Leo Nocentelli - Live in San Francisco (CD)

All Music Guide

This live recording features Leo Nocentelli and Ziggy Modeliste, the less visible half of the original Meters, with the regular occasional band that did sporadic West Coast club gigs during the '90s. It's Nocentelli's group and the self-aggrandizing tone of the liner notes at the expense of his old bandmates is uncomfortable enough, but it's also reflected in the guitar-heroic stance of the arrangements here. The songs lean heavily on the classic Rejuvenation-era Meters (no objections here) but flight-of-the-bumblebee guitar solos abound more than compact slabs of second-line funk. The opening "Fire on the Bayou" comes dressed up with an extended, almost prog-rock intro and coda, but the actual song is lean, mean, and funky enough with Nocentelli's vocals not a million miles from those of Art Neville. "People Say" starts off with deadly funky rhythm guitar riffing and remains a truth song 25 years after it was first recorded; try "Destruction is in the air/When is it gonna quit/Somebod...y end the madness/I'm gettin' sick and tired of this sht" for inspirational lyrics. Kevin Walsh's piano lays a solid chordal bed for Nocentelli's solo and the funky track showcases the jam band side of the Meters so well that you don't mind the audience participation routine or sorta ragged backing vocals. But why, pray tell, does "Que Sera, Sera" give one-time Neville Brothers bassist Nick Daniels a vocal showcase and Nocentelli a blues blitz guitar hero moment? Modeliste and Art Neville-style organ fills from Walsh as it runs through a more complex set of motifs than the old Meters would have. It's the prog-rock thing again, and it also shows up on the other original, "Come Back Jack," a riff instrumental that borders on metal funk, but OD's on the bumblebees. "Africa" and "Cissy Strut" both feature okay drum solos, but neither are anything special. "Hey Pocky Way" is second-line solid, however, locking down the groove while Nocentelli's vocal exchanges over an irresistible Modeliste rhythm breakdown whip up audience involvement. The versions here don't top the originals, but that's not really the point of an unvarnished, warts-and-all live recording. Live in San Francisco could have been a great glimpse of two masters revisiting past highlights, but with so many slack spots, guitar solos leaning towards bombast, and Modeliste not 100 percent on his funky game, it's more about sporadic moments than fully satisfying. - Don Snowden, All Music Guide Read more Less