Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights
Continuing my list of Top 20 albums from 1975, sitting at #19 is Southern Nights by Allen Toussaint. My assumption is that most people have never heard of Allen Toussaint, but his influence on the sound of Southern soul is incredibly important. From his production work on soul hits in the ’60s, his development of the original funk band The Meters, and his continued songwriting and production in the ’70s, Toussaint was extremely influential on the sound of soul throughout that decade. He didn’t release many albums under his own name, but his best by far is this one from 1975.
Southern Nights merges the funk and soul sounds that Toussaint had been developing for over ten years with a New Orleans-influenced Southern rock style. Toussaint worked with other roots rock artists, such as Little Feat and The Band, but this album presents its own version of Southern roots music. This is mainly due to the fact that every tune Toussaint ever touched had some level of funk buried at its core. That is almost a given when your backing musicians include the members of The Meters. When you add in the post-psychedelia sound of the title track, an amazing horn section, and a couple of gorgeous ballads, you have a unique album that still sounds relevant.
If you are interested in other years, check out my Year in Review series.
To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.
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