Allen Toussaint "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky" The Hit Songs & Productions 1957-1978 Happy Times - Sessions And Solo Recordings

Having been turned on to Allen Toussaint and New Orleans music in general by the excellent Soul Jazz New Orleans Funk series, I was practically tearing down walls to hear more of the guy's productions. Everything he touched on the New Orleans Funk compilations (which, according to the accompanying liner notes, seemed to about half the city's total musical output) was pure gold, and these were just the rare tracks, not the classics. Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky... is probably the most comprehensive and best value collection of Toussaint's work on the market. Like the New Orleans Funk collections, it's also a great introduction to a great number of excellent, sorely underrated, talented singers/groups from one of the US's musical hotspots. But more than anything, these two discs simply make for an outstandingly fabulous listening experience. (Stuart Jefferson, The Guardian)

Charly’s 2011 double-disc collection Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky: The Hit Songs & Productions 1957-1978 is an excellent attempt at providing a detailed overview of the first two decades of the legendary Allen Toussaint’s career as a songwriter, producer, pianist, and recording artist. At 50 tracks it is extensive but it is by no means exhaustive, lacking any of Toussaint’s ‘70s solo recordings for Scepter and Reprise, and there are a few major songs -- such as Ernie K-Doe’s “I Cried My Last Tear” and Lee Dorsey’s “Ride Your Pony” -- that aren’t here, but what is here amounts to a comprehensive, thoroughly entertaining history of one of the great figures of American popular music. Of the two discs, the first is the bumpiest, not because the material is bad but because there’s a blend of jumping instrumentals and vocal R&B where it’s apparent that Toussaint is finding his voice. He does toward the end of the disc, via a clutch of singles by the Rubaiyats (particularly the riotous “Omar Khayyam”), and then the second disc serves up nothing but gold: beginning with Jessie Hill’s “Ooh Poo Pah Doo,” it runs through Aaron Neville’s "Over You,” Ernie K-Doe’s “Mother in Law” and “A Certain Girl,” Benny Spellman’s “Fortune Teller” and “Lipstick Traces,” Irma Thomas’ “It’s Raining” and “Ruler of My Heart,” Chris Kenner’s “I Like It Like That,” the Showmen’s “It Will Stand,” and Lee Dorsey’s “Working in the Coal Mine,” “Holy Cow,” “Yes We Can,” and the title track. Most of this is easily available on other collections, but presented alongside the early work this gives a sense of Toussaint’s evolution and importance, which is enough to make this double-disc set one of the best Toussaint collections ever, even with its notable omissions.
(Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic)

trax disc 1:
1. I Want You To Know - Fats Domino 2. Walking With Mr. Lee - Lee Allen 3. Tic Toc - Lee Allen 4. Young School Girl - Fats Domino 5. I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Some Day - Fats Domino 6. Whirlaway - Al Tousan 7. Happy Times - Al Tousan 8. Java - Al Tousan 9. Wham Tousan - Al Tousan 10. Naomi - Al Tousan 11. Chico - Al Tousan 12. Beverly Baby - Allen & Allen 13. Heavenly Baby - Allen & Allen 14. Tiddle Winks - Allen & Allen 15. Whipped Cream - The Stokes 16. Piecrust - The Stokes 17. Banana Split - The Stokes 18. The Fat Cat - The Stokes 19. Young Man, Old Man - The Stokes 20. Poor Boy, Got To Move - Allen Toussaint & The Stokes 21. Go Back Home - Allen Toussaint & The Stokes 22. Omar Khayyam - The Rubyiats 23. Tomorrow - The Rubyiats 24. Baby, Do Little - Willie & Allen 25. I Don't Need No One - Willie & Allen
trax disc 2:
1. Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Parts 1 & 2 - Jessie Hill 2. Over You - Aaron Neville 3. Mother In Law - Ernest Kador, Jr. (Ernie K-Doe) 4. A Certain Girl - Ernest Kador, Jr. (Ernie K-Doe) 5. Fortune Teller - Benny Spellman 6. Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette) - Benny Spellman 7. It's Raining - Irma Thomas 8. Wrong Number - Aaron Neville 9. Ruler Of My Heart - Irma Thomas 10. I Like It Like That Part 1 - Chris Kenner 11. I Like It Like That Part 2 - Chris Kenner 12. All These Things - Art Neville 13. Oogsey Moo - Jessie Hill 14. It Will Stand - The Showmen 15. Hot Tamales Part 1 - Prime Mates 16. Hot Tamales Part 2 - Prime Mates 17. Nearer To You - Betty Harris 18. I'm Evil Tonight - Betty Harris 19. Working In A Coalmine - Lee Dorsey 20. Holy Cow - Lee Dorsey 21. Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On) - Lee Dorsey 22. Sophisticated Cissy - The Meters 23. Look A Py Py - The Meters 24. Yes We Can - Lee Dorsey 25. Night People - Lee Dorsey
...served by Gyro1966...