Allen Toussaint R.I.P.

Very sad to hear of the passing of New Orleans giant Allen Toussaint. Lee Dorsey's 'Yes We Can', 'Fire on the Bayou' by The Meters as well as his own LP's, 'Toussaint' and 'Motion', all cropped up in my own record collection fairly early on and are cherished there still. Rest easy Sir.

The Rhine Oaks

I recently picked up a copy of 'Rolling with the Punches: The Allen Toussaint Songbook', a compilation on Ace Records. Many of the selected performances on the album are familiar, Lowell George's 'What Do You Want the Girl to Do' and The Pointer Sisters' 'Yes We Can' for example, although The Judds version of 'Working in the Coal Mine', serviceable though it is, strikes me as an odd inclusion.

One tune previously totally unknown to me, however, was 'Tampin' by The Rhine Oaks - and what a belter it is. 'Tampin' was recorded in 1969 as a one-off single by Allen Toussaint himself, accompanied by members of New Orleans' finest, The Meters, which explains its lugubrious grooviness. Worth the price of admission alone I'd say.