The Very Best of Dr. John

by Dr. John

Overview

Dr. John has recorded many great albums, but it's difficult to argue with such a perfect distillation of his catchy, grooving, slapdash pop work as this Rhino set. Coming out of the R&B studio subculture of New Orleans, the former Mac Rebennack possessed songwriting smarts and reams of recording expertise, each of which had reached their peak by the early '70s. Focused squarely on that prime era, 1970 through 1974, the collection begins with his only Top Ten hit, 1973's irrepressibly fatalistic "Right Place, Wrong Time." Two others come from his best album (1973's In the Right Place), the jaunty "Such a Night" and "Qualified." 1972's Dr. John's Gumbo also rates three tracks: the New Orleans classics "Iko Iko" and "Tipitina," plus "Junko Partner." The compilers were also wise to choose three songs from Gris-Gris, his unjustly neglected psychedelic debut, including "Mama Roux" and "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" (but unfortunately, not the glorious "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya"). A version of Jimmy Liggins' jump-blues classic "Honeydripper," from 1981's Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack, spotlights his sparkling boogie-woogie piano, and the set closes with a pair of standards from his latter-day Warner Bros. years (one of which is the unofficial Mardi Gras theme "Goin' Back to New Orleans"). Whether it's for a first listen or the perfect road-trip disc, The Very Best of Dr. John has all of the New Orleans master's best recordings in one spot. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/1995
Label:	Rhino
UPC:	0081227192426

Tracks

1. Right Place, Wrong Time
2. Such a Night
3. Mama Roux
4. Junko Partner
5. Wash, Mama, Wash
6. Loop Garoo
7. Iko Iko
8. Tipitina
9. Jump Sturdy
10. Qualified
11. What Comes Around (Goes Around)
12. Mos' Scocious
13. I Walk on Gilded Splinters
14. Honeydripper
15. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive
16. Goin' Back to New Orleans

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dr. John   Primary Artist,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards

Technical Credits

Paul Simonon   Composer
Louis Moreau   Inspiration
Coco Shinomiya   Art Direction
Mick Jones   Composer
Art Slave   Design
Harold Arlen   Composer
Bob Shad   Composer
Bill Inglot   Remastering
Ken Perry   Remastering
James "Sugar Boy" Crawford   Composer
Topper Headon   Composer
Joe Liggins   Composer
Joe Strummer   Composer
Walter Donaldson   Composer
Dr. John   Composer
Mac Rebennack   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Roy Byrd   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Henry Roeland Byrd   Composer
James Austin   Compilation Producer
Jeff Hannusch   Liner Notes
Lincoln Chase   Composer
Jesse Hill   Composer
Jessie Hill   Composer