Blues

Dr. John album review

Dr. John - City That Care Forgot (Cooking Vinyl) www.drjohn.org Something that is (almost) always laudable about the careers of silver haired artists is their restlessness. If possible, most people will have retired by the time they reach their 60s. This, however, is another rule of society that many musicians steer clear from. The output is many times regrettable, but, sometimes, records are put forth that remind us that true talent is ageless. Such is the case with the latest from blues/funk/soul legend Dr. John, who has taken a swing at the Bush administration’s disastrous handling of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort in his native New Orleans by making an album out of it. City That Care Forgot features the Doctor’s trademark fusion of New Orleans blues and seventies funk with lyrics at once denouncing, nostalgic and outright activist. He does this with some noteworthy help from, among others, Eric Clapton, Ani DiFranco and Willie Nelson. The songs are heavy on horns and Dr. John’s piano, with opening track Keep On Goin’ offering a good taste of what the rest of the album will sound like. It opens on a hopeful note and its political tone is subtle and well disguised under its mellow trumpet-driven sound. Eric Clapton lends outbursts of his prototype blues guitar in Time For A Change before diving into a humble solo at the end with Dr. John drawling out the last lines. One of the highlights comes with the addition of Willie Nelson’s nasal country-folk vocals in Promises, Promises. The tune is a honky-tonky kind of improvisation during which the lack of vocal unison adds richness and spontaneity to the song. The political slant is obvious now with lines such as “The road to the White House / Is paved with lies,” and Nelson’s contribution is so fitting it’s almost predictable. Another strong point comes...

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