"Allen Toussaint is one of those figures in the world of Soul and Funk who never had a career in the full spotlight. He rather chose to be behind the curtain writing and producing. In doing so Toussaint was a major force behind the development of the Crescent City Sound in the sixties. Although he had something of a solo career in that decade he didn't get it properly started until the seventies. Life, Love and Faith followed the beautiful From a Whisper to a Scream, both being Toussaint's first proper album efforts. Releases before that were aimed at the 45 market as most of the R&B material of the sixties. It wasn't until people like Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes and Stevie Wonder started to produce records that were meant for the album market that hit big R&B would be taken serious as an album producing field.
Where From a Whisper still leaned heavily into material he originally written for others, Life, Love and Faith would be Toussaint's first album that stood on its own. Instead of producing for the Meters, the legendary funk band became his backing group on this outing adding a horn section...."
Below, an outtake from the Life, Love & Faith sessions with Toussaint on piano and the Meters backing him up with a greasy, unbelievably funky halftime groove.
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