Dr. John New Album

THE DOCTOR IS IN

Infused with elements of barrelhouse funk and freewheeling proto-rock, City That Care Forgot, the new album from New Orleans’ Dr. John arriving June 3 on 429 Records, finds the mojo maven asking questions and raising hell on an elegantly elegiac homage to his drowned hometown.

Musically anchored with that legendary gravely drawl and a buoyant riot of swamp-voodoo piano grooves (and help from a few friends like Eric Clapton) the album’s 14 tracks also provide a lyrical reminder that the rawness and divisions exposed by Hurricane Katrina are as fresh as ever. His hopeful if harrowing songwriting never loses the notion that once we start to address our problems we can heal as a nation. The songs, at a time when the word “change” seems to be everybody’s buzzword, are at once a musical return to roots, yet suffused with an unusual urgency. Inspired by the current administration, the war in Iraq and more, the new album address heavy issues but in a way only the rollicking spirit of Dr. John can.