Allen Toussaint’s acclaimed live album Songbook will return in an expanded edition featuring previously unreleased recordings, offering a deeper look into the songwriting legacy of the influential New Orleans musician.
by Paul Cashmere
A landmark recording in the catalogue of Allen Toussaint will be revisited this year with an expanded reissue of Songbook, the celebrated live album capturing the New Orleans songwriter performing his own compositions on stage. The new deluxe edition arrives on May 29 via Craft Recordings and includes 20 previously unreleased recordings, along with the album’s first ever vinyl release.
Originally recorded during two intimate performances at Joe’s Pub in New York in 2009, Songbook documented Toussaint alone at the piano revisiting music that shaped decades of American rhythm and blues. The expanded 2-CD and digital edition adds newly unearthed performances and interview material with Toussaint reflecting on his life and music, while the original album will also appear for the first time as a 2-LP gatefold vinyl set.
The release highlights Toussaint performing many of his best known compositions including “Lipstick Traces”, “Holy Cow”, and “Get Out Of My Life, Woman”, songs that became standards of the New Orleans rhythm and blues tradition. Among the newly released recordings is a live version of Steve Goodman’s “City Of New Orleans”, which is available to stream ahead of the album’s release.
The deluxe edition also includes previously unheard performances such as “What Do You Want The Girl To Do” and “Hi Lee Hi”, a tribute Toussaint wrote for Jerry Garcia. In addition, archival interview segments recorded by producer Paul Siegel present Toussaint discussing his early influences, songwriting process and career milestones.
Producer Paul Siegel, who recorded the original performances, said documenting the concerts offered a rare opportunity to capture Toussaint in an intimate setting. “Alone at the piano, and in a setting like this one, he was able to stretch out and explore the far reaches of his seemingly endless songbook,” Siegel said. “It has been the honor of a lifetime for me to have been granted the opportunity to document his creative genius in Songbook.”
The recordings that formed Songbook grew out of a pivotal chapter in Toussaint’s life. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, the musician temporarily relocated to New York City. During that period he began performing weekly shows at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan’s East Village, offering audiences an unusual chance to hear the songwriter interpret his own material.
For much of his career Toussaint had been known primarily as a behind the scenes figure. His compositions and productions shaped the sound of New Orleans rhythm and blues during the 1960s and 1970s, yet he rarely placed himself at the centre of the stage. The Joe’s Pub residency changed that dynamic, allowing him to revisit decades of songs while sharing stories from his life in music.
Those performances eventually led Siegel to record the concerts in 2009. The result was a stripped back document of Toussaint’s songwriting catalogue, built around his piano playing and conversational stage presence.
The original album was released in 2013 and earned Toussaint two GRAMMY nominations the following year, including Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song for “Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed”.
The music itself spans the breadth of Toussaint’s songwriting career. The set includes staples such as “Freedom For The Stallion”, “Southern Nights” and “Yes We Can”, along with a medley of songs he wrote during the 1960s including “A Certain Girl”, “Mother-In-Law”, “Fortune Teller” and “Working In The Coal Mine”.
Toussaint’s influence on American music extends far beyond his own recordings. Beginning in the late 1950s, the New Orleans born pianist built a reputation as one of the most prolific songwriters and producers in rhythm and blues. His work shaped recordings by artists such as Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas and Ernie K-Doe, while his production credits include Dr John’s “Right Place, Wrong Time” and Labelle’s international hit “Lady Marmalade”.
His songs travelled widely through the repertoire of other artists. “Fortune Teller” became a staple for British rock bands including The Rolling Stones and The Who, while “Working In The Coal Mine” and “Southern Nights” achieved major commercial success through recordings by Lee Dorsey and Glen Campbell.
Beyond songwriting, Toussaint also operated the influential Sea-Saint Studio in New Orleans, where artists including Paul McCartney and Wings, Paul Simon and Joe Cocker recorded sessions during the 1970s.
The expanded Songbook release arrives more than a decade after Toussaint’s death in 2015. He died in Madrid while on tour at the age of 77, closing a career that spanned nearly six decades and included induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
For listeners, the new edition of Songbook offers a rare portrait of the artist interpreting his own catalogue in an intimate setting, a moment when one of the architects of New Orleans music stepped forward to tell his story directly through the songs he wrote.
The album will be available on May 29 in deluxe 2-CD and digital formats, with the original album also receiving its first vinyl pressing as a 2-LP gatefold release.
Songbook Tracklist (Deluxe CD/Digital)
CD 1
Introduction
It’s Raining
Lipstick Traces
Introduction to Brickyard Blues
Brickyard Blues
With You in Mind
Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further
Sweet Touch of Love
Holy Cow
Introduction to Get Out of My Life, Woman
Get Out of My Life, Woman
Freedom for the Stallion
St. James Infirmary
Introduction to Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed
Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed
Soul Sister
All These Things
We Are America/Yes We Can
The Optimism Blues
Old Records
Certain Girl Medley: Certain Girl/Mother-in-Law/Fortune Teller/Working in the Coal Mine
It’s a New Orleans Thing
I Could Eat Crawfish Everyday
There’s No Place Like New York
Southern Nights
CD 2
Lover of Love*
What Do You Want the Girl to Do*
Hi Lee Hi*
I’m Gone*
Singin’ the Blues*
Long, Long Journey*
Chris Kenner Medley: How Far/Packin’ Up*
An American Tune*
Early Days: Spoken History/Sweet Georgia Brown/Stagger Lee/Junker Blues/Fess’s Inventions (Tipitina/Rhumba/Bald Head/Big Chief)/Bald Head (Variations)/Thank You, Lord*
Two Tables Away*
I’m Waiting at the Station*
With You in Mind*
Happy Times*
Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)*
City of New Orleans*
River Boat*
The Greatest Love*
Whirlaway*
Java*
Freedom for the Stallion*
*Previously unreleased
Songbook Tracklist (Vinyl)
Side A
Introduction
It’s Raining
Lipstick Traces
Introduction to Brickyard Blues
Brickyard Blues
With You in Mind
Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further
Side B
Sweet Touch of Love
Holy Cow
Introduction to Get Out of My Life, Woman
Get Out of My Life, Woman
Freedom for the Stallion
St. James Infirmary
Introduction to Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed
Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed
Side C
Soul Sister
All These Things
We Are America/Yes We Can
The Optimism Blues
Old Records
Certain Girl Medley: Certain Girl/Mother-in-Law/Fortune Teller/Working in the Coal Mine
Side D
It’s a New Orleans Thing
I Could Eat Crawfish Everyday
There’s No Place Like New York
Southern Nights
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