The Meters - Live at the Great American Music Hall (2 LP)

Widely hailed as the founding fathers of funk, The Meters laid down the blueprint for groove-heavy music that still echoes through hip-hop, rock, and soul today. With razor-sharp rhythm, swampy New Orleans flavor, and a sound tighter than a snare drum, they turned instrumental jams into seismic statements. Whether backing legends like Dr. John or spinning out classics like "Cissy Strut," The Meters didn't just play funk - they defined it. One of New Orleans greatest bands was The Meters, which put the Big Easy on the map as a funk and R&B capital in the 1960s and '70s. The group began as an instrumental quartet, cutting eight studio albums between 1969 and 1977. Although they were never officially captured live on record during that time, in 1981 after the group had split, an obscure label called REG Associates released an LP called At Rozy's which presented a performance supposedly taped at a New Orleans nightclub in December 1976. Recent research, however, reveals that the concert was recorded the previous year at a different venue: San Francisco's prestigious The Great American Music Hall. Newly remastered from the original ¼"master tapes, the performance-including material not heard before-is now presented in full for the first time. It captures The Meters in their prime, giving the listener a front-row seat to witness up close one of the most dynamic funk and soul bands ever.