Although Mac Rebennack, a/k/a Dr. John, a/k/a the Night Tripper, hasn't lived in his native New Orleans in quite some time, he's never really ventured too far away during his nearly 50 years in the music biz. Launching his lengthy career during the mid-1950s while still a teen, the in-demand session musician later branched into production. Mentored by New Orleans legend Professor Longhair, Dr. John launched his solo career during the '60s, and through the years has performed alongside other Crescent City artists as the Neville Brothers, the Meters, and Allen Toussaint as well as British musicians like Chris Barber.
Rebennack's New Orleans roots run deep, which is why Dr. John is plenty hopping mad over the trials and tribulations suffered by his hometown in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Unlike many - mostly government officials - John has put his money where his mouth is, performing for several Katrina victim benefit concerts, and even released his own EP, Sippiana Hericane, to benefit New Orleans Musicians Clinic. With City That Care Forgot, John allows his anger over the injustice that is New Orleans to reach the boiling point.
Dr. John's City That Care Forgot
City That Care Forgot opens with "Keep On Goin'," a jazz-flavored song with a funky roll and John's signature piano work. The song's gentle nature and easy livin' lyrics disarm the listener before Dr. John and crew get to the meat of the matter with the following tune, "Time For A Change." Built on a loping, phat R&B groove, and featuring stellar guitarwork courtesy of Eric Clapton, the song's message is that of individual responsibility, environmental concern, and corporate malfeasance, delivered in no uncertain terms.
If "Time For A Change" sets the stage for the socially-conscious work that follows, John's lively duet with Willie Nelson, "Promises Promises," is a real scorcher. Set to an energetic Zydeco rhythm, Nelson and John swap verses damning ignorant politicians and praising the soldiers that give their lives for our freedom. On the flip side, "You Might Be Surprised" is a slow-paced, Neville Brothers-styled R&B ballad with positive lyrics in an almost spiritual vein.
New Orleans & the Legacy of Katrina
The dark, bluesy "Dream Warrior" is a brilliantly-penned song with a deceptively understated soundtrack and pointed Dylanesque lyrics. John delivers his words with more venom than any half-dozen gangsta rappers, never getting angry but rather portraying a quiet rage against the injustices heaped upon New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. In his dreams, the singer fights against the hypocrisy that has left the city in ruins nearly three years after the storm.
The equally pissed-off "Black Gold" tackles the Iraq War and America's dependence on big oil with a soulful, horn-driven, New Orleans-styled funky strut. Blasting "black gold politicians," John blames the "lies, why, and alibis" that send our children to war, also touching upon government wiretapping and the way our returning vets are treated. "We Getting' There" returns to the subject of Katrina, John delivering an upbeat, mid-tempo rocker with a little rhythm-and-blues vibe that is at once both hopeful and angry, stating in the chorus that "and if ya wonder how we doin', short version is we getting' there, and if you wonder how we doin', is we getting' mad." It sums up the feelings of many New Orleans natives that they've been mistreated and ignored by the powers-that-be.
Dr. John the Night Tripper
Clapton returns with some tasty rhythm work and scorching solos for the staggering "Stripped Away." John talks about the cleansing floods in the aftermath of Katrina stripping away the "rot and decay" of the city and leaving the "loud, ratty, free and easy fonk" as the city will eventually be reborn. "Say Whut?" is a little tougher and a lot less forgiving, Dr. John switching into full-blown raw "Night Tripper" vocal mode as he demands that somebody be held responsible for the devastation, crime and tragedy of New Orleans.
Jazzman Terence Blanchard lends his golden trumpet tones to the blistering "Land Grab," his playing bringing an appropriately atmospheric, wistful nature to the song's theme of disappearing neighborhoods, developer greed, and shrinking wetlands. Behind John's swinging, soulful vocals, Blanchard creates an incredible underlying theme for the song.
The third time's a charm for guest star Clapton, as he and Ani DiFranco - now a New Orleans resident - bring a certain charm to the title track, Clapton with his scary underlying fretwork and DiFranco with her gorgeous supporting vocals to John's gruff howl. Accompanied by Zydeco legend Terrance Simien's soulful voice and some fine Mardi Gras horn stylings, "Save Our Wetlands" is an ardent environmental plea specific to New Orleans but applicable anywhere, really.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Backed by his talented Lower 911 band, Dr. John has seldom sounded better than he does on City That Care Forgot. Perhaps the good Doctor's most overtly political of albums, any sane person would easily agree with John's argument that New Orleans has been badly mistreated, the city's non-recovery providing plenty of bitter lyrical fruit for the artist's plate.
Although the lyrics read somewhat clumsily on the printed page, John sings them with his characteristic raw southern drawl and makes them work within the confines of each song's rhythms. Mixing up his trademark musical gumbo of Mardi Gras-flavored R&B, New Orleans jazz, Meters-styled funk, and southern fried blues, Dr. John has delivered one of the best … and most important … works of his career in City That Care Forgot. (429 Records)
