I've been wanting to hear this, since the reviews have been pretty stellar, but went to buy it and it was a little pricey. Guess I'll have to steal it & see if it's worth buying.



It may come as a surprise that the character of Dr. John, whose new album, “Locked Down,” comes out Tuesday, was birthed in Los Angeles. The mythical voodoo pianist-conjurer is so intertwined with the stories, secrets and rituals of New Orleans that to suggest he is anything but the embodiment of the bayou borders on heresy.

But Dr. John — that is, the persona created by New Orleans singer, songwriter and pianist Malcolm John Michael Creaux “Mac” Rebennack — was imagined and realized in the entertainment capital of the world after the young pianist moved west to find work as a session player in 1965. It was here, after hooking up with a posse of fellow New Orleans musician expats and playing on some big L.A. hits of the era, that Rebennack started brainstorming a solo career and struck up the idea of a persona.

The one he came up with has endured for 45 years and has become a New Orleans archetype, so much so that his less inspired work over the decades has bordered on self-parody. His producers’ worst reflexes have been to highlight his New Orleans drawl, create funky rhythm, roll out a catchy melody on the piano, stir in some gumbo lyrics about second-line brass bands and then punctuate with horns.

But then, as if conjured out of the air, his new record, “Locked Down,” arrives, and it is one of the best of his career. As Bob Dylan did with “Time Out of Mind” and Tom Waits did last year with “Bad as Me,” Dr. John does here: exiting a period of relative creative stagnation by creating something magical, the embodiment of everything he’s done but pushed in a clear new direction.

Produced in Nashville by Dan Auerbach, singer and guitarist for the Black Keys, “Locked Down” reunites the man (Rebennack is now 71 years old) who was inspired by James Booker, Professor Longhair and Fats Domino with the abstract mystic Dr. John.

In his 1994 autobiography, “Under a Hoodoo Moon,” Rebennack describes that mystic as “a medicine man who claimed to be a prince of Senegal before he was abducted and taken to Cuba.”

He came up with the idea while living with a community of roustabouts in a Melrose Avenue building misleadingly called the Hollywood Executive Hotel and recorded Dr. John’s debut album, “Gris-Gris,” a swamp rock classic, at Gold Star Studios with off-hours studio time paid for by Sonny and Cher. This creation has endured through swamp rock gems such as “In the Right Place” and “Dr. John’s Gumbo,” both produced by New Orleans compadre Allen Toussaint, and has found remarkable rejuvenation on “Locked Down.”

This is due in no small part to Auerbach, who has merged the man with the myth by directing the project, compiling the band, playing guitar and setting a course.

As producer, Auerbach gathered the musicians, and what he came up with is stunning. Drummer Max Weissenfeldt, a drummer who has played with acts as varied as the Heliocentrics and the No Neck Blues Band and whose wild snare patterns propel songs from continent to continent with each measure, shines everywhere he hits. Horn arranger Leon Michels is the founder of the Truth & Soul label, has collaborated with both soul crooner Lee Fields and Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon; his brass bursts punctuate choruses and bridges. Bassist Nick Movshon’s roaming basslines are all over Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” and guide songs with both grace and urgency.

Rebennack cited West African instrumental music of the 1950s and ’60s recommended by Auerbach as an influence on this record. It’s especially noticeable on one of the album’s most thrilling songs, “Revolution,” which features a doubled-up baritone sax pushing forward a deep, driving melody that recalls Ethiopian Afro-jazz expert Mulatu Astatke, a humming organ solo by Rebennack that jumps around like a tripped-out Sun Ra freakout, and a wild but controlled drum excursion by Weissenfeldt.

Every instrumental break on “Locked Down,” though, is as kaleidoscopic. In “Big Shot,” the saxophone-heavy bridge arrives like a water balloon to the head, this big burst of joyous surprise. “Ain’t no one ever gonna be like me,” declares the doctor, and you’ve got no doubt that he’s right. “I’m the big shot.” (If David Chase were still making episodes of “The Sopranos,” he’d no doubt have harnessed “Big Shot” for a bloodied murder scene involving Tony.)

Lyrically, though, the mask has been taken off, and we see Rebennack not only as a Saturday night voodoo king but also as a Tuesday morning man waking up after a weekend bender and trying to come to terms with what went down over the last 72 hours. Especially on the album’s closing numbers, the erstwhile Dr. John offers intimate, personal lyrics about the importance of family and the generosity of God. “God’s been better to me than I’ve been to myself,” he sings on the album’s closer, and he sounds both repentant and amazed to make it out the other side.

Dr. John
"Locked Down"
(Nonesuch)
Four stars out of four

I'm interested and downloaded it last week but haven't gotten around to listening to it and don't know when I will. I'm skeptical that Dan Auerbach will add anything worthwhile but I'm always interested in Dr. John.

I'm interested and will most-likely check it out soon.

Can't wait to hear this. I'm off Friday and am going to grab it sound unheard.




From Drowned In Sound:

I'm slightly intrigued, but imagine the backing will be more interesting than the front man.

On a tangentially related note, just heard the new Bonnie Raitt, which was produced by Joe Henry. It's the same deal as what I expect for a lot of these resurrected artists - the youngblood producer serves up the most intelligent and effective instrumental backdrop of their careers, but a duck is still a duck, and a tired old duck is a dog's dinner. See also: Jackson, Wanda.

her next one was produced by Justin Townes Earle. She also had laryngitis during the Jack White recording session, but that doesn't change the fact that it has an overblown production (I still enjoyed it)

Yeah, dat blog that I downloaded the album from used the Drowned In Sound review as their album description. I'm still skeptical because few of these cross -cultural pairings really work for me. Those Lorretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson albums that Jack White produced got plenty of good reviews too but I thought they were complete and utter turds.

That said, I'm surprised that Radcliffe would Blame Wanda Jackson for that last album and not Jack White.

Wanda was definitely the weak link. Either through age or Jebus she just doesn't have a clue. Justin Townes Earle won't have any better luck, unless he sticks to ol' C&W spirituals simple enough for TEH DUMB.

Any of you who are on Spotify can check this out there as well - I'm streaming it now

i found it really good when i listened yesterday

Thanks for the heads up. Added to the queue.

That Loretta album is fucking great. One amazing single and the rest solid, even if it doesn't quite get to those heights (and doesn't really aspire to them, either)

Dr. John is one of those artists that I always wanted to like more than I ever really did.

I picked it up, have listened to it a couple of times, and think that it's pretty fucking wonderful. The Auerbach/Dr. John combo is a good one; very complimentary.

I like it, too, Todd. The guy playing most of the guitar licks, Brian Olive, is pretty hot shit.

They also performed the whole album (complete with a jukebox for the interlude bits) in New York as documented HERE

Yeah, the guitar player is pretty awesome. I just assumed that it was Auerbach. Thanks for setting me straight on that.

I assume Dan plays on it as well but I heard some things that were less Dan Auerbach and more Robbie Robertson so I looked it up.

I got a listen the other day, despite not being much of a Dr. John fan. I thought Auerbach actually added something good to the proceedings just in the sense of the sound and feel of things without overwhelming the record. Overall hard for me to judge since I've never been so interested in Dr. John, but it seemed to give a alight update to his sound without changing it greatly.

Also, I thought Van Lear Rose was an excellent album that Jack White did well with and agree Wanda was the weak link on her most recent album. Her voice is just shot. I still enjoyed it and thought it was a fun listen but I can understand the criticism. Maybe a bunch of spirituals would be a step too far, but I did think the more laid back tunes on that album were the ones where Wanda sounded best. If Auerbach tries to take her in a more laid back country direction I think the album would be well-served. Jack's big mistake was loading up the production with all big and bold arrangements and thinking Wanda could still belt it out over all that noise.

i've also never had much interest in or exposure to Dr. John...not sure the addition of Auerbach is enough to prompt me to check out this album, but maybe I will check it out on Spotify.

Van Lear Rose >>>>>>>>>>> last Wanda Jackson album

I agree with this but would add

Selena Gomez >>>>>>>> Justin Bieber >> Van Lear Rose >>>>>>>>>> last Wanda Jackson

Also, i suppose it doesn't surprise me that much but it seems very wrong that people would approach this with more interest in Dan Auerbach than Dr. John.

Whatever though, as much I as hate those Jack White produced albums, I do like that he brought some new audiences to Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson.

I'm enjoying this.

Why don't I want to hear this?