Customer Reviews

Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack: The Legendary Sessions, Vol. 1

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Where does one begin?

This album is an education, a history lesson and an eye opening challenge to anyone who loves and plays jazz, rock/pop or even classical piano.

This album is a stunning rarity: a dignified instrumental presentation of a piano
style rarely heard in a solo setting-by the master himself.

This is clearly a labor of love for the Doc. This is from his gut.

On this amazing disk of wonderful compositions, Dr. John reveals the inner workings of his New Orleans, funky, bluesy piano style and leaves you scratching your head, dying for more, and (if you play the piano seriously) will send you running to the piano for the next year to figure it all out - leaving you more in awe of his accomplishment.

Every once in a while an album comes along that inspires a musician to grow and challenges their preconceptions about the possibilities of their instrument, their musical vocabulary and technique.....for me, this was one of em.

10 stars if I could give them

If you enjoy New Orleans piano (Professor Long Hair, James Booker and Allen Toussant) then this CD is a must have! The good Doc goes smoothly through a nice group of songs, and since he is playing solo on this CD, you can really hear his talent. He only sings twice, so the piano is center stage on this one. All of the New Orleans greats are blended together in one guy. The CD recording and piano are top quality.

Dr. John may have never played better. He may have done different renditions of some of these tunes but he never played them so straight at you, so clearly N'Orleans piano. My favorite of his and one of my favorite of all, and I own a few thousand recordings.

As Mac Rebennack he built a solid reputation as an inspired session player, able to inject a little New Orleans life into any song. As Dr. John, the Night Tripper he earned a small, devoted following and one hit record, "Right Place, Wrong Time." In 1981, he dropped the voodoo trappings of his stage act, sat down at the piano and played this lovely set of original tunes and New Orleans standards. The piano work here is less ornate that of Rebennack's predecessors, Professor Longhair and Tuts Washington, but every note sounds heartfelt. For those who think of Dr. John as a funky New Orleans singer, this album will demonstrate his solid musicianship and his abilities as a tunesmith. Out of print for several years, this remastered recording adds a few unreleased tunes and makes one of the great moments in Dr. John's brilliant career available once again.

I love this album/CD. I'm a little confused however about this re-release. I have the original release on vinyl and the Clean Cuts label release ON CD from 1988. This one that has just been released in 2002 has 8 tracks on it with three tracks that are not on mine. They are Careless Love, Deep Blues and T-Na-Na. However my version that I bought in 1988 has 13 tracks on it. My version on Clean Cuts says, "THIS CD CONTAINS THREE NEW SELECTIONS IN ADDITION TO ALL THE MATERIAL ORIGINALLY INCLUDED IN THE VINLY LP." My answer to this is.......that if this is the only version you can buy now.......THAN BUY IT! This is one of my favorite albums of all time. I still don't know why they dropped the other 5 tunes from it though.

Dr. John, bring back Mac! If you're a piano lover, a boogie-blues lover, this is fine piano work. I especiallly loved Silent Night, originally written in 3/4 meter, now morphed into 4/4 meter with a boogie beat, and a set of lyrics over which Joseph and Franz would cringe, crackled out in Dr. John's acid voice. Pure, deep-bass boogie patterns interspersed with classic right-hand slides and grace notes and turn-arounds, syncopation that doesn't stop, just keeps movin' on down the road . . .

If you are moved by New Orleans style bluesy from-the-heart piano from the master in his prime there is no better single choice than this album

An artist at his best. Just pure piano, but wow, what a recording.

This is my other favorite CD, along with vol 2. Both volumes are on my CD player every day! I still wish I could play the piano like he does.

I purchased this album to listen to Dr John play as I do appreciate his cultural piano. I am greatful for Dr. John and his added vocals wonderfully emphasis the story he tells so eloquently. After purchasing this album I just had to have the part II. For me there was no down-side. I'm a listener and I leave criticism to others. There is nothing for me not to like. You have to feel happier after listening to this album. Silent Night was probably my biggest surprise and i loved it.