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Avg: 3.5 (22 ratings)
- Date Released: January 9, 2001
- Genre: Blues
- Style: Soul/R&B, Oldies, Louisiana Blues
- Label: Purple Pyramid - Cleopatra / The Orchard
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We Say...
Veteran New Orleans vocalist/instrumentalist Dr. John, ne Mac Rebennack, has crafted a masterful, immediately identifiable style that combines rumbling Afro-Latin piano solos and accompaniment with a quirky, manic sensibility. This collection of Louisiana blues and R&B begins with an oddly comical version of "Tipitina," a tune also done in similarly offbeat fashion by Professor Longhair. Dr. John is quite impressive on tunes like "Mean Cheatin' Woman," where his over-the-top singing makes the song's denunciations seem even angrier, and "Loser For You Baby," a lament his treatment turns into a near eulogy. But he's equally capable with comedic and/or innuendo-laden numbers like "The Ear Is on Strike" and "I Pulled the Cover Off You Two Lovers." Dr. John turns charming and compelling on "Bring Your Love" and "In the Night." Though being a mystical, outlandish character is his stock-in-trade, Dr. John proves far more than just another cosmic jokester on The Essential Recordings.
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They Say...
A title like Essential Recordings typically means one of two things: Either it's a package that brings together an artist's accepted hits or a compilation claiming to be what it is not. This Dr. John collection belongs in the latter category, containing curios for fans' enjoyment but little for newcomers to the musical world of Mac Rebennack. Many of these tracks have appeared before in similar settings: collections like At His Best, Cut Me While I'm Hot: The Sixties Sessions, Crawfish Soiree, and Masters. Comparing the track listing with the canonized Dr. John material available on the fine Rhino compilation, however, reveals one common track -- the wonderfully playful "Tipitina" from Dr. John's Gumbo. It is, unsurprisingly, one of the best things here and it kicks off a ragbag blend of piano blues, funky psychedelic rock, R&B rhythms, and swaggering Dixieland horns. Also included are three of the Doctor's earliest recordings ("Did She Mention My Name," "The Grass Looks Greener Yonder," and "New Orleans"), which seem completely out of place with their heavily imitative style. While Jimmy Calhoun's bass and Fred Staehle's drums provide the sturdy framework for Dr. John to relax on "Tipitina," there is a general lack of focus on the selections of Essential Recordings. This can be oddly compelling, as on "The Ear Is on Strike," which sounds on the verge of collapse with a rhythm that rushes, slows, rushes, and stops. Dr. John sings with a late-night, stoned, cool against a loose bass, guitar, organ, and piano concoction. But most of the time the songs feel like tired jams or early rehearsals. No doubt, a few selections would bear consideration for a lengthy Dr. John retrospective, but these recordings are not essential and not the place to begin.
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| 01. |  |
Tipitina |
3:18 |
|
| 02. | |
She's Got A Square |
3:05 |
|
| 03. | |
Zu Zu Man |
3:19 |
|
| 04. | |
Mean Cheatin' Woman |
4:39 |
|
| 05. | |
One Night Late |
2:19 |
|
| 06. | |
In The Night |
2:48 |
|
| 07. | |
Did She Mention My Name
|
2:45 |
|
| 08. | |
The Grass Looks Greener Yonder
|
2:48 |
|
| 09. | |
New Orleans
|
1:52 |
|
| 10. | |
Bald Headed |
2:34 |
|
| 11. | |
The Time Had Come |
3:45 |
|
| 12. | |
Loser For You Baby |
3:08 |
|
| 13. | |
The Ear Is On Strike |
2:25 |
|
| 14. | |
A Little Closer To My Home |
3:14 |
|
| 15. | |
I Pulled The Cover Off You Two Lovers |
2:55 |
|
| 16. | |
Go Ahead On |
2:47 |
|
| 17. | |
Just Like A Mirror |
4:39 |
|
| 18. | |
Bring Your Love |
6:02 |
|
| 19. | |
Make Your Own |
3:18 |
|
19 Total Tracks, 61:40 Total Length
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