Rubber City Review

Let me start by saying Dr. John’s new album, “Locked Down,” is one of the most satisfying listens I’ve come across in the last few years. But I’ll also admit I can’t be very objective about the project, given my familial connection with the album’s producer, Dan Auerbach.

So rather than review it and raise further questions about my razor-thin credibility, I decided to pull Dan aside during a recent outing in NYC and have him break it down for us track-by-track.

Let’s start with a little background… “Locked Down” was recorded at Dan’s Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville and engineered by Collin Dupuis. Along with Dan, it features:

• Leon Michels on keyboards, percussion, woodwinds, background vocals (a Daptone Records session guy; Menahan Street Band, among others)
• Nick Movshon on bass, percussion, background vocals (another Daptone regular; Antibalas, etc.)… Both Nick and Leon toured with The Black Keys
• Brian Olive on guitar, percussion, woodwinds, background vocals (The Greenhornes, The Soledad Brothers)
• Max Weissenfeldt on drums, percussion and background vocals (Poets of Rhythm)
• The McCrary Sisters on background vocals

TQ: Dr. John is none too pleased about the sad state of current affairs (BP was an obvious target of his wrath following the Gulf oil spill). Locked Down is one of several songs that express his anger. You kind of pushed him a little into this more personal approach with his songwriting, right?

DQA: I tried to get him to do more personal stuff… When I went to meet with him in New Orleans he had conspiracy theory magazines and he had a lot of poetry he’d written. A lot of that stuff ended up in there, and I thought that was really great. And I wanted to mix some of that with more personal stuff. Locked Down

TQ: He also sings with more conviction than I’ve heard from him in a while. Are these first-take vocals?

DQA: Sometimes they were easy and sometimes they were difficult. It was weird – there was no rhyme or reason. I couldn’t quite figure out why one song was easy to sing and one wasn’t. But it was like that.

TQ: Great left-field keyboard solo on Revolution.

DQA: Yeah, that was all Mac (Rebennack, Dr. John’s real name). That was first take. That was a Farfisa. I pushed him… I say pushed, but I really didn’t have to push him into doing it. It was just, “Mac, play that Farfisa.” (Dan imitating Mac) “Alright.” “Play that Wurlitzer man.” “Alright, whatever.” Revolution

TQ: Big shot – that’s the closest thing on the album to a traditional New Orleans tune. What song did you sample up front and at the end?

DQA: That’s the Optigan (OPTIcal orGAN). It was made by Mattel in the ‘70s – a kid’s toy. And it uses optical discs… you just push buttons, and it’s got pre-recorded loops. It’s running throughout the song, mixed in. You can hear it more in the choruses. Great horn lines, and a lot of times they’d record West Coast session guys doing little parts. And it’s all free to use – public domain samples. Yeah, they’re strange little machines, finicky… speed up and slow down. We had to play that along with the Optigan. That took us forever. Max the drummer had on headphones listening real intently. So he had to keep that groove and that swing but play along to this pre-recorded loop. I can’t believe it works, but it’s one of my favorites. Big Shot

TQ: Ice Age is one of a couple tunes that sound very African to me. Did Nick have a hand in that?

DQA: I think we all… Max especially. Max is the kind of guy who’d get on an airplane headed to Africa with just a pair of drumsticks (laughs). The whole crew is way into that stuff. Ice Age

TQ: Great “fooler” opening on Getaway. You’re expecting sort of vintage, mid-tempo Dr. John, but it ends up sounding like it wouldn’t be out of place on a Black Keys album…

DQA: Yeah, that’s our rocker on the record. Getaway (opening)

TQ: Your solo is searing. What were you after there?

DQA: That was a live solo… that was on the floor. Just went for it, really. Definitely the best I’ve ever recorded. Getaway (guitar solo)

TQ: Kingdom of Izzness is very funky. Where the hell did those gospel singers come from?

DQA: They are the McCrary Sisters from Nashville TN. Their dad was in the Fairfield Four. Mac said he remembered seeing their dad playing New Orleans… Curtis Mayfield opened for them. The Fairfield Four with some gospel group Curtis was in. They’re awesome. Alfreda, Regina and Ann. Kingdom of Izzness

The McCrary Sisters

TQ: You Lie has a deep, soulful opening riff with a heavy African influence. Your solos sound wonderfully skewed, like you’re playing in a different key than the rest of the band.

DQA: We made it up… just winged it, really. I was playing an open G on that song. That’s like the John Lee Hooker tuning. Mac started playing some crazy piano chords. They were like weird Sun Ra chords on top of this African thing we were doing (laughs). So much fun. I mean, the whole record was like that. You get guys that good in the same room… It was just “on.” You Lie

TQ: Eleggua… explain.

DQA: In the spirit kingdom, he’s the trickster. Mac knows a lot about him. The song is all about Eleggua – calling upon him to help him out. You know those candles you get at the Mexican grocery store? Spirit kingdom candles? He would light those before he sang, while we were writing. He’d position them around the room at various points for the proper… voodoo. Eleggua

TQ: My Children My Angels… Love this tune, especially Dr. John’s keyboard solo.

DQA: That’s Mac. That’s just him… he just does that without any thought, you know? It just pours right out of him, that kind of playing. My Children, My Angels

TQ: You convinced him to play more electric stuff on the album, right?

DQA: Yeah, I wanted him to play Wurly, Farfisa. When I went down to New Orleans, I was playing music for him. That was the stuff we both gravitated toward. Ethiopian funk (Mulatu Astatke). African stuff… weird Farfisa, weird keyboard sounds. We just really liked that.

TQ: God’s Sure Good… Sounds like classic soul. What’s behind that guitar riff?

DQA: I was definitely thinking Lonnie Mack… some old soul songs, some gospel. Leon had the chord changes for the verses. Leon’s a genius too (laughs). Hanging out with a bunch of geniuses on this record. I don’t think you can get a better rhythm section than Nick and Max… I don’t think it exists, anywhere. All those guys are so talented. They get it. I was trying to make it, not necessarily old… just kind of timeless. I didn’t want it to sound like a time capsule. I just wanted the production to be “out of the way.” I didn’t want to overdo anything, like reverb or anything like that. I wanted the kick drum to be modern and hit like a hip-hop record, but just be kind of natural-sounding. God’s So Good

Dr. John, Dan and band will be performing songs from “Locked Down” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, April 5-7.

Here’s a little peek inside Easy Eye as Dr. John and friends record the title track… I especially like the cameo by Dan’s dog, Bella.

Hard to believe, but it’s time for RCR’s 3^rd annual Holiday Song Roundup (for those of you who need to catch up, pour yourself a little nog and ride these yule logs: Vol. 1, Vol. 2).

I should warn you up front that if you’re looking for the usual holiday-flavored confections by the likes of Michael Bolton, Susan Boyle and Sting (or Sphincter, as my bro-in-law calls him), you’ve come to the wrong place. We spend a lot of time at this site dissecting songs about drinking, cheating, murder and prison. We like our Christmas songs too – as long as they’re a short walk from John Lee Hooker or Big Mama Thornton. Save Amy Grant for the in-laws (and don’t get me started on that holly-jolly hairball Burle Ives).

We’ll kick things off with the Guru of Hoodoo, Dr. John, and one of our favorite albums: “Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack.” This outing from 1981 (accompanied by a second album released in ’83, “The Brightest Smile in Town”) captured the only solo sessions Dr. John ever recorded on piano. We covered those sessions in this post but neglected to feature Mac’s spirited take on Silent Night. It’s a keeper – which is probably why it showed up on the initial release. By the way, RCR is looking forward to Dr. John’s latest project, produced and recorded by nephew Dan at his Easy Eye Studio in Nashville. If their performance together at this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival was any indication, it should be another keeper. Silent Night/Dr. John

A lot of us aren’t very merry this Christmas. Times are hard. Jobs are scarce. And if you’ve got a job, you’re probably earning the same or less than you did a few years ago. Of course I’m speaking to those of you in the “99%” camp (I think we chased off our few 1% readers several posts ago). So if you don’t have any cash to spend on gifties and just aren’t in the mood for the usual holiday claptrap, you’ll probably appreciate this hard-bitten alternative from The Staple Singers, released on the Stax label in 1970. “Too busy fighting wars, trying to make it to Mars…” Hey, times were tough back then too, but at least we had enough money in the federal budget to consider space travel! Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas/The Staple Singers

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that many of our most treasured holiday songs were recorded in the balmy surroundings of Los Angeles? Think about it… Bing Crosby probably played a round of golf and had a couple of cocktails by the pool before laying down White Christmas in an air-conditioned studio. L.A. also served as the backdrop for the holiday classic Merry Christmas Baby by Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers, with the great Charles Brown on vocals and piano. Guitarist Moore tried several times to recreate the success of that number – even recruiting Brown soundalike Frankie Ervin for this blatant rip-off recorded in November ’55 (just in time for the holiday season). Who cares? I’ll take this over Michael Bublé’s Christmas any time of year. Christmas Eve Baby/Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers

Here’s another gem from the West Coast – this one by R&B pianist, bandleader and arranger Lloyd Glenn. The former Texan played on T-Bone Walker’s signature tune, Stormy Monday Blues, and contributed to some of B.B. King’s best recordings from the ‘60s. Sleigh Ride appears on the B side of a ’54 single on Hollywood Records. The A side? Merry Christmas Baby with Charles Brown. Which, of course, makes this little slab of vinyl essential for any desert-island jukebox (and required listening for all you holiday hipsters out there)… Sleigh Ride/Lloyd Glenn

There’s hip, and then there’s ahead of your time, like Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The Columbus, Ohio, native stunned audiences in the ‘50s by playing several horns at once – often using some fairly unconventional techniques (nose flute?). And he eventually perfected a “circular breathing” method that enabled him to play a flurry of notes (or even a single note) for long stretches of time without having to take a breath. Gimmicks aside, Kirk was a bold player with a wide-ranging style – sometimes lyrical, often searching and “outside.” You can hear it all in this stunning remake of an old Christmas favorite. Kind of gives new meaning to the phrase “star of wonder.” We Free Kings/Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Here’s a band that never registered on my “give a shit” meter… that is, until I came across this little Christmas cut-and-paste that also features fellow Canuck Sarah McLachlan. It didn’t make me change my mind about the rest of the Barenaked Ladies catalog. But apparently the band had some fairly serious musical chops to go along with its reputation as the nudge-winking blowhards of the ‘90s. I’ll give them 4 stars for coming up with this well-crafted and fairly swingin’ version of two classic carols that should’ve been jammed together a long time ago. And we’ll throw in another star for McLachlan, who typically spends the holidays ripping my guts out with that damn ASPCA commercial. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings/Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan

Big Jack Johnson (not to be confused with surfer-dude Jack Johnson or the famous boxer) was a master of the southern roadhouse blues tradition – that raw, earthy, greasy sound that found a home on the Fat Possum label in the early ‘90s. The guitarist and native of Lambert, Mississippi, teamed up with harp player Frank Frost and drummer Sam Carr in 1962 to form The Jelly Roll Kings (who also performed as The Nighthawks – not to be confused with the D.C.-based blues band). We featured the Frost standout My Back Scratcher in this post. Johnson eventually struck out on his own with his band the Oilers, and can be seen performing with Samuel L. Jackson in the movie Black Snake Moan. Johnson passed away in March, so consider this tune a holiday-flavored tribute to another fine bluesman who left us too soon: Jingle Bell Boogie/Big Jack Johnson

Any of you bother with New Year’s resolutions? You know, drink less, exercise more, spend less time blogging, give up Twitter… I’m considering all of those, but I’ll probably end up with another lame, vague promise to “be a better person.” The fact is, I’m fairly boring without the occasional drink or fascinating nugget that I find online. And my gym doesn’t have a bar or wifi, so I’m kind of screwed there. So I’ll just hang on to the same vices that helped me fend off a nervous breakdown in 2011 and all the other years I’ve spent in semi-adulthood. Which brings us to our last number, by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas. “Baby let’s make promises that we can keep…” Now there’s a resolution that I can wrap my head around! New Year’s Resolution/Otis Redding & Carla Thomas

Man, what a rough month… R.I.P., Hubert Sumlin (seen here with the Wolf)…

R.I.P., Howard Tate…

R.I.P., Dobie Gray…

Dr. John, the Night Tripper. Gris-gris man. Guru of hoodoo. Master of New Orleans rhythm and funk.

With Dr. John, New Orleans native Mac Rebennack created one of the most memorable characters in music. Part Mardi Gras Indian and part conjurer of dark spirits, Dr. John seemed rooted in traditions that had little to do with the psychedelic rockers he toured with back in the Sixties. And he probably sent more than a few hippies to the psych ward with the voodoo-inspired look and sound of the Night Trippers, his traveling band of New Orleans refugees: Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya

On any given night, you might see a fire dancer, a snake handler or even a magic trick or two. But the band’s sinister sideshow was just part of the story. Dr. John remains the real deal – a visionary genius who has been reinventing Crescent City soul since he started playing guitar in the Third Ward back in 1954 (he switched to piano after the ring finger of his fretting hand was almost shot off during a fight). And if you only knew him from classic records like “Gris-Gris” or “Right Place, Wrong Time” – or even from one of his guitar-driven instrumentals from the ‘50s like Storm Warning – you were probably knocked sideways (like I was) by his 1981 release “Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack.”

That album and a follow-up release titled “The Brightest Smile in Town” (1983) captured Dr. John’s first and only solo recording sessions on piano. Professor Longhair, James Booker and other masters of New Orleans piano get their due, but the solo albums mostly serve notice that Dr. John has a wonderful style that’s all his own – and very few living peers when it comes to “radiating the 88s.” Here’s a stunning original that he wrote for his mother: Dorothy

As he points out in his excellent book “Under the Hoodoo Moon: The Life of the Night Tripper,” the solo project for the small Clean Cuts label was something he initially dreaded because “it reminded me of my greatest professional nightmare – that I’d end up a solo-piano lounge act, staring at Holiday Inns or bowling alleys for the rest of my natural life.”

The sessions ended up having a liberating effect on Dr. John, who had grown tired of playing the same old stuff. “The audiences loved those earlier [New Orleans/Mardi Gras] songs, but I found they were also ready for music on a higher plane, sounds that appealed to a spiritual awareness, not just that low-down meat level. But I tried to keep the old street-side New Orleans flavor in there, too…” which is especially apparent on this original, a tribute to his father: Big Mac

In an earlier release called “Dr. John’s Gumbo,” he brought together some of New Orleans’ finest (including the first-class horn section of Lee Allen and Melvin and David Lastie), to cover a number of Crescent City classics… songs like Iko Iko, Big Chief, Little Liza Jane and this one, a favorite back in the day at Angola State Penitentiary: Junko Partner Despite the grim subject matter (“the anthem for the dopers, whores, pimps, and cons,” as Dr. John puts it in his book), Junko Partner has that funky, joyful vibe that seems to pour out of the best New Orleans R&B.

With the Clean Cut sessions, Dr. John mostly avoids the usual New Orleans fare in favor of more unexpected standards like Hoagy Carmichael’s The Nearness of You, the traditional Wade in the Water, and this Latin-tinged number by Brazilian composer and cavaquinho player Valdir Azevedo: Delicado

Dr. John with North Side Skull & Bones Gang, Mardi Gras '08 (photo: James Quine)

The sessions have a very informal and organic feel to them, like Dr. John just plopped himself down at a piano in an empty hotel lobby and started running through every song he’d ever learned. “I probably prepared less for those two Clean Cut albums… than for any other I’d ever done,” he said. “I just had to go in there and wing it; because of my fear of performing solo, I knew if I thought about it too much, I’d have frozen.”

The stripped-down sessions took place at a small studio near New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. Just the basics – baby grand piano, a two-track recording system… and Dr. John, of course. Hard to miss with that combination.

Dr. John on video… Here’s a solo performance from 1981, the year Clean Cut released “Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack.” Oddly enough, it’s part of a skit from Second City Television (SCTV), the Canadian sketch comedy show that first introduced viewers in the U.S. to John Candy, Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy, among others. Dr. John also acted in this sketch – ”Polynesian Town,” a takeoff of the movie “Chinatown”:

And here’s a curious artifact from the Night Tripper years – a performance of Zu Zu Mamou from the album “The Sun, Moon & Herbs.” “What I wanted was entertainment for the eyes as well as the ears, and I knew the minstrels were the best there was at laying down a show,” Dr. John writes. “It was a kick to bring back the idea of showmanship to the rock and roll era, where at the time there was little old-style show biz happening.”

On March 14, Dr. John will be inducted by John Legend into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Had to throw this in… new video for The Black Keys – Howlin’ for You. Insane.

Since Brother Jack did such a great job of taking us down to New Orleans in his last post on James Booker, I decided to stay there – and offer up a few of my favorite examples of Crescent City Soul.

The history of New Orleans R&B is filled with characters like Roy Montrell – incredibly talented musicians who kept the tradition alive but received little or no recognition for their efforts.  Montrell played on countless sides during his 20-some years as a session guitarist and toured with New Orleans elite, including Fats Domino.  But he only recorded two singles under his own name.  My first pick makes the case that they should’ve kept the tape running a lot longer…  It features some of the Crescent City’s best players – including the great Earl Palmer on drums and the one-two punch of Red Tyler (baritone) and Lee Allen (tenor) on saxes.  Don’t let the title fool you… (Every Time I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone is a masterpiece of manic energy. (Every Time I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone

Even casual fans of the New Orleans tradition are aware of Dr. John’s legacy as a first-rate piano player, soulful singer and conjurer of dark spirits.  But few know that the man who started his career as Mac Rebennack was an equally dangerous guitar player with a slashing style.  (In his highly entertaining autobiography, “Under a Hoodoo Moon: The Life of Dr. John the Night Tripper,” Rebennack notes that he switched to piano after someone shot the ring finger on his left hand.)   The best of Rebennack’s guitar-driven singles, along with a few other novelties, can be found on “Medical School: The Early Sessions of Mac ‘Dr. John’ Rebennack” on the Music Club label.  Listen to him work out on the aptly titled Storm Warning… Storm Warning

The legendary Professor Longhair cast a long shadow over every Crescent City keyboard player who fell under his spell (although he may have been outdone by the ridiculously talented James Booker).  Thankfully, we can find many examples of his masterful playing on a number of releases, including a fine anthology on Rhino.  But I keep coming back to a classic version of Big Chief, recorded in 1964 at the studio of famed New Orleans engineer Cosimo Matassa.  Oddly enough, this tough-as-nails single features Dr. John on guitar and relegates an even better guitar player, Earl King, to the role of “whistler” – while Longhair sounds a little buried under the stabbing horns.  But it all works… and it’s hard to find better examples of what n’yawlins rhythm is all about… Big Chief

The easiest way to describe the Meters is “Booker T & the MGs filtered through New Orleans”… but it doesn’t begin to capture the essence of a band that churned out one monstrous groove after another during an incredible run from 1965 to 1977.  Although singer and keyboard player Art Neville went on to join his brothers in forming the city’s most famous family band, he continues to perform today with other original Meters in various lineups.  But their output from the late ‘60s to the early ‘70s is like raw meat to the world’s greatest rhythm sections – the stuff you dive into when you’ve had your fill of the rest.  Listen to how guitar player Leo Nocentelli teases the beat on this funky little gem from 1969. Cardova

In 2005, Nonesuch Records released “Our New Orleans,” a post-Katrina benefit to raise funds for the relief efforts of Habitat for Humanity.  It featured newly recorded songs by a number of musicians identified with the New Orleans sound, including the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Allen Toussaint and Eddie Bo.  But my favorite cut is by the Queen of Crescent City Soul, Irma Thomas.  She’s been covered by artists ranging from the Rolling Stones (Time Is On My Side) to Norah Jones (Ruler Of My Heart, backed by the Dirty Dozen).  Although bowed by a music biz doesn’t seem to have much use for a 68-year-old R&B legend, Irma is far from broken.  She remains one of New Orleans’ most vital artists — as evidenced by her emotional take on this original by a prescient Bessie Smith.  Back Water Blues

Although famous for his hit Working in a Coal Mine, Lee Dorsey recorded far-funkier sides during his 25-year career – usually under the production of New Orleans renaissance man Allen Toussaint.  And, like virtually every other artist in this list, Dorsey kept cranking out one gem after another while remaining virtually unnoticed by the music industry.  But he’s making a posthumous comeback, with the Obama Nation and several indie rockers adopting his classic anthem Yes We Can Can (written by Toussaint) as a tribute to the power of positive thinking.  But I’m partial to the deep groove laid down by – who else – the Meters on a song from 1970 that seems like a raw prelude to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further

The New Orleans sound continues to evolve, thanks to artists like drummer Stanton Moore.  He’d already mastered the city’s highly syncopated rhythms by the time he formed Galactic in 1994 – another jam-band with a rabid following.  And he’s a restless innovator who seems to jump from one lineup of musicians to another at the drop of a drumstick.  But the recordings he’s made under his own name seem a little closer to the root, and I love the way he turns the tradition inside out on this cut from “Flyin’ the Coop.”  It also features Chris Wood from Medeski, Martin & Wood, as well as a sampled chant from the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians.  Modern New Orleans music doesn’t get much better than this… Fallin’ Off the Floor

Dr. John with the Baby Dolls at Mardi Gras, 2008 (Photos: James Quine)