What Is Success - The Scepter and Bell Recordings

this cd restores to catalogue toussaint's second album - the first that he released under his own name - titled originally 'toussaint', then renamed 'from a whisper to a scream' - augmented with the a and b sides of three bell 45s from 1968 and 1969. five of these have never been reissued in 35+ years. originally released on vinyl on scepter records in 1970, new orleans' eminent musical genius's solo lp was largely overlooked at the time but is nowadays considered to be a real masterpiece of crescent city soul. a showcase for both toussaint's widely admired piano playing and his unique bluesy voice, the album contains the original versions of several of his best known songs, for himself and for other notables such as lee dorsey, bonnie raitt, robert palmer and esther phillips. good though these are, toussaint's recordings are the definitive versions. if you've heard others sing toussaint, but never heard allen toussaint sing (and play) toussaint, there are few better introductions to the man's sublime craft than this one still is.