Look-Ka Py Py [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

The Meters

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 30, 1999)
• Original Release Date: January 1970
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Sundazed Music Inc.
• ASIN: B0000365IN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,240 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Meters' prolific run of '70s albums established the incomparable foursome as the premier exponents of New Orleans funk, blending syncopated rhythms with gritty guitar/organ grooves to stir up a musical gumbo that's grown ever tastier with the passage of time. The quartet's 1970 sophomore album is one of the legendary combo's most beloved releases, and a quintessential evocation of the Meters' peerless greatness. The album features their immortal smashes "Look-Ka Py Py" and "Chicken Strut," along with a dozen more classic slices of deep-fried New Orleans funk, including the previously unreleased bonus tracks "Grass" and "Borro."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seminal funk., July 28, 2004

By	Poser P "music.download.com/poserp" (SGV, California) - See all my reviews

To paraphrase a recent truck commercial, "it's a big, tough funk album. What's not to like?"

If you're a modern music producer, please do yourself a favor and listen to the drums on this album. They're back a bit in the mix but still pop, the snare doesn't sound like the grand canyon but it's got a ring to it, and the cymbals stay out of the way of everything else while still aggressive. Quite frankly, just about every modern drum "sound" I've heard, from rock to the anemic junk that passes for funk these days to jazz, is a gutless wonder by comparison. That "metallic" snare sound that's so popular these days (on rock recordings by everyone from Pearl Jam to 311 to No Doubt to every so-called "punk" band on the radio) sucks. It just does, it's not musical, it's too "open" to focus a groove. Get over it, please, and let us know when you've got it right. Whoever produces Queens of The Stone Age or Cake can chill, though, 'cause you're close. A bit more snap and some high-end blap and you're there. Can you imagine how absolutely tough a good punk band would sound with a drum kit recorded like the Meters recorded their drum kit?

I think you get the gist that I like this album. I've lived with it for a long time now and it's never out of the crate (i.e., DJ crate). I find excuses to play cuts off this thing everywhere -- weddings, house parties, whatever. If the DJ saved your life, he probably did it with a song from this record on one that sampled it or the other two Meters albums ("The Meters", "Struttin'") from this era.

Someone wake me up when a modern "rock" or "funk" band sounds and plays half this good. Pay attention to the grooves on "Funky Miracle", "Look Ka Ka Py Py", and "Pungee". That stuff's much harder to play than it sounds, no one I've heard does it right besides the Meters themselves.

There are imitation funk bands out there these days trying to cop the old-school sound, but they don't have the chops to pull it off. Do yourself a favor and savor the real thing. The Meters is it, and this album is definitively it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No deeper funk alive, April 9, 2005

By	littlewing "littlewing1430" (Mumbai India) - See all my reviews

The Meters were the most underrrated band to emerge out of the late 60s/early 70s funk explosion.

This is music that would not only inform 70s r&b but would filter into the jazz of the day. And the band was just amazing -funky guitar and organ riffs, and a beautifully understated but stunningly precise rhythm section.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best early 70's Funk Instrumentals EVER, September 8, 2003

By	Jennifer Lightman "jlite" (Winter Park, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you like newer funk, such as the instrumental Beastie Boys stuff or the less heavy, more funky Red Hot Chili Peppers tunes BUY THIS. This is where it all came from. The influence this album has had cannot be overestimated.

I initially bought this album after hearing it on the speakers in one of my favorite (vinyl) record stores. I had never heard the Meters before but simply thought it was exactly the kind of upbeat groovy stuff that would be perfect for parties, drinking Abita beer and hanging out in the sunshine. This is true, but I have subsequently been blown away by how amazing this CD is.

I bought it over 10 years ago and this album has never sat long on the shelf. It seems like the grooves that were laid down on Look-Ka-Py-Py just never get old. It's very funky, a little cheesy (in a good way), and everyone seems to dig it. These guys are fantastic musicians, too.

This album is a classic and (arguably) the best of the Meters collection- a great 1st Meters album!