NEW YORK & DURHAM, N.C (Top40 Charts/ Daily Titan) -
Music is sacred to people who live in New Orleans. No television show has illustrated this as masterfully as the HBO television series, Treme. Treme, which finished its first season in June, is about regular people in New Orleans trying to rebuild their lives following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and how music has a comforting and uplifting effect in times of tragedy. Part of the show's charm is how it featured music and real life New Orlean musicians so prominently. In fact, entire scenes were based around whole musical performances.
Fortunately, the show's soundtrack, Treme: Music from the HBO Original Series, Season One, contains many of these performances.
This soundtrack is not just a reminder of how the show featured fantastic music. It is also a good introduction to the music of New Orleans for those unfamiliar. New Orleans is often credited as the birthplace of jazz by musicians and its music has branched out into a variety of genres, including jazz, hip hop, funk, soul, and rhythm and blues.
Treme gives listeners a taste of these different styles through various artists who were born in or inspired by New Orleans. Irma Thomas, Rebirth Brass Band, Kermit Ruffins, John Boutte , Steve Earle, Louis Prima and Dr. John are some of the artists included on this soundtrack.
The record starts off on an upbeat note with John Boutte's 'Treme Song,' an infectious, sing-along-friendly track driven by its bouncy jazz bass line and stuttering drumbeat. At the forefront of it all is Boutte's sweet, soulful rasp that often draws him comparisons with Sam Cooke.
One striking thing about the soundtrack is that many of the songs were recorded live, but came out very crisp and captured the raw spontaneity and festive energy that studio recordings cannot recreate.
The inclusion of audience noise and cheering evokes the blissful feeling of watching a band perform in person or joining a second line parade as it marches down the street.
The nuanced precision and passion with which the musicians on Treme perform is so impressive that it is almost infuriating to wonder why some of them are not more popular outside of New Orleans.
One of these artists is the Rebirth Brass Band.
Their track 'Feel Like Funkin' It Up,' which is lifted straight from a parade scene in the first episode, is full of cathartic, raucous energy and is bound to put any listener in a party mood.
On 'Buona Sera,' Louis Prima eloquently declares his love for a woman in what begins as a piano ballad that quickly shifts into an up-tempo swing style song.
Irma Thomas reprises her 1964 hit, 'Time Is On My Side,' and shows that after all these years, her voice is still a powerhouse.
On 'This City,' Steve Earle sings an acoustic guitar-based ballad in tribute of New Orleans and its enduring spirit.
'This city won't wash away / This city won't ever drown,' he wistfully sings.
With music this powerful and compelling, Earle may be right.
