CD Reviews

Dr. John

City That Care Forgot | 429

By TED DROZDOWSKI | June 9, 2008

4.0 Stars

In concerts since Hurricane Katrina, Dr. John has been sharing his rage and frustration about the neglect and corruption that have turned his native New Orleans into a national tragedy. Now he’s channeled that righteous fury into an album. “Stripped Away,” with a laser-beam guitar turn from Eric Clapton, celebrates the city’s virtues while examining its scarred countenance. “Land Grab” (with Terence Blanchard on trumpet) and “Say What?” beat on the racist real-estate barons and gangsters who used the disaster to their advantage. And “Promises, Promises” fixes the blame on the “the road to the White House,” which, the good Doctor correctly sings, “is paved with lies.” Strident as it is, this CD was meant as a tonic for the people of the Crescent City. And Dr. John makes his boiling medicine go down like cola thanks to funky arrangements built on the strongest grooves and playing he’s delivered since his 1974 diamond Desitively Bonnaroo (Atco).

Topics: CD Reviews , Eric Clapton, Terence Blanchard, DR. JOHN

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