LEO NOCENTELLI - Another Side (LITA Repress) - LP - Tri-Colour Vinyl [MAY 8]

LP - Limited Edition Tri-Colour Vinyl. includes booklet with liner notes by Sam Sweet  (New York Times, Los Angeles Times) alongside hand-written lyrics by Leo Nocentelli. (2026 Repress). 

‘This is the kind of nugget that turns up once a decade' - 4/5 The Times

‘’It's one of the most remarkable discoveries in yonks'’ - 5/5 Shindig!

 'Their rediscovery is a revelation. 'Another Side' displays the effortless intimacy of Bill Withers and - to name another artist 'salvaged' by Light In The Attic -  Rodriguez' - 9/10 Lead Review in Uncut.

‘Long-lost ‘70s ‘folk’ album by legendary funk/R&B guitarist’ - 4/5 MOJO

First-ever solo album by legendary guitarist Leo Nocentelli of The Meters. All tracks previously unreleased and never-before-heard in any format. Featuring Allen Toussaint, James Black and both George Porter Jr. and Zigaboo Modeliste of The Meters.

At just fourteen, Leo Nocentelli was backing up Otis Redding. Soon after, he was playing on hits for Lee Dorsey, The Supremes, and The Temptations. As an original member of The Meters, Leo wrote instant classics “Cissy Strut” and “Hey Pocky A–Way,” but his greatest moment on record may be totally unknown, until now… Recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s Jazz City Studio in New Orleans in the early ‘70s and then lost to the ages, Another Side is one of Leo Nocentelli’s most personal and definitive moments ever cut to tape. A mixture of funky folk and rootsy, raw emotion (think Bill Withers and James Taylor meeting Allen Toussaint at Link Wray’s Three Track Shack), this previously unheard album shines like the sun on a spring day on the New Orleans fairgrounds.

Backing Nocentelli is an all-star line-up of New Orleans royalty, including Allen Toussaint (piano), James Black (drums), and both George Porter Jr. (bass) and Zigaboo Modeliste (drums) of The Meters. Deeply introspective, the album features nine original songs by Nocentelli, plus a soulful rendition of Elton John’s “Your Song.”

Half a century later, these recordings sound just as fresh and engaging as the day they were recorded. What makes Another Side even more extraordinary, however, is the fact that the album—which could have easily become a classic in the ‘70s singer-songwriter canon—sat untouched for decades; miraculously surviving the devastating blow of Hurricane Katrina, only to be found 2,000 miles away at a Southern California swap meet in 2018 by record collector Mike Nishita.

The album’s incredible journey is documented in the liner notes by Sam Sweet (New York Times, Los Angeles Times), who spoke with Nocentelli and Nishita about the recording process and re-discovery of the tapes. Sweet’s full notes appear in the release’s accompanying booklet alongside hand-written lyrics by Leo Nocentelli.

Tracklist: 

A1        Thinking Of The Day
A2        Riverfront
A3        I Want To Cry
A4        Pretty Mittie
A5        Give Me Back My Loving

B1        Getting Nowhere
B2        Till I Get There
B3        You've Become A Habit
B4        Tell Me Why
B5        Your Song