock'' writer

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, keyboard player, songwriter, singer and music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University Wingfield and three other students formed the group Jellybread. In 1969, h ...

, Toussaint approached ''Cabbage Alley'' as a companion project to his own album ''

Life, Love and Faith ''Life, Love and Faith'' is the fourth album by R&B artist Allen Toussaint. It was released in 1972 and has received positive reviews. Warner Reprise ranks ''Life, Love and Faith'' as a very influential singer/songwriter album. The album also s ...

'' (1972), further noting that the musician hoped the release of both records through Warner labels would revive interest in

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became pop ...

in New Orleans and attract a white audience to the city's musicians, as well as "putting an identifiable N.O. sound back in the charts." However, in a 1974 ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' interview with

Roger St. Pierre Roger St. Pierre (8 November 1941 – 12 October 2021) was a British journalist, writer, promoter, and broadcaster, particularly on R&B, rock music, travel, and cycling. He was born in Weymouth, Dorset, but grew up in Goodmayes, Essex.

, Neville said that while Toussaint and Sehorn are credited for producing their albums, the production work was taken by the Meters themselves, adding: "Toussaint and Sehorn don't even come into the studio while we're recording but they do get involved in the final mix and so on."

Composition

New Orleans Jazz Fest 1975 - Jambalaya - Fess

While rooted in dance-oriented funk music with second line syncopation, ''Cabbage Alley'' sees the group explore a wider array of musical styles than on previous albums. Bob Palmer wrote that the album features several prominently

-style tracks, in addition to "generous helpings of the more fashionable second line and its bastard child

", while music writer John Laycock that while the Meters are known as

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed p ...

, the record's music more closely resembles the reggae of

Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earlie ...

than "New Orleans stalwarts such as

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

." The album is also slicker, jammier and funkier than the group's earlier recordings, and continues to move them away from their all-instrumental beginnings by increasing the use of Neville's vocals, with a higher total of tracks with vocals than instrumentals. The band also experimented with several then-popular studio effects, such as

echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the li ...

and

delay Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can * '' The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and ac ...

. The change in direction is immediately evident with the distorted guitar riff that begins the opening song "You’ve Got to Change (You’ve Got to Reform)", a dance track with a lengthy jam section. "Stay Away" is a delve into

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

, and is stretched out by unusual

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

experimentation, and tape delay. A cover of a

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

song, "Birds" is an exercise in smooth soul, while "The Flower Song" and "Smilin'" are instrumentals which have been compared to the music of Booker T. & the MGs. "Soul Island" was inspired by the band's trip to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, where they performed with

the Mighty Sparrow Slinger Francisco ORTT CM OBE (born July 9, 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World", he is one of the best-known and most successful calyp ...

, and was considered by Palmer to be the group's most reggae-like song to that point, citing the "chunk-a-chunk bass and guitar unisons and basic organ lead" for melodically and texturally evoking "the music of the Islands." Idris Walter of '' Sounds'' deemed it a "New Orleans reggae" song with similarities to

Unit 4 + 2 Unit 4 + 2 were a British pop band, who had a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1965 with the song " Concrete and Clay". The track topped the UK chart for one week. Career Early days In 1962, Brian Parker, then the guitar player and son ...

's hit " Concrete and Clay" (1965). A "chunky dance

novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

", "Do the Dirt" has a similar aesthetic and instrumentation to "Soul Island" but slides into a "North American soul groove" during the bridges. Written by Nocentelli, the rock-oriented "Lonesome and Unwanted" is sung by Neville and built around a

-aided hook. The album's title track "Cabbage Alley" was inspired in part by Professor Longhair's "Hey Now Baby", which was recorded around 1950 but not released until earlier in 1972. The song is characterised by Neville's rolling piano and, according to Joe McEwen of ''

The Real Paper ''The Real Paper'' was a Boston-area alternative weekly newspaper with a circulation in the tens of thousands. It ran from August 2, 1972, to June 18, 1981, often devoting space to counterculture and alternative politics of the early 1970s. The o ...

'', "a stuttering rhythm track two years ahead of its time." ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by journalist John Robb in 2010 and is now ru ...

'' writer Craig Chaligne wrote that the track showed the group's increasing confidence in vocal arrangements. Neville felt that listeners from outside New Orleans would not "understand" the song, noting that it "has the

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

heritage, the second line feeling, even more than anything else we've written. If you born here, you just gonna have it, that's all."

Release and reception

''Cabbage Alley'' was released in the US by Reprise in May 1972, and was also the group's first album released in the United Kingdom, issued to coincide with their tour of the country. The title track and "Do the Dirt" were both released as singles. The record was named for a small back street in New Orleans that had been recently demolished to make way for a football stadium. Described by Timothy Crouse as "the poor black's version of

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars a ...

", the site was a centre for the city's uplifting second line funk music. According to Lionel Batiste Sr. of Treme Brass Band: "Cabbage Alley was around Perdido Street. They had a lot of musicians down there—it was almost like a ed lightdistrict—fast women. Near the battlefield." Designed by John Echevarrieta, the album cover is based on a variation of

's 1952 painting ''

The Listening Room ''The Listening Room'' (''La Chambre d'Écoute'', 1952) is an oil on canvas painting by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte which is currently part of the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas.Calvocoressi, Richard, ''Magritte.'' Phaidon (1984), Lo ...

'', which itself had been reproduced on the sleeve of

the Jeff Beck Group The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music. Fir ...

's ''

Beck-Ola ''Beck-Ola'' is the second studio album by English guitarist Jeff Beck, and the first credited to the Jeff Beck Group, released in 1969 in the United Kingdom on Columbia Records and in the United States on Epic Records. It peaked at No. 15 ...

'' (1969). According to authors Angie Errigo and Steve Leaning, "Both pictures are

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

in the incongruous, claustrophobic propinquity of two equally convincing, yet texturally antithetical realities." ''Cabbage Alley'' received wide acclaimed by

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mu ...

s, with many describing as the band's best album yet. Writing favourably in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'', Bob Palmer praised Modeliste's drumming for imparting "more rhythmic variety to every bar than any American soul group has yet employed", and the rest of the group for "often oublingon auxiliary percussion, resulting in a percussive complexity that is both a new and natural direction." He added that even the album's weaker songs contain some of "the rhythmic vitality and emerging roots-consciousness that looks like the most important new development in the black popular music of the Seventies." ''

The Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'' writer John Laycock described the album as "nice enough and interesting in a record-scholar's way" and highlighted its similarity to reggae. Juan Rodriguez of ''

The Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the domi ...

'' deemed it "a good dancing record, if you play it real loud and, as James Brown says, con-cen-trate." They wrote that the sound is thick and funky and the group can be forgiven for " verdoingit sometimes", while praising the combination of the band and Toussaint's production for resulting in "some unique product".

Commercial response

Despite the album's strong reviews, smoother sound, and the move to a major label, ''Cabbage Alley'' and its two singles were commercial disappointments. The album reached number 48 on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul LPs chart, but unlike the group's first two albums, it missed the ''Billboard'' Top LPs and Tape chart. Arthur Neville told an interviewer for ''Blues & Soul'' that he believed the album should have had stronger exposure, "because everyone agrees that the material is the strongest we have ever done." While the group blamed the poor sales on lack of promotion, St. Pierre believed they were also because "it was somewhat devoid of memorable melodic content – relying simply on basic riffs", believing this to be a stylistic change which "happened a bit too quickly for their fans." White believed the poor sales suggested that "the rest of America (and naturally Europe) had long lost its appetite for New Orleans music", noting that even musicians from the city had turned to exploring broader sounds, while James Lien of ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' believed the wider public "didn't click" with ''Cabbage Alley'' or the Meters' later album ''

Fire on the Bayou ''Fire on the Bayou'' is the sixth studio album by the funk band The Meters. Background and release This was the band's first album with Cyril Neville as a member. At the time, the band's headlining performances were receiving good reviews. ...

'' (1975) because "they were peppered with so many obscure references to local New Orleans culture that folks who didn't know about

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "F ...

red beans and rice Red beans and rice is an emblematic dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine (not originally of Cajun cuisine) traditionally made on Mondays with Kidney beans, vegetables (bell pepper, onion, and celery), spices ( thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf ...

just couldn't pick up on it." Chaligne wrote that the failure was partly attributed to "Reprise's inability to market a band that had few similarities with the rest of its roster." Despite the disappointment, ''Cabbage Alley'' led to the Meters working on Dr. John's popular " Right Place, Wrong Time" (1973) and taking a European tour in mid-1973 with Dr. John and Professor Longhair.

Legacy and retrospective reviews

''Cabbage Alley'' was re-released in the UK in 1975 by Warner. The album and its follow-ups ''

Rejuvenation Rejuvenation is a medical discipline focused on the practical reversal of the aging process. Rejuvenation is distinct from life extension. Life extension strategies often study the causes of aging and try to oppose those causes in order to slow ...

'' (1974) and ''Fire on the Bayou'' (1975) were further re-released in 2000 by

, a label specialising in reissues of 1960s and 70s "classic recordings", with liner notes by John Swenson. Further reissues of the record were by Reprise in 2001, Hi Horse Records in 2009, Music on Vinyl in 2013 and WEA Japan in 2014. Some re-releases include both parts of "Chug Chug Chug-a-Lug (Push and Shove)" as

bonus tracks An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records col ...

. Reviewing the 1975 reissue, Peter Harvey of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...

'' wrote that the album showcased the group's early sound which was earthier and "closer to the street" than they had become, and highlighted "Lonesome and Unwanted People" and four other tracks, concluding that the album is "fresh, spontaneous sounding, and naturally made for dancing." In ''The Real People'', Joe McEwen called ''Cabbage Alley'' a "largely (and unfortunately) ignored album", while ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' referred to it as a "great" debut for Reprise that "saw the band branch out with more chants and Neville's soulful vocalizing." Dave Thompson noted that while the group " ewrappedtheir trademark sound in some of the modern studio's favorite toys," the title track ensured the group did not "move too far off base". Josh Terry of ''Vinyl Me, Please'' said that while vocals were more prominent, "the grooves were still there — anchored with a Caribbean flavor from a trip to Trinidad and Tobago". He also noted that while the Meters tentatively incorporated

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

elements into the album's jams, they "perfected" the pop aspect on ''Rejuvenation''. Less impressed,

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

wrote that ''Cabbage Alley'' was less gritty than the band's previous works, finding them "sacrificing feel for texture", and complained that the group had no memorable songs to adapt to their new style. He qualified this by saying that that while the Meters had "gotten a little softer than necessary", it remained pleasurable to hear a "remarkably sympathetic, supple group" play. In '' Christgau's Record Guide'' (1981), critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

questioned whether the album's stylistic variation, or ambiguity, hinted at an identity crisis for the band. In ''

The Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Know ...

'' (1997), writer

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

notes that ''Cabbage Alley'' began a series of "critically acclaimed albums" for the Meters that "reinforced their distinctive, sinewy rhythms." Terry Perkins of ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, serving the Greater St. Louis, St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpass ...

'' wrote that ''Cabbage Alley'' and its two follow-ups "clearly mark the band's high point as a unit", and further highlighted "Gettin' Funkier All the Time", while Steve MacQueen of ''

Tallahassee Democrat The ''Tallahassee Democrat'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper. It covers the area centered on Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, as well as adjacent Gadsden County, Jefferson County, and Wakulla County. The newspaper is owned by Gannett Co., ...

'' recommended them alongside " Cissy Strut" (1969) for defining the group's "stripped-down, choppy, syncopated funk style of the early 70s". In a 2015 interview, Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys called ''Cabbage Alley'' the "maddest" find in his record collection.

Track listing

;Side one ;Side two ;2001 CD bonus tracks

Personnel

Credits adapted from

. *

Ziggy Modeliste Joseph "Ziggy" Modeliste (born December 28, 1948), also known as Zigaboo, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of the funk band the Meters. He is widely considered an innovator in the funk genre and New Orleans style drumming. ...

– drums, cowbell, gourd, wood block *

– organ, tambourine; vocals (tracks 3, 6, 8) *

– guitar, tambourine * George Porter, Jr – bass *

Cyril Neville Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band ...

– congas * Squirell – congas ;Production * Tim Livingston – project manager * Bunny Matthews – liner notes *

Barry Hansen Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

– liner notes * Bob Irwin – mastering * Al Quaglieri – mastering * Rich Russell – design *

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of numerous Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Album ...

– art direction * David Willardson – cover art

References

External links

* . {{Authority control 1972 albums The Meters albums Albums produced by Allen Toussaint Reprise Records albums Albums produced by Marshall Sehorn Reggae albums by American artists