Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title: Wild Tchoupitoulas
Company: Antilles
Catalog: AN 7052
Year: 1976
Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+
Comments: great shape
Available: 1
Price: $50.00
At one time members of a New Orleans street gang, by the mid-'70s Norman Bell (Second Chief), Carl Christmas (Flag Boy), Thomas Jackson (The Third Chief), Amos Landry (Spy Boy), George Landry (Big Chief Jolly) and Booker Washington (Trail Chief) had long dropped their criminal activities in favor of musical pursuits.
Renown as one of the city's legendary ceremonial parade groups and as a "Black Indian Tribe" it shouldn't have come as a surprise they were signed by Chris Blackwell's Island affiliated Antilles label, (If you were cynical you might have wonder whether the fact Landry was an uncle to the Neville Brothers had any impact on Blackwell's recruitment efforts.)
Released in 1976, "The Wild Tchoupitoulas" served up an exquisite set of Crecent City funk. Pulling together the cream of the city's musical talent, the album was co-produced by Marshall Sehorn and Allen Toussaint; The Meters and the Neville Brothers providing backing. The group's New Orleans patois may have been difficult to follow (what's with all of the references to Indians?), but exemplified by George Landry-penned material such as "Meet De Boys On the Battlefront ", "Indians, Here Dey Come" and "Big Chief Got a Golden Crown", music simply didn't get much better than this. Actually, the standout track was a blazing cover of The Meter's "Hey Pocky a-Way". Nearly three decades after first hearing the album, we still love it and can't figure out why it's never sold more than a handful of copies ...
"The Wild Tchoupitoulas" track listing:
1.) Brother John (Cyril Neville) - 3:34
2.) Meet De Boys On the Battlefront (George Landry) - 3:22
3.) Indians, Here Dey Come (George Landry) - 4:02
4.) Hey Pocky a-Way (The Meters) - 3:57
5.) Indian Red (George Landry) - 7:19
6.) Big Chief Got a Golden Crown (George Landry) - 3:58
7.) Hey Mama (Wild Tchoupitoulas) (George Landry) - 4:43
8.) Hey Hey (Indians Comin') (Cyril Neville - George Landry) - 3:58