Rejuvenation (The Meters album)

Rejuvenation is the fifth studio album by the New Orleans funk group The Meters. It was released in 1974. In 2003, the album was ranked number 138 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,^[6] and 139 in a 2012 revised list.^[7]

Rejuvenation
Studio album by The Meters
Released	July 1974
Recorded	Sea-Saint Studios
Genre	Funk[1][2] swamp rock[1][2]
Length	44:08
Label	Reprise (MS 2200)
Producer	Allen Toussaint, The Meters
The Meters chronology
Cabbage Alley (1972) Rejuvenation (1974) Fire on the Bayou (1975)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
BBC Music	Positive[1]

Background

The Meters cut their first three mostly instrumental albums with Josie Records, before signing with Reprise and recording 1972's Cabbage Alley, their first album to feature mostly vocal songs and arrangements. Rejuvenation is the follow-up album. It was produced by Allen Toussaint and recorded at his brand new Sea-Saint Studios in New Orleans. Some of the songs on the album include horn section arrangements by Toussaint.^[3][8]

The front cover artwork features a photograph of a woman sitting on a couch alongside several record albums strewn about her living room, such as Allen Toussaint's 1972 Life, Love and Faith as well as the Meters' own previous LP Cabbage Alley.

Reception

Stephen Erlewine of AllMusic called it "a first-class funk album" and noted the album's rock influences and its hard-edged funk.^[3] Robert Christgau had a positive view and singles out the two tracks "It Ain't No Use" and "Just Kissed My Baby" as highlights.^[4] Jon Pareles of Rolling Stone called the album "a high point of 1970s funk". He noted the sparse spacing of the music and stylistic influences from Mardi Gras, gospel, R&B and country.^[5] Daryl Easlea of BBC Music called the music a "merger of funk and swamp rock" and said the album is "the epitome of groove-laden, hook-rich, in-your-face funk." He singled out "Africa" and "It Ain't No Use" as highlights.^[1]

Influence and cover songs

The album's influence is detectable in the work of a number of artists who have performed renditions of its songs. The Red Hot Chili Peppers did a modified version of the song "Africa" on their album Freaky Styley. Throughout their version, the word "Africa" is changed to "Hollywood" and "Mother Land" is changed to "Brother Land".^[1] The third track, "Just Kissed My Baby", is used in Grand Theft Auto IV on the funk radio station "IF99 (International Funk)".^[9] The song is sampled on Public Enemy's "Timebomb" from the album Yo! Bum Rush the Show.^[10] Chris Duarte did a rendition of "Just Kissed My Baby" on Texas Sugar/Strat Magik.^[11] He has also covered "People Say" live.^[12] Vdelli [de] covered "Just Kissed My Baby" on the album Out of the Blues.^[13] New Orleans' The Dirty Dozen Brass Band covered "Africa" on their Medicated Magic album.^[14] The Grateful Dead regularly performed "Hey Pocky A-Way" in their concerts in the late 1980s.^[15] Widespread Panic regularly cover "It Ain't No Use" and have played and still play "Just Kissed My Baby" many times. George Porter, Jr. has sat in with Widespread Panic a number of times, most recently at their annual "Panic en la Playa Siete" destination shows. The 01/28/2018 show at Riviera Maya, MX featured George on bass & vocals performing "It Ain't No Use".

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"People Say"	5:18
2.	"Love Is for Me"	3:55
3.	"Just Kissed My Baby"	4:43
4.	"What'cha Say"	3:29
5.	"Jungle Man"	3:26
6.	"Hey Pocky A-Way"	4:06
7.	"It Ain't No Use"	11:51
8.	"Loving You Is on My Mind"	3:19
9.	"Africa"	4:01

All tracks are written by Ziggy Modeliste, Art Neville, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter, Jr

2001 digitally remastered CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
10.	"People Say" (Single Version)	3:11
11.	"Hey Pocky A-Way" (Single Version)	3:27

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic,^[16] with added vocal credits.

The Meters

• Ziggy Modeliste – drums, composer, producer, vocals
• Art Neville – keyboards, composer, producer, vocals
• Leo Nocentelli – guitar, composer, producer, background vocals
• George Porter Jr. – bass, composer, producer, background vocals

with:

• Lowell George – slide guitar on "Just Kissed My Baby"^[17]

Production

• Allen Toussaint – producer
• Tim Livingston – project manager
• Bob Irwin – mastering
• Al Quaglieri – mastering
• Ken Laxton – engineer
• Rich Russell – design
• Bunny Matthews – liner notes

References

1. Daryl Easlea (2010). "The Meters Rejuvenation Review". BBC Music. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
2. Paste Staff (June 3, 2024). "The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time". Paste. Retrieved June 4, 2024. Part-funk and part-swamp rock, Rejuvenation lives up to its title...
3. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Allmusic: Rejuvenation – review". allmusic.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
5. Jon Pareles (August 3, 2000). "The Meters: Rejuenation". Rolling Stone. No. RS 846. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007.
6. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time – 138 – Rejuvenation, The Meters". Rolling Stone. No. Special Issue. Straight Arrow. November 2003. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007.
7. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
8. Daniel Knobler (February 2011). "Here Come the Meter Men". Perfect Sound Forever magazine. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
9. "Grand Theft Auto IV– Soundtrack". grandtheft4.ucoz.com. 2011. Archived from the original on April 26, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
10. "Public Enemy's 'Yo! Bum Rush The Show' Turns 30". whosampled.com. February 10, 2017. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
11. "AllMusic: Texas Sugar/Start Magik". Allmusic.com. 1994. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
12. "Allmusic: Chris Duarte / The Chris Duarte Group – Live album". Allmusic.com. 2013. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
13. Fred Schemidtlein (April 29, 2002). "Vdelli – Out of the Blues – review". Home of Rock. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
14. "AllMusic: Medicated Magic". Allmusic.com. 2002. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
15. David Malvinni (2013). Grateful Dead and the Art of Rock Improvisation. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 30–31. ISBN 9780810882553. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
16. "Allmusic: Rejuvenation – credits". allmusic.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
17. Efram Turchick (January 22, 2002). "Interview with Leo Nocentelli". Sundazed.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2011. That's Lowell George playing slide on a song called 'Just Kissed My Baby' on Rejuvenation.