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Elly Roberts reviews
Cooking Vinyl
- Released: June 2008
- Rating: 6/10
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Dr.John is still on a mission a protest album, with a little help from stellar buddies.
He has clearly been deeply affected by the trauma of Hurricane Katrina.
This is the second album highlighting the fallout of lack of attention fromthe federal government of the USA on his former city of New Orleans. He ainttoo impressed with the war in Iraq either. This 13-tracker sees the seasonedmusician bringing us a heartfelt, painful and thought provoking album onceagain.
Target of his anger, and theres plenty of anger believe me, is the Americanadministration. Promises Promises featuring Willie Nelson sums it allup “The road to the White House, paved with lies / paved with lies /paved with lies .the truth will set you free.”
City… begins with hangdog and funky Keep Goin, which, like muchof the album, which is a masterful lament, the doctor still offers hope.Time For Change features Slowhand Eric Clapton – who peppers the trackwith bluesy, Jeff Skunk Baxter (Steely Dan) licks. This could be the Dan,especially on the ¾ way jazzy groove which is in sharp contrast to thewind-down ballad You Might Be Surprised sounding like Van Morrison in theprocess, with Dream Warriors menacing funky groove held tight so he can declarehimself, “Im a Samurai of the holy lost cause” which seems to take thecontent off on another tangent.
Inevitably, Iraq is broached. He hits it straight. Black Gold is aboutoil “For that black gold politicians, sell our souls / For a taste of that black gold.”
Later in, NO is the focus once again Stripped Away. This is anotherfunk-based lament with Clapton adding sublime bluesy riffs and picks over hismost direct lyrics, “There was a time New Orleans looked so hip / With allthat rot and decay / Along come the waters / Now Its all stripped away.”
Purely on a listening/music basis, Land Grab has some thrilling (Temptations-likePapa Was A Rolling Stone) brass solos, and its the most accessible he gets.Things get a bit swampy on the title track. The low groove and graphic lyricsare quite damning, as they should be. The bell tolling at the end is quite aprofound ending.
File under: For fans, mostly.
Weblink:drjohn.org
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Keep On Goin
2. Time For A Change (feat. Eric Clapton)
3. Promises Promises (feat. Willie Nelson)
4. You Might Be Surprised
5. Dream Warrior
6. Black Gold
7. We Getting There (feat. Terence Blanchard)
8. Stripped Away (feat. Eric Clapton)
9. Say Whut?
10. My People Need A Second Line (feat. James 12 Andrews and Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews
11. Land Grab (feat. Terence Blanchard)
12. City That Care Forgot (feat. Eric Clapton and Ani Difranco)
13. Save Our Wetlands (feat. Terrance Simien)
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.