Review: Take This Prescription of Dr. John’s Finest Montreux Performances to Cure Your Ills

Dr. John
The Montreux Years
(Montreux Jazz Forever/BMG
4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Jazz, blues, funk, Latin, boogie-woogie, rock…few musicians combine these genres as effectively as those born and raised in New Orleans. And arguably nobody has meshed those sounds as efficiently, as long, or with as much commercial viability as that city’s Dr. John.

A long-standing legend in his hometown before his death in 2019, at the age of 77, John, born Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., was a noted session player, mainly piano but also guitar, before the striking Gris-Gris debut in 1968. His one-off 1973 hit, “Right Place, Wrong Time,” found him tickling the top of the singles charts for a minute, but that was never going to be a place he felt comfortable.

Regardless, he cobbled together an impressive lifelong career consisting of a few dozen albums for a dizzying variety of labels, most critically acclaimed, but few selling to more than cult followers, even after The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach produced the superb Locked Down in 2012. It’s also worth noting that the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival derived its name from Dr. John’s song and album title Desitively Bonnaroo, extending his legacy long after his death. This outstanding live disc should also help that.

Comprised of cherry-picked performances from seven Montreux Jazz Festival shows, this generous 14-track, 80-minute compilation finds John alone and fronting a variety of combos from 1986 through 2012. He’s in rare form throughout, although his live shows were notoriously extraordinary affairs.

This set appropriately kicks off with four unaccompanied piano tunes from July 5, 1986, as John covers classics like “Stack-A-Lee” and Chris Kenner’s “Sick and Tired” with the enthusiasm of a guy half his then 45 years. Most fans wouldn’t mind hearing that full gig, but the collection continues with a rousing 1993 take of “Going Back to New Orleans” featuring a seven-piece, horn-assisted band on fire as they trade licks with a sizzling Latin backbeat.

Forward to 2011 for an explosive, funky, second-line workout of Earl King’s “Big Chief” as Trombone Shorty blows tough and hard. Its energy is matched by the rousing medley of “In a Sentimental Mood/Mississippi Mud/Happy Hard Times” in 2012, featuring second pianist Jon Cleary. “Right Place, Wrong Time” appears too, in a 2004 version which captures the song’s spirit but is far from the finest track here. A stirring “Let the Good Times Roll” from 1985 is feisty and Leadbelly’s iconic “Goodnight Irene,” is another gutsy lone piano performance featuring John’s powerful left hand. It pays tribute to James Booker, one of his most prominent musical influences. John takes these timeless tunes and makes them his own.

Stunning audio features a mix and clarity that puts you front row as the vibe ebbs, flows, then detonates into inspiring party music. The hardcover CD package, with full liner notes, is a deluxe way to present music this enduring and sumptuous.

The only frustration of this single disc, which could easily have been a double, is you’re left wanting more from the shows that yielded these remarkable tracks.

Photo by Edouard Curchod for GM Press