Name: Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack: The Legendary Sessions, Vol. 1
Brand: Clean Cuts
SKU: 1151300
Availability: OutOfStock

Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack

Rating

Album: Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack: The Legendary Sessions, Vol. 1
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Dorothy	More Info...
2)	Mac's Boogie	More Info...
3)	Memories of Professor Longhair	More Info...
4)	The Nearness of You	More Info...
5)	Delicado	More Info...
6)	Silent Night	More Info...
7)	Dance a La Negres	More Info...
8)	Wade in the Water	More Info...
9)	Honey Dripper	More Info...
10)	Big Mac	More Info...
11)	New Island Midnight	More Info...
12)	Saints	More Info...
13)	Pinetop	More Info...
14)	Careless Love	More Info...
15)	Deep Blues	More Info...
16)	Ti-na-na	More Info...
17)	Dorothy (Take 2)	More Info...

Album: Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack: The Legendary Sessions, Vol. 1
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Dorothy	More Info...
2)	Mac's Boogie	More Info...
3)	Memories of Professor Longhair	More Info...
4)	The Nearness of You	More Info...
5)	Delicado	More Info...
6)	Silent Night	More Info...
7)	Dance a La Negres	More Info...
8)	Wade in the Water	More Info...
9)	Honey Dripper	More Info...
10)	Big Mac	More Info...
11)	New Island Midnight	More Info...
12)	Saints	More Info...
13)	Pinetop	More Info...
14)	Careless Love	More Info...
15)	Deep Blues	More Info...
16)	Ti-na-na	More Info...
17)	Dorothy (Take 2)	More Info...

Performer Notes

Solo performer: Dr. John (vocals, piano).
Recorded at Orpheus Music, New York, New York in August 1981. Includes liner notes by Mark Tearson.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Personnel: Dr. John (vocals, keyboards); Mac Rebennack (vocals, piano).
Audio Remasterer: Francisco Rodriguez.
Liner Note Author: Michael Tearson.
Recording information: Opheus Music, New York, NY (08/1981).
The title of 1981's DR. JOHN PLAYS MAC REBENNACK (the artist's real name) offers a sly commentary on this double identity (the well-known showman plays a rendition of his "real self"). Though Dr. John's keyboards were prominent on his recordings throughout the '70s, this disc--an entire album of songs on unaccompanied piano--is the first to showcase his skills so boldly.
As per usual, Dr. John mixes blues, boogie-woogie, jazz, and New Orleans R&B with a funky flair. The absence of his raspy growl of a voice on many of these tracks, and the lack of his standard dense instrumental mix is not a deterrent; in fact, there is a mellow easiness to the whole album that suits Rebennack nicely. Whether on re-workings of standards ("The Nearness of You") or the artist's originals, the listener has the sense of having happily stumbled across the artist playing solo in some off-the-beaten-path smoky nightclub in the French Quarter of the Big Easy.

Professional Reviews

Living Blues (p.82) - "Among the highlights on VOLUME ONE are the tender, ragtime-influenced 'Dorothy' and 'Big Mac', a delightfully off-kilter romp Rebennack wrote in honor of his dad..."

Living Blues (11/02, pp.78-9) - "...This is late night Dr. John....He's all by himself, and he's dangerous on those 88s, contemplative and jazzy and pushing his own boundaries all at once..."s