The Meters

With their 1969 eponymous instrumental debut album the Meters not only defined New Orleans funk, they also managed to make the tightest rhythm section ever known to man somehow sound looser than any other band. Here, the Meters’ otherworldly prowess is apparent from the first five seconds of “Cissy Strut” where drummer extraordinaire Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste innovates “second-line” rhythms intertwined with minimally layered percussion locked-in with George Porter Jr.’s toneful bass-lines. When this bulletproof beat and bass combo played under Leo Nocentelli’s intense guitar riffs and Art Neville’s unclasped keyboard jams, the result was musical chemistry so magical they quickly became known as the progenitors of the genre. Where artists like Sly & The Family Stone or Jimi Hendrix played wah-wah guitar with a wild abandon, Nocentelli was able to rein it in as heard on “Here Comes the Meter Man,” making an otherwise uncontrollable effect associated with the advent of psychedelia sound conservative and cool. “Live Wire” boasts a stroboscopic rhythm that you can dance to with a hyper-accurate strut or a slower groove.