The late 1960s instrumental funk group
The Meters has been a major influence on musicians after them: from
Funkadelic to
Sly Stone and from the
Red Hot Chili Peppers to
Run-DMC. An important factor in the band's typical sound was guitarist Leo Nocentelli, who also co-wrote many of the successful Meters songs. This autodidact was already professionally active as a musician in his early teens and
… because of his many session work he became a versatile guitarist. He proves this with the release of Another Side, solo material recorded in 1971 that was shelved for exactly fifty years before it was released in 2021. During a period when The Meters had temporarily split up, he went into the studio. Stylistically, the songs he recorded have almost nothing to do with The Meters' work. Another Side shows the then 25-year-old Nocentelli mainly as a songwriter. With a lot of acoustic guitars and a somewhat timid voice, he sings about love and broken hearts. We also hear a striking cover of Elton John's Your Song as the closing track. Another Side is the other direction his career could have taken, but miraculously remained hidden for fifty years. (JV)more
