This is The Meters first album with Cyril Neville as a member. On ‘Fire On The Bayou’ you’ll not only find echoes of their early R&B funkiness, but also some very New Orleans songs like “Talkin Bout New Orleans”, “They All Askd For You”, and “Mardi Gras Mambo”. The band also gets down and funky ‘Rejuvenation’-style with tracks like “Fire On The Bayou”, “Love Slip Upon Ya”, “Can You Do Without?” and “Liar,” which are best placed in-between on the folksy R&B “Out in the Country” (love that chord progression) and the jazzy guitar workout “Middle of the Road”. This album exudes the New Orleans spirit–musically as well as lyrically, extolling the virtues of great food, bayou living, and Mardi Gras.
