ALLEN TOUSSAINT: CONNECTED (1996)
1)
Pure Uncut Love; 2) Do The Do; 3) Computer Lady; 4) Get Out Of My Life, Woman;
5) We're All Connected; 6) Sweet Dreams; 7) Funky Bars; 8) Ahya; 9) If I Leave;
10) Aign Nyee; 11) In Your Love; 12) Oh My; 13) All Of It; 14) Wrong Number;
15) Rolling With The Punches.
Sooner or later, as long as he stayed alive
that long, Toussaint must have had
that one tasteful and enjoyable comeback — and the Nineties, with all their
artistic health benefits for Eighties' survivors, finally saw him return to a
stable and perfectly normal recording career. His first record in almost ten
years, and his first good record
since Southern Nights, more than
twenty years before, Connected is
surprisingly long: a fifteen-song, hour-long marathon, presenting not only a
lot of stuff that he must have accumulated throughout that time, but also a few
inventive re-recordings, such as the instrumental version of ʽGet Out Of My
Life, Womanʼ. The album may have sold pitifully and remained noticed only among
the small fanclub of knowledgeable admirers, but it was clearly recorded as a gesture
of strength and vitality.
It is not exactly at the level of inventiveness
displayed in Southern Nights, and it
shows no traces of the insane energy that populated his instrumental output in
the Fifties, but the old man still pulls out most of his old tricks — his
knowledge of cool pop hooks, exciting R&B grooves, border genre
conventions, charisma, and humor. When he tries to go too modern, he may
stumble on occasion: ʽComputer Ladyʼ, for instance, is an attempt to throw some
puns around modern computer terminology — an attempt that probably sounded
crude and silly already in 1996, but as of 2017, has probably become as
incomprehensible to modern generations as all those old blues innuendos from
the 1920s ("when she described herself to me, my floppy overheated"
and "keep my modem hot, computer lady" are two particularly telling
examples). Musically, there are a few boring adult contemporary ballads here
(ʽSweet Dreamsʼ) that sound like any generic adult contemporary ballad from
that decade, although Toussaint's calm, friendly, never overstraining voice
always makes even his most generic material listenable.
But on the whole, Connected is a fun ride from the opening bars of the funky pop
opener ʽPure Uncut Loveʼ to the last bars of the funky instrumental conclusion
of ʽRolling With The Punchesʼ. It is hard to name «highlights», but «standout»
tracks would probably include ʽWe're All Connectedʼ, a joyful singalong about,
uh, how we are all connected and shit; ʽAhyaʼ and ʽAign Nyeeʼ, where he lends
his piano-playing talents to promote African rhythms and melodies; and ʽIn Your
Loveʼ, whose lightly distorted vocals are a clear nostalgic reference to
ʽSouthern Nightsʼ, though, as everything second-hand, there is no fear of this
song ever overriding the legacy of its genius predecessor. Even these
«standouts», though, are barely noticeable in the general fray.
As it always is with Toussaint, the backing
band is given directions to keep things tight and professional, but not get
over their heads or anything — instrumental tracks such as ʽFunky Barsʼ or ʽAll
Of Itʼ roll steady, with not a single instrument ever getting to show off,
oozing self-confidence and taste, but not a tremendous lot of adrenaline-heavy
excitement. That is exactly what ought to be expected, though, if you know
Toussaint at all, and it is more about collective discipline and composing
than about maniacal improvisation: not my favorite schtick of all the schticks
there are, but respectable and enjoyable all the same — and, at the very least,
cleansing away the horrendous debacle of Mr.
Mardi Gras (see, there is a way
to make authentic New Orleanian music without having to refer to Fat Tuesday in
every song). And there is also a great benefit from having a voice as
relatively weak, if charming and friendly, as Toussaint's — it means that it
carries the exact same level of charisma in 1996 as it did in 1970, not an
ounce less. With all these subtle nuances, Connected
inevitably grows upon you, very
slowly but very steady, with each
ensuing listen, and deserves a grateful thumbs up.
Hope you aren't losing interest George. I know its a lot of work and you've been at it a very long time. Taken as a whole, what you've created on this site is quite a document. I always look forward to your take on these records.
ReplyDeleteAmen. It is amazing to look at the aggregate numbers on the right with every year counting 365 and the leap years 366. All the way through October, a review every day. He deserves the gaps in Nov/Dec. Hope you are doing well, George. Apart from the heavy time investment required to do this, I can't imagine the amount of contextualization you have to provide for these diverse essays. My head hurts just to "think" about doing this.
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