Search - Dr John :: Dr John Plays Mac Rebennack: Legendary Sessions 2

Rythm and Blues Master

Soulboogiealex | Netherlands | 11/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Somewhere in the mid-eighties Dr John released plays Mac Rebennack. Where a lot of the good doctor's studio work was at times plagued by mediocrity that release was suddenly a more than solid effort. Mac Rebennack is of course the Night Tripper himself, doctor John was suddenly playing out of his "own" songbook, although a lot of the compositions here are actually originated from some one else's pen. Plays Mac Rebennack gives you the good Doctor at his most pure, just the man and his rolling and funky piano, his rough and gruff voice and a great assortment of songs and instrumentals. The original release focussed on instrumental work, the vol. 2 companion of the re-release with outtakes from the original sessions focuses more on vocal outings of Dr. John from that time.



Plays Mac Rebennack was a highly intimate late night album; the outtake sessions featured here in vol. 2 are much in the same vein. This is not a bad thing at all, listening to this album one can only conclude that the Doctor is much more powerful and compelling when playing all by his lonesome. The album features a lot of different shades, from uninhibited joy to dark melancholy. With tracks like Marie La Veau some of the Night Trippers mystic creep into this album, Boxcar Boogie is a bar room brawl, Touro Infirmary is a strong adaptation of the familiar st. James, Come Rain or Shine is spine chilling.



Every single selection here is played in the Doctor's signature style, highly indebted to Professor Longhair yet very recognisable as Mac Rebennack. Doctor John has long been one of the most eccentric individuals in Rhythm and Blues; Plays Mac Rebennack shows us he's a master. There's not a note to many, during the record he plays his strengths en weaknesses very well. This release and the re-release of the original album were long overdue."

Really fine recordings of a wonderful musician

J. Mercik | Hartford, CT United States | 07/08/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Indeed... As mentioned by another reviewer, this is a blues music for bars: A never-ending stream of notes that make you feel unworried and thirsty. A wonderful retrospective of Mr. Rebennack's musical roots: the ghosts of Tony Jackson, Pinetop Perkins, 'Fes (of course), Roosevelt Sykes, Cow Cow Davenport, Jelly Roll Morton (of course), Cousin Joe, and all of the rest ... all come alive. What a treat. It has something specifically American about it that I find perfect: common, simple, earthy, vibrant, sexual in a Crescent City Storyville sort of way. If you have any ear at all for straight New Orleans blues and boogie woogie, both Volumes 1 & 2 of this series by Mac are no-brainer sure-fire sources of listening pleasure. These recordings will be listened-to for a long time."