The Wild Magnolias - With “The New Orleans Project”

In 1970, one of the leaders of the musical Mardi Gras Indian Tribes movement, The Wild Magnolias, became the first band to have a commercial recording released as a Mardi Gras Indian group. The band’s legendary performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival also helped them launch into the recording of their 1974 debut LP, the self-titled The Wild Magnolias which we are so pleased to present to you here. Easily some of the most fantastic New Orleans funk and soul ever laid down on vinyl.

Eight songs that don’t let up with its street-beat funk, call-and-response vocals (with lyrics like “just a few puffs to make you feel all right” leading the charge) and a recording that captures the unhinged mania of so many talented musicians crammed into a studio making a stone-cold classic. With The New Orleans Project as their backing band including Albert Roberts (who played with Allen Toussaint & The Meters), Larry Panna (The Gaturs), Snooks Eaglin (Professor Longhair as well as the creator of 15 solo records) and Willie Tee (one of the most influential figures in the New Orleans funk and soul scene who arranged & co-wrote on this LP), the NOP beautifully rides along with the assortment of bottles, tambourines, drums and rattles that the tribe members bring to the air.

One of the coolest records we’ve ever had the privilege of reissuing (not to mention its beautiful beaded front cover artwork that emblazons the front cover and the iconic photo of the band in all their Mardi Gras splendour that graces the back), this LP will turn heads for those who haven’t heard it yet, while being a repeat funk classic to those who already have it in their bones.