Nobody ever doubted Dr. John‘s ability to conjure magic with no such frills as an ensemble of accompanists – or even without singing, let alone shaking his feathers – but the late great artist himself. It took him more than a decade to strip all of this and come up with what used to be called his solo piano albums, although those featured vocals on some tracks – the albums of which there were two, 1981’s “Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack” and “The Brightest Smile In Town” from 1983, or everyone thought so. In reality, the Gris-Gris master laid down three platters in that mode, and while fans had the chance recently to listen to his acoustic performance of the solo piano type, July 12th is the date when a similar studio record should get issued.
A truly lost opus, “Frankie & Johnny” was cut between two aforementioned longplays, in 1982-1983 only to be shelved for no obvious reason – except, perhaps, for the presence of only a couple of pieces, the rest displaying Mac’s talents as an instrumentalist proudly carrying on the tradition of Professor Longhair and other New Orleans ivories drivers. Long overdue for discovery, it’s an invaluable artifact.
1. Frankie & Johnny
2. Boll Weevil
3. Gentilly Boulevard
4. Rebennack Appliance
5. Hobo Blues
6. Conundrum
7. Some Train Goin’ Some Way
8. Public Belt
9. The Pontchar Train
10. Conundrum (alt. take)
11. Boxcar Boogie (alt. take)
