| Connected | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Allen Toussaint |
| Cover: | Connected (Allen Toussaint album).jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | 1996 |
| Studio: | Sea-Saint Studios |
| Genre: | Jazz, funk |
| Label: | NYNO |
| Producer: | Allen Toussaint, Clarence "Reginald" Toussaint |
| Prev Title: | Mr. New Orleans |
| Prev Year: | 1994 |
| Next Title: | A New Orleans Christmas |
| Next Year: | 1997 |
Connected is an album by the American musician Allen Toussaint, released in 1996.[1] [2] It was released through NYNO Records, a label cofounded by Toussaint, and was his first new album in almost 20 years.[3] [4] Toussaint supported the album with a North American tour.[5]
Produced by Toussaint, the album was recorded at his Sea-Saint Studios, with his son, Reginald, contributing as Connecteds engineer.[6] [7] The album is a collection of original songs written by Toussaint.[8] Toussaint had been working on the album for many years; he was prodded by Reginald to finish it.[9]
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the album "a sometimes rollicking, sometimes touching, always first-rate collection of love songs."[8] Newsday wrote that Connected "mixes laid-back New Orleans rhythms with a sweet, smooth pop sound ... In addition to several ballads and some jazz-funk tunes, there is one distinctly '90s touch: 'Computer Lady', a sly ode to online romance."[10] Robert Christgau singled out "Computer Lady" for praise.
The Washington Post panned Toussaint's "dull voice that has a cramped range," but thought that "there are a few gems among the new tunes, most notably the ballads 'If I Leave' and 'Sweet Dreams'."[11] The Dallas Morning News opined that "the album's best tracks—'Do the Do', 'Funky Bars', 'All of It'—rekindle the jazzy New Orleans funk he helped invent in the mid-'60s with Art Neville and other future members of the Meters."[12] The Boston Herald listed Connected as one of the 10 best albums of 1996, deeming it "timeless piano funk."[13]
AllMusic called the album "fresh new funk and roll from the city where American music has always stretched to new levels."