Louisiana Love Call

by Thom JurekLouisiana Love Call is Maria Muldaur's tribute to New Orleans. Originally issued in 1992 on the now-defunct Black Top label, the set features Muldaur in the company of some of the Crescent City's most storied players, including Dr. John, Zachary Richard, and Aaron and Charles Neville. Recorded at the famed Ultrasonic Studio and produced by Hammond Scott, Muldaur uses a balance of contemporary and vintage material. Standout tracks include her gorgeous read of Danny and Blue Lu Barker's "Don't You Feel My Leg," and a fiery, sultry version of B. Charles' "Dem Dat Know." Songwriter Marty Grebb contributes fine tunes, such as the title track that offers Muldaur the opportunity to croon at her sweetest, while Jon Cleary's stomping "Second Line" has her pulling out all the stops with Aaron and Charles Neville backing her. Her sense of rhythmic phrasing is, as always, impeccable. It would have been nice to hear Muldaur take on more of the Big Easy's standards song book, but as always, she does it her way and the result is a deeply satisfying R&B album. Louisiana Love Call and its follow-up, Meet Me at Midnite (1994), were remastered and re-released by Shout Factory in 2005.