VA - The Best of New Orleans [2018] (2 x CDs)

NEW ORLEANS

VA - The Best of New Orleans [2018] (2 x CDs)

This one doesn’t strut so much as it glides, a 2CD set that captures the humid, horn-soaked heartbeat of New Orleans without ever breaking a sweat. Released in 2018 by Metro Select and Union Square Music , The Best of New Orleans is less a history lesson and more a mixtape from a friend who knows the backstreets and jukeboxes by heart.

There’s no rigid timeline here, just a rolling wave of rhythm and soul. You get the big names, sure, but the real flavor comes from the tracks that ripple outward, influencing scenes far beyond the Crescent City. James “Sugar Boy” Crawford’s “Jock-A-Mo” is a cornerstone, a raw chant that would echo through decades of Mardi Gras lore. Chris Kenner’s “I Like It Like That” is pure New Orleans propulsion, loose, joyful, and impossible to sit still through.

Then there’s Li’l Millet & His Creoles’ “Rich Woman”, a swampy, swaggering cut that’s been covered and reinterpreted but never outdone. Clarence Garlow’s “Bon Ton Roula” brings the zydeco shuffle into the mix, while The Hawketts’ “Mardi Gras Mambo” and Professor Longhair’s “Go to the Mardi Gras” practically throw beads from the speakers. These aren’t just songs, they’re cultural touchstones, still pulsing through block parties, brass bands, and bounce tracks today.

What makes this set sing is its refusal to overthink. It’s not trying to be definitiv, it’s trying to be alive. The sequencing feels like a neighborhood stroll, a little second-line here, a little backroom R&B there, with a brass band warming up just around the corner. It’s a celebration, plain and simple, one that knows the best way to honor New Orleans is to let the music do the talking. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Lee Dorsey - Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky 3:09

02 Robert Parker - Barefootin' 2:44

03 Irma Thomas - I Did My Part 2:29

04 Meters - Keep on Marching 3:24

05 Dr. John - Tipitina 3:25

06 Art Neville - Cha Dooky 2:37

07 Dixie Cups - Iko, Iko 2:08

08 Fats Domino - Mardis Gras in New Orleans 2:18

09 Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya 1:45

10 Aaron Neville - Hercules 4:13

11 Meters - Cissy Strut 3:01

12 Tami Lynn - Mojo Hanna 3:26

13 Dr. John - A Little Closer to My Home 3:13

14 Snooks Eaglin - Yours Truly 4:23

15 Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise 2:47

16 Huey 'Piano' Smith - Tu 2:31

17 Johnny Adams - A Losing Battle 2:52

18 Chris Kenner - I Like it Like That 1:55

19 Sugar Boy & His Cane Cutters - Jock 2:27

20 Betty Harris - Nearer to You 2:56

21 Ernie K Doe - Here Comes The Girls 3:12

22 Allen Tousaint - Happy Times 2:08

23 Irma Thomas - Somebody Told You 2:34

24 Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - Ain't Got No Home 2:23

25 Aaron Neville - Cry Me a River 3:44

CD2

01 Louis Armstrong - West End Blues 3:11

02 Young Tuxedo Brass Band - John Casimir's Whoopin' Blues 3:15

03 Kid Ory - 29th and Dearborn 2:54

04 Henry 'Red' Allen and His Orchestra - Down in Jungle Town 2:51

05 Jelly Roll Morton - I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say 3:17

06 Hawketts - Mardi Gras Mambo 2:19

07 Hawks - It's Too Late Now 2:09

08 Jessie Hill - Ooh Poo Pah Doo 4:26

09 Bobby Charles - See You Later Alligator 2:51

10 Clifton Chenier - Ay 2:42

11 Clarence Garlow - Bon Ton Roula 3:13

12 Smiley Lewis - I Hear You Knockin' 2:47

13 L'il Millett & His Creoles - Rich Woman 2:36

14 Benny Spellman - Fortune Teller 2:12

15 Eddie Bo - Every Dog Has Its Day 2:10

16 Roy Montrell - (Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone 2:25

17 Professor Longhair - Go The The Mardi Gras 2:44

18 Dave Bartholomew - Shrimp & Gumbo 2:07

19 Barbara Lynn - You're Gonna Need Me 2:26

20 Earl King - Trick Bag 2:42

21 Spiders - Witchcraft 2:36

22 King Oliver (Featuring His Orchestra) - St. James Infirmary 3:40

23 Eureka Brass Band - Lord, Lord, Lord 3:11

24 Sidney Bechet Quintet - Summertime 4:06

25 Fats Domino - Walking to New Orleans 1:56

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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