Dr. John
While Dr. John and his alter ego, Mac Rebennack, have played keyboards behind such blues rockers as Joe Cocker, Bob Seger and Gregg Allmann, he has often seemed a New Orleans jazz-piano player at heart. It's that heart that beats on this solo album. John romps through Boxcar Boogie, a wonderful throwback to the striding days of James P. Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis. He turns out a thoughtful version of the Arlen-Mercer classic Come Rain or Come Shine. In his Randy Newmanesque semi-voice, he sings a clever novelty, Average Kind of Guy ("I love my kids/ And I hate my bills/ I'm low on love/ And I'm high on pills"). As both singer and pianist, John displays the same kind of wry, bittersweet tone that permeated the performances of Fats Waller, without ever seeming just an imitation. John is, indeed, as distinctive and entertaining as they come in pop music. (Clean Cuts, Box 16264, Roland Park Station, Baltimore, Md. 21210)
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