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Gettin' Funkier All The Time

For someone who was a curious neophyte, getting a six-CD box-set of The Meters' "Complete Josie/Reprise & Warner Recordings 1968-1977" was excessive. In retrospect, Here Comes the Meter Man, a less extensive compliation collecting the first three albums over two CDs may have been a better choice, but some reviews had complained of the sound quality on the latter, and this one wasn't all that much more expensive.

The six discs contain eight full albums and a wealth of singles and other bonus tracks. Also in the box is a forty-page booklet with many photos and extensive notes by Charles Waring, plus a very thorough breakdown of the discs' contents. After playing through all the discs a couple of times apiece, my preference is firmly for the impeccable instrumental numbers, mostly drawn from The Meters and Look-Ka Py Py that fill Disc #1. For me, it's the perfect music for driving to.

That's not to say that there aren't treasures elsewhere too, such as the irresistible 'Cabbage Alley' and 'Hey Pocky A-Way' - it's just that the bulk of the magic here is in the interplay of the four instrumentalists, and their lyrics typically aren't on the same level as the music.

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