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Wild Magnolias: Life Is a Carnival |
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New Orleans
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Monday, 16 January 2006 09:37 |
Life Is a Carnival
The Wild Magnolias
Metro Blue Records
By John Sinclair
Within the spectacular and spiritually rooted Mardi Gras Indian tradition which continues to flourish in the impoverished Black neighborhoods of New Orleans, The Wild Magnolias proudly celebrate a special tradition of their own.
Since 1970 the exuberant Wild Indian gang led by Big Chief Bo Dollis has fused its traditional call-and-response street chants with the fiery rhythm & blues backing of Crescent City greats like Willie Tee, Snooks Eaglin, Dr. John, and the Re-Birth Brass Band to create a brilliant new synthesis of ancient folklore and hard-driving modern funk.
This program of new music by the Wild Magnolias recorded exactly 25 years after their initial album introduced the thrilling sounds of the Mardi Gras Indians to the world at large is at once a compelling demonstration of their remarkable artistic growth and a testimonial to the constancy of their vision. The music sounds and feels better, hits harder and deeper, rocks and rolls more ferociously than ever before, yet remains as firmly rooted in the rich cultural soil of the Mardi Gras Indian Nation as ever.
Here Wild Magnolias Big Chief Bo Dollis and and his recording partner Monk Boudreau, Big Chief of the Golden Eagles, have fashioned an irresistable collection of street-tested Wild Indian tunes, stellar new Mac Rebennack compositions, pumping party anthems (including The Band's festive "Life Is A Carnival"), and timely updates of gems like "Peacepipe," "Battlefield," and "All On A Mardi Gras Day" into an album that can cause smiles to break out and feet to start moving whenever it's played and one that can be played over and over again.
The vast musical cast assembled to manifest the musical vision of The Wild Magnolias includes Norwood "Geechee" Johnson, their bass drum man from the street; the slammin' big band of "the Creole Beethoven", arranger Wardell Querzergue; Japanese guitar sensation June Yamagishi; drummers Russell Batiste (funky Meters), Willie Green (Neville Brothers), Jeffrey "Jelly Bean" Alexander and Leon Alexander; bassists Mark Brooks, Cornell Williams, Nick Daniels and Brian Quezergue; pianist George Rossi; and guest luminaries like Robbie Robertson, Bruce Hornsby, Cyril Neville, Marva Wright, Davell Crawford and all the way from Osaka the Black Bottom Brass Band, blasting away on Dr. John's timeless homage to Carnival Day.
Dr. John plays a key role in the proceedings, contributing four great new Wild Indian tunes, his guitar, keyboards and unmistakable vocal interjections. "Tootie Ma," which could be translated as "(She's) Totally Bad", is a mad rocker driven by the raging percussion section and topped by Bo's impassioned, flesh-shredding lead vocals. "Who Knows," "Cowboys & Indians" and the epic "Blackhawk" framed by a haunting Wardell Querzergue arrangement dig deep into the spiritual roots of the Mardi Gras Indian Nation to add important information about the communion between Native Americans and Africans in America and its glorification in the music and culture of the Wild Indians of New Orleans.
The new Wild Magnolias songs "Pock-A-Nae", "Coochie Molly", "Shanda Handa", "Herc-Jolly-John", and "Old Time Indian" (a moving collaboration with Cyril Neville) seem destined to take their place in the Magnolias permanent repertoire alongside established favorites like "Handa Wanda", "Two-Way-Pak-E-Way," "Soul, Soul, Soul," "New Suit," "Fire Water," "Ho Na Nae," "Injuns Here We Come" and "Let's Go Get 'Em". The late percussionist Michael Ward, whose congas are all over this record, contributed the real-life ghetto lament called "Pocket Change," and Marva Wright counters Bo's lead on the resilient Allen Toussaint song "Hang Tough."
The Big Chief sings and leads the proceedings with the energy and enthusiasm of a much younger man, infusing each song with the special warmth and passion which have endeared him to all devout followers of Mardi Gras Indian music. Monk Boudreau adds historical wisdom and cultural depth, filling in the space around and inside the songs with the force of his hard-earned knowledge.
Keep this record near your turntables, dear friends you're going to be listening to it for a long time to come. And remember, "When you hear the songs, that's the way the story goes."
New Orleans
November 18, 1998
(c) 1998, 2006 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved.
The Wild Magnolias: Life Is A Carnival
Metro Blue Records
1. "Pock-A-Nae" (Mac Rebennack)
2. "Coochie Molly" (Wild Magnolias)
3. "Who Knows" (Mac Rebennack)
4. "Life Is A Carnival" (Robbie Robertson/The Band)
5. "Party" (Willie Tee)
6. "Old Time Indian" (Cyril Neville/Wild Magnolias)
7. "All On A Mardi Gras Day" (Mac Rebennack)
8. "Shanda Handa" (Wild Magnolias)
9. "Cowboys & Indians" (Mac Rebennack)
10. "Blackhawk" (Mac Rebennack)
11. "Pocket Change" (Michael Ward)
12. "Herc-Jolly-John" (Wild Magnolias)
13. "Battlefield" (Wild Magnolias)
14. "Hang Tough" (Allen Toussaint)
15. "Tootie Ma" (Mac Rebennack)
16. "Peacepipe" (Wild Magnolias)
Produced by Glen Gaines
except "All on a Mardi Gras Day" produced by June Yamagishi and
"Life Is a Carnival" and "Old Time Indian" produced by Cyril Neville
3.1.6115 |
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