devoid of memorable melodic content – relying simply on basic riffs", believing this to be a stylistic change which "happened a bit too quickly for their fans." White believed the poor sales suggested that "the rest of America (and naturally Europe) had long lost its appetite for New Orleans music", noting that even musicians from the city had turned to exploring broader sounds, while James Lien of CMJ New Music Monthly believed the wider public "didn't click" with Cabbage Alley or the Meters' later album Fire on the Bayou (1975) because "they were peppered with so many obscure references to local New Orleans culture that folks who didn't know about Mardi Gras or red beans and rice just couldn't pick up on it." Chaligne wrote that the failure was partly attributed to "Reprise's inability to market a band that had few similarities with the rest of its roster." Despite the disappointment, Cabbage Alley led to the Meters working on Dr. John's popular "Right Place, Wrong Time" (1973) and taking a European tour in mid-1973 with Dr. John and Professor Longhair. Legacy and retrospective reviews Cabbage Alley was re-released in the UK in 1975 by Warner. The album and its follow-ups Rejuvenation (1974) and Fire on the Bayou (1975) were further re-released in 2000 by Sundazed Records, a label specialising in reissues of 1960s and 70s "classic recordings", with liner notes by John Swenson. Further reissues of the record were by Reprise in 2001, Hi Horse Records in 2009, Music on Vinyl in 2013 and WEA Japan in 2014. Some re-releases include both parts of "Chug Chug Chug-a-Lug (Push and Shove)" as bonus tracks. Reviewing the 1975 reissue, Peter Harvey of Record Mirror wrote that the album showcased the group's early sound which was earthier and "closer to the street" than they had become, and highlighted "Lonesome and Unwanted People" and four other tracks, concluding that the album is "fresh, spontaneous sounding, and naturally made for dancing." In The Real People, Joe McEwen called Cabbage Alley a "largely (and unfortunately) ignored album", while Billboard referred to it as a "great" debut for Reprise that "saw the band branch out with more chants and Neville's soulful vocalizing." Dave Thompson noted that while the group "[rewrapped] their trademark sound in some of the modern studio's favorite toys," the title track ensured the group did not "move too far off base". Josh Terry of