Music Review: The Musicians Of New Orleans City Of Dreams: A Collection Of New Orleans Music - Page 3

My personal favourite of the four discs has to be Street Beat. While the other three discs are exemplary in their presentation and selection, Street Beat stands out for the uniqueness of its material and the excitement inherent in the music. Recording these tracks originally live was a stroke of genius as it preserves and captures the true nature of the community spirit that is the motivation for these parades.

With the Brass Bands, (The ReBirth Brass Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dejan's Olympia Brass Band, and the Chosen Few Brass Band) leading; the second line singers, (Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles, New Orleans Nightcrawlers, and Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias) dancing in their outrageous costumes and chanting out lyrics; and the public dancing and singing in their wakes, each track has the air of having been created spontaneously.

In my opinion, these songs epitomize the spirit of New Orleans. Bound up in the people through families that have lived here for generations and have been passing the traditions about music, dance, and style down the line, you can't see one existing without the other.

What would be the point of a street parade dance if the people who are the inspiration and the reason for their existence were no longer there to enjoy it? Sure you can do fake ones for the tourists in the "French Quarter," but it would be merely a plastic, soulless recreation with no meaning.

For those of you not familiar with the New Orleans style of Funk, the "Funky New Orleans" disc will be a real treat as it gives an amazing overview of the city's very particular groove and will leave you wanting to rush out and buy more. "Ivory Emperors" is where you'll find the creative geniuses of New Orleans. James Booker, Champion Jack Dupree, and Professor Long Hair are representatives of the long line of piano players whose history dates back to the bordellos of the French Quarter.

The keyboard, from the grand piano to the Hammond B3 has been the backbone of New Orleans music since the first Madam decided she needed something aside from her girls to entertain her clients. It lent the atmosphere the air of the parlour or the salon as the gentleman awaited his companion for the evening, and made everything that much more genteel and civilized.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the recently published What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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