DR. JOHN'S THE CITY THAT CARE FORGOT

A MUSIC REVIEW
By R. A. Pearson

Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) is in “the right place at the right time” with his new CD the City That Care Forgot, a collection of 13 songs about New Orleans and the state of the city three years after the storm hit the city changing it forever. However, this seems like the Dr. John of old. The jazzy/bluesy/Dixieland-Cajun style rock is back once more, and the CD is powerful, emotional, and gut wrenching as the good Dr. portrays the betrayal, broken promises, and hollow efforts of America’s response to New Orleans post-Katrina crises. In the CD Dr. John points a not so subtle finger at the Bush administration and the federal agencies that let the city and people of the area down before, during and long after the storm.

There are a number of great tunes on this CD; however, “Promises, Promises,” a song about political lies and broken promises is perhaps the most notable. The song is an upbeat duet with Dr. John and country music legend Willie Nelson lowering the boom on President Bush and his administration for their treatment of the Crescent City after the storm. Other songs of interest on the album include, “Time for a Change,” “We Gettin' There,” “Black Gold,” “Dream Warrior,” and the title cut, “City That Care Forgot.” Dr. John has an eye on ecology throughout the CD; however, two songs, “Land Grab,” and “Save Our Wetlands” are especially dedicated to the dangers of overbuilding and over development of the fragile land along the coast.

Dr. John brings on some high-class talent for this CD including: Eric Clapton on guitar, Willie Nelson on vocals for “Promises, Promises,” Ani Difranco on guitar and Terence Blanchard on saxophone. Dr. John is accompanied by the New Orleans Lower 911 band on the CD. The Lower 911 band includes Herman Ernest III on drums, David Barnard on bass, and John Fohl on guitar. The City That Care Forgot was produced by Dr. John and Herman Ernest.

For those who remember the Dr. John of old, he is back with hard hitting lyrics, jazzy/bluesy/ Dixieland-Cajun rock style music, and tasty horn blasts, to a point you can almost see the feathers on your CD dial. This musical collection has all the Dr. John necessities from the upbeat sounds of a Mardi Gras parade to the mystic, swampy, voodoo-gris gris feeling of a crawfish boil on a hot summer night with a full moon over a Louisiana bayou. If the recession has you keeping your money in your pocket spend a few bucks on this CD. As we head into an election, “Promises, Promises” is worth it. Songs from the City That Care Forgot are available for download at various locations.

In contrast to City That Care Forgot, Jacob Dylan’s new release, Seeing Things, is a striped down acoustic guitar CD produced by Rick Rubin, a master of the acoustic guitar genre. The CD features more of Jacob Dylan’s voice and lyrics, and here the lyrics make the album.

Seeing Things is not the ‘album noir’ one might expect from reading the reviews of the CD. It is a well-developed emotional set of songs one might expect from Jacob Dylan at this point in his carrier. The anchor cut from the CD, “Something Good This Way Comes,” is a good up beat song about the joys and happiness of love. The opening song “Evil Is Alive And Well” is a slow semi-gothic warning of evil lurking in the lives of mankind. The CD contains two antiwar songs, “War Is Kind” and “Valley Of The Low Sun.” The latter of these contains some great lyrics and visual images. Other songs of interest on this 10 cut CD include “This End Of The Telescope” and “Up On The Mountain.”

The Atlanta band, the Jackson Price Band, has posted several songs on its my space page for fans and listeners to hear and download free of charge. A few songs on the site include “Little Red Sports Car,” “The Road,” and “Nothing To Loose.” The band includes Michael Clements, a graduate of Camden County High School, on drums and other instruments. The band’s address is http://www.myspace.com/jacksonpriceband so check it out.

Classic jazz aficionados will be interested in the recent release of Miles Davis tunes entitled Muted Miles from Prestige records. The CD features nine cuts of the legendary trumpet master playing his horn with a Harmon mute. The CD features John Coltrane on sax, Red Garland on piano, and Charles Mingus on bass. Muted Miles contains previously released recordings from the Prestige label; however, songs such as “Just Squeeze Me,” “In Your On Sweet Way,” and “Surry With The Fringe On Top” are must have Miles Davis standbys for every jazz collection. This is a five star collection if you do not have these Prestige label tunes on CD.

Something I missed in the classical music genre is Fall River Legend, a ballet by Morton Gould telling the story of Lizzie Borden, who was tried and acquitted for the murder of her parents in Fall River, Massachusetts, in the 1890s. The ballet is available on CD and performances are also available on DVD. If you are into the legend of Lizzie Borden, who took an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks, or classical music, you may want to give this CD a listen.