Celebrated archival reissue label Light in the Attic (LITA) is proud to announce a second pressing of Another Side, the previously unreleased, never-before-heard studio album by legendary guitarist and songwriter Leo Nocentelli of the pioneering New Orleans funk outfit, The Meters.
Coinciding with the repressing is the album’s recent nomination for "Best Americana Record" at the 2022 A2IM Libera Awards, along with Nocentelli debuting Another Side live in front of his hometown crowd this Thursday (5/5) when he performs the entire album at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. In February, Dunlop paid tribute to the funk master and the magical city he was born and raised in with the release of their Leo Nocentelli Cry Baby Mardi Gras Wah. Plus, Chicago’s Dark Matter Coffee is honoring the musician this Friday (5/6) when they debut their Nocentelli coffee as part of their monthly Limited Blend Series.
Since being released in November, Another Side has garnered worldwide acclaim (including Pitchfork (8.2/10), Uncut (9/10), Mojo (4/5), and The Times (4/5)); profile features on Nocentelli by the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Guardian, as well as appearances on the BBC and KCRW. Plus, Another Side made “best music of 2021” lists by Rolling Stone, Aquarium Drunkard, Vinyl Factory (UK), Soul Bag (France), Slate, and PopMatters, as well as Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.
This repressing of Another Side (due out May 20th and available now to pre-order at LightInTheAttic.net) includes a new tricolor New Orleans edition pressed on purple, yellow, and green wax, in addition to the standard black wax. Pressed at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI), the vinyl configurations are accompanied by a 20-page booklet and feature the gold-foil treatment on cover and spine. The album’s incredible journey is documented in the liner notes by Sam Sweet (New York Times, Los Angeles Times), who spoke with Nocentelli about the recording process and re-discovery of the tapes. Sweet’s full notes appear in the release’s accompanying booklet, alongside hand-written lyrics by Nocentelli. Rounding out the package are original designs and layout by the multi-GRAMMY®-winning designer Masaki Koike. Additionally, the CD and cassette editions of Another Side are available now to purchase, as well as a t-shirt featuring a photo of Nocentelli performing with The Meters at Jazz Fest from photographer Michael P. Smith (courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection).
Recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s Jazz City Studio in New Orleans between 1970-72, the recently-unearthed album showcases a largely acoustic, more contemplative side of Nocentelli, who is best known for his hard-edged funk licks. Backing Nocentelli is an all-star line-up of New Orleans royalty, including Allen Toussaint (piano), James Black (drums), and both George Porter Jr. (bass) and Zigaboo Modeliste (drums) of The Meters.
Another Side finds a young Nocentelli channeling his contemporaries in the burgeoning singer-songwriter movement─think Bill Withers, James Taylor, and Toussaint meeting up at Link Wray’s 3-Track Shack. Deeply introspective, the warm and funky folk album features nine original songs by Nocentelli, plus a soulful rendition of Elton John’s “Your Song,” which had recently hit the American airwaves. Half a century later, these recordings sound just as fresh and engaging as the day they were recorded.
What makes Another Side even more extraordinary, however, is the fact that the album—which could have easily become a classic in the ‘70s singer-songwriter canon—sat untouched for decades; miraculously surviving the devastating blow of Hurricane Katrina, only to be found 2,000 miles away at a Southern California swap meet in 2018 by record collector Mike Nishita. For the full story on how this lost album was discovered 50 years later and given the spotlight it so rightly deserves, click here.
In conjunction with the album’s announcement last September, LITA released an album trailer, followed by three singles (“Thinking of the Day,” “Give Me Back My Loving,” and “Till I Get There”) leading up to the album’s release on November 19th.
