Search - Lee Dorsey :: Yes We Can / Night People

Classic New Orleans funk from Lee Dorsey, 1970

J P Ryan | Waltham, Massachusetts United States | 10/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"New Orleans has always produced more than its share of truly singular music greats, many eccentric enough that they never hit outside of the region. But Lee Dorsey produced a considerable body of work, including several several national hits. Twenty years after his death Dorsey remains a vastly underrated vocalist - by turns soulful, wry, converstional, playful, and bemused. By the time he made his first record ("Rock") for Ace in 1957 he was already 30 years old, and the following year began a longstanding collaboration with producer/writer Allen Toussaint ('Lottie Mo'). It wasn't until 1961 that he hit big on Bobby Robinson's Fire label with 'Ya-Ya', followed by 'Do-Re-Me' and several other less successful singles eventually collected on an album called "Ya Ya". In 1963 Lee recorded a terrific single for Smash that went nowhere, and this was followed by two more 45s released by the Constellation label. Finally In 1965 Toussaint signed him to his Sansu Enterprises and for the next five years Dorsey hit his stride on the Amy label with a string of classic singles and two great albums, "Ride Your Pony" and "The New Lee Dorsey", both beautifully remastered and expanded by Sundazed for CD in 2000. Next, Toussaint produced Dorsey's classic album for Polygram, "Yes We Can" in 1970. This is one of the seminal funk/soul albums of the '70s, capturing Lee and Toussaint at their mature peak. "Yes We Can" was first reissued on CD in the mid '90s, on a generous set that included bonus singles and outtakes from the 1970 - 73 Polydor period, plus a pair of rarely reissued gems recorded for the Smash label in 1963. The original album is essential, combining great songs, a mature delivery, and funk backing by the Meters and other N.O. greats. Now Austrailia's Raven has reissued the album again, this time combined with Dorsey/Toussaint's last album together, "Night People" (ABC, 1978). Though I miss the earlier edition's bonus material, and "Night People" is a bit uneven, if you can't find the earlier edition of "Yes We Can" I recommend this two-fer, along with the aforementioned Sundazed CDs ("Ride Your Pony" and "The New Lee Dorsey") which together collect 47 tracks, nearly every one a joy, all from the 1965 - 70 Amy period. Raven's transfer of "Yes We Can" includes two of the great non album Polydor singles, and their new remaster is decent. The set is occasionally lyrically more socially concious in a subtle way, and there are Toussaint's delicious arrangements. With delicious chicken-scratch guitar against a rhythmic acoustic, and the driest drum-kit sound imagineable, this is simmering funk, featuring many great songs later made famous by others - 'Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley'(Robert Palmer), the devestating 1973 single (not 1971, as Raven's notes indicate) 'On Your Way Down' (Little Feat), and the jazzy hit version of the title track by the Pointer Sisters. I'd still like to see a "Deluxe Edition" issued in the States collecting all Polygram material and other available tracks. As for 1978's "Night People", it has several gems, and Dorsey sings as warmly as Al Green on cuts like 'Say You Will'. Not surprisingly what would be Dorsey's last album gets a slicker production (as befits the era) and contains one or two banal songs. It really is the bonus item on this set rather than the main reason to get it, though I am happy to finally own it, and it will grow on you. "Night People" even got Dorsey a spot on a Clash tour circa 1980. For now, however, Raven's CD is the most cost-effective way to get the classic "Yes We Can" and that album IS essential. The man deserves a posthumous spot in the rock 'n' roll hall of fame - anyone up for a petition?

*2/2008 PS "Yes We Can" is currently available in one of those Japanese editions with a cardboard sleeve replicating the original album jacket. But more importantly it sounds superb, warm and detailed, and is nearly twice the length of the original album, including all four subsequent Polydor singles, the two Smash tracks, and several outtakes first issued on the out-of-print US "Yes We Can...And Then Some". It lists for $25 or so, but may be found at a lower price from other sellers through Amazon.

"

Front loaded NOLA two-fer

Elliot Knapp | Seattle, Washington United States | 10/04/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I ran into this reissue because I'm a fan of the Meters, Allen Toussaint and a number of other New Orleans funk/r&b groups from the 70's and beyond. The obvious connection is that the great Toussaint produced and wrote all the songs on both albums, and members of the Meters perform on Yes We Can. So, I was hoping this two-on-one reissue would give me a little extra shot of that early 70's New Orleans funk that I've been craving, and it sure does! However, I would say that the first album is significantly better than the second, and they vary in style enough that it's a slight mismatch to have them on the same disc.



Yes We Can has become a classic album in New Orleans music circles, thanks I think to a few of Toussaint's fine songs and Lee Dorsey's raspy, soulful, and honest vocals. "Yes We Can" is a classic song in its own right, recalling a time when soul songwriters like Toussaint were actually interested in saying something with their music. The music backing Dorsey is laid-back, stripped down, and hard-on-the-one funky--just what I was hoping for! "Tears Tears and More Tears" is another favorite, with Dorsey desperately wailing amid a driving, horn-filled chorus. The spoken bridge of "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?" is almost as priceless as the filthy, gnarly guitar, bass and drums that form the song's backbone. "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" has become something of a funk standard, and Dorsey's version is a bit more playful than, say, Robert Palmer's. "Gator Tail" is a pounding, dancy track with a catchy guitar riff and Dorsey calling out commands to the band like a construction foreman. The album ends on a humorous note, with "Would You?", a spoken dialog between Lee and one of his band mates featuring some amusing wordplay set to more funky grooves. Overall, Yes We Can is great New Orleans funk--spare, muscly instrumentation with lots of room for the instruments to breathe, and some soulful vocals turned in by Dorsey. It's also worth noting that this album (and Night People, for that matter) have Allen Toussaint's stamp all over them--from the background vocals to the horns and lyrics, you can almost hear Toussaint performing these songs on one of his own superb solo albums.



Night People, for my money, really doesn't live up to Yes We Can. For one thing, it was recorded 8 years after Yes We Can--you can't really expect both albums to have the same vibe. It's a bit too slick for my tastes, treading too close to soft jazzy smooth soul, without much of that live-sounding funk grit that made Yes We Can such a fresh-sounding album all these years later. Some songs are pretty good--"Keep On Doin' it to Me" is a quasi-funky grinder, and "Can I Be The One" and "Draining" are both pretty heartfelt ballads, but the overall production is just a bit too smooth and slick for my tastes, which I don't feel really matches Dorsey's scratchy voice as well. A couple of the tracks are nearly cringe-worthy, like the cheesy "God Must Have Blessed America" and the title track, a misguided attempt for a chart song. You can sort of tell that Toussaint just didn't bring as strong a selection of songs to the table for this one, and popular music tastes had really changed to the point where the old New Orleans funk wasn't commercially viable. Dorsey was New Orleans through and through, though, so Toussaint's attempts to keep up with the times don't fit him too well.



This reissue is worth its price for Yes We Can alone--I like to consider Night People an enjoyable but inconsequential bonus on top of the first album, which is one of the best albums Toussaint produced (and that's saying a lot--that guy was busy putting out a lot of great records in the 60's and 70's). Raven (from Australia, of all places) did a good job remastering and the liner notes are interesting, if a bit over-reverent. Fans of early 70's soul, funk, and r&b should stop hesitating and pick this up today!"