Trick Bag

For other uses, see Trick Bag (disambiguation).

Trick Bag
Studio album by The Meters
Released	July 22, 1976[1]
Genre	Funk
Length	42:11
Label	Reprise (MS 2252)
Producer	Allen Toussaint, The Meters
The Meters chronology
Fire on the Bayou (1975) Trick Bag (1976) New Directions (1977)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+[3]

Trick Bag is the seventh studio album by the funk group The Meters. The name comes from their cover of the Earl King single of the same name.

Background

In spring of 1976 the band was on tour opening for the Rolling Stones on their Tour of Europe '76. According to Jason Berry's Up from the Cradle of Jazz, several tracks on this album are preliminary recordings and were selected for release in the absence of band members.[4]

Reception

Stephen Erlewine had a negative view and critiqued the album's attempt to sound mainstream. He singles out three tracks as exceptions: "Mister Moon", "Doodle Loop" and "Honky Tonk Women".[2] Joe McEwen of Rolling Stone critiqued the song choices and the attempt to please the commercial market. He said two tracks are in-line with the band's style: "Doodle Loop" and "Chug-a-Lug", and had a positive view of the title track "Trick Bag".[5] Robert Christgau also critiqued the song choices and had a positive view of the title track.[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Meters, except as noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Disco Is the Thing Today"		4:21
2.	"Find Yourself"		4:12
3.	"All These Things"	Naomi Neville	3:32
4.	"I Want to Be Loved by You"		5:24
5.	"Suite for 20 G"	James Taylor	4:32
6.	"(Doodle Loop) The World Is a Little Bit Under the Weather"	Leo Nocentelli, Vincent Toussaint	3:52
7.	"Trick Bag"	Earl King	3:21
8.	"Mister Moon"		4:02
9.	"Chug-A-Lug"		3:22
10.	"Hang 'Em High"	Dominic Frontiere	2:17
11.	"Honky Tonk Women"	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards	3:16

2001 digitally remastered CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Love the One You're With"	Stephen Stills	3:31
13.	"What More Can I Do?"		2:47
14.	"Down by the River"	Neil Young	9:02
15.	"Come Together"	John Lennon, Paul McCartney	3:08
16.	"Big Chief"	Earl King	2:57

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[6]

• Ziggy Modeliste – drums
• Art Neville – keyboards, vocals
• Cyril Neville – congas, percussion, vocals
• Leo Nocentelli – guitar, backing vocals
• George Porter Jr. – bass guitar
• Kenneth "Afro" Williams – percussion
• Tony Owens – backing vocals
• Terry Smith – backing vocals
• Earl King – father's vocals (track 7)[5][7]

Production

• The Meters – producer
• Allen Toussaint – producer
• Bob Irwin – mastering
• Bill Dahl – liner notes
• Rich Russell – design
• Ed Thrasher – art direction
• Michael P. Smith – photography
• Tom Copi – photography

References

1. "Discogs: The Meters – Trick Bag – CD reissue". discogs.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
2. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Allmusic: Trick Bag – review". allmusic.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
4. Jason Berry; Jonathan Foose; Tad Jones (1992). Up from the Cradle of Jazz. Da Capo Press. p. 199. ISBN 9780306804939. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
5. Joe McEwen (October 7, 1976). "The Meters: Trick Bag". Rolling Stone. No. RS 223. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
6. "Allmusic: Trick Bag – credits". allmusic.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
7. "Discogs: The Meters – Trick Bag – Vinyl original". discogs.com. 1976. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2017.