Search - Johnny Vidacovich & Yamagishi, Porter :: We Came to Play

A strong and very loose jam session by New Orleans funk stal

Nobody important | 01/09/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you know anything about the three musicians on this album, you might be surprised by the sound. The highest-profile name here is probably George Porter, the bassist for The Meters. Johnny Vidacovich is one of the best and most versatile drummers in New Orleans. (Let's put it this way-- Stanton Moore worships him). June Yamagishi plays guitar for the up-and-coming funk band, Papa Grows Funk. Given The Meters' penchant for extremely tight sounds, Vidacovich's precision, and the straight-forward approach of Papa Grows Funk, this album is much more loose than you would expect. The album has the feel of an informal jam session, and it generally discards normal song structures. The music is also frequently more mellow than you would expect if you know the bands, but that can work in its favor. Just don't expect scorching solos. This album is basically just a friendly, late-night jam session between three top-notch musicians who didn't seem to have any plan for where they were going with any one track. Hence, while we might have expected this to sound like Porter Batiste Stoltz, another guitar/bass/drums New Orleans funk trio featuring the bassist from The Meters, it sounds more like what their first few jam sessions might have been than how their two albums so far sound. If you are looking for the kind of tight New Orleans funk that the names here imply, don't get this album. However, if you are open to a loose jam session, this album has some very good meanderings on it."