Dr John's Atlantic/ATCO Singles Collection

Due out on 9/18/15 on Omnivore Recordings. Looks like it'll be CD only.

 

Cool...

 

Mastering engineer?

 

I'm in if it's good!

 

Doesn't really compensate for the continued absence of the 1970 "Remedies" from the catalog, though it's nice to see Wash Mama Wash here. Slappin' the gift horse in the mouth here, I know.

 

Remedies had been reissued on CD at one time but it is OOP on CD.

 

Great news! I've been curious about a number of those early single mixes for a while now.

 

Are there dedicated 45 mixes for many tunes? Or is it just the album versions on the 45s?

 

Anyone got this yet? It was released a couple of days ago.

 

Got it today. Will listen tomorrow and return with a review.

 

Mono version of "Patriotic Flag Waver," and a Part 1/Part 2 edit of "Walk On Gilded Splinters". Otherwise, the single/album mixes seem to be the same. (The Gris-Gris tracks are stereo, even though there is a mono version of that album).

As noted in another thread, the edited live "Wang Dang Doodle" (from Mar y Sol )is the other rarity,

 

Thanks a lot .

 

Mastering by Micheal Graves, who won the Grammy for their Hank Williams record.

 

Got to say I really enjoy this disc. The sound is pretty good. There's hiss, so it seems there is no noice reduction or crap like that used. Quite crankable. Good liner notes. Most importantly: great songs! A shame that Walk On Guilded Splinters is cut into two parts, but it's the single representation and if I want to hear it in its full glory, I can always listen to Gris-Gris.

 

I would like to comment that I Walk On Guilded Splinters part I and II are indeed in mono. Sound is good on the disc. Thumbsup

 

This isn't to do with the singles disc, although that CD influenced this purchase. Long story short I don't know anything about Dr. John or his music, other than that he is in th R&RHOF. I was browsing Amazon and found one of those 5 CD "Original Album Series" sets for the good doctor. The albums included are Gris-Gris, Babylon, The Sun Moon & Herbs, Dr. John's Gumbo and In The Right Place.

The set was 16 dollars new with free 2 day shipping so I picked it up. It arrived Friday and I have yet to listen to any of the album, lot of releases this week. Anyway I'm wondering if this is a good set of albums to start out with Dr. John's music. I suppose it is a bit dumb asking after I bought it but 16 bucks for 5 CDs was too good to pass up, especially from an artist I'm not familiar with but have heard is good. Any suggestions on which album to listen to first, and are any of these considered to be stand out albums by him?

 

Well, that sounds like a good deal. Gris-Gris is his debut and IMO his masterpiece. But it's not as accessible as, say, In the Right Place, which is also a really good album and maybe a better starting point for the Dr. John novice.

But you can't go wrong with any of those albums, really.

 

Thanks for the info, I'm going to check Gris-Gris out first. I kind of had to do a double take when I seen the price, even in these days of cheap sets this really stood out. Here is a link for anyone who wants to check it out. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003097B8M?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

 

I got absolutely obsessed with Gris-Gris a few months ago, phenomenally strange album that it is. The next two, which I've heard but not listened to a lot, are less interesting developments away from that initial sound. Dr. John's Gumbo is where he goes a lot more straight-ahead, and it's catchy as all get-out. Right Place has his hit, but I haven't actually heard that whole album yet.

Gris-Gris and Gumbo were on constant rotation for a few months in my ears (and Jump Sturdy and Iko Iko were earworms for even longer, so be prepared). I'd say start with those!

 

Thanks for the help, and you are right. I just started Gris-Gris and it really has a sound all it's own, very cajun. Really like the opening track with Dr John's scratchy vocals and the weird vibe the backing vocals give.

Edit: Forgot to add, I love CCR, but this sounds like swamp music to me, and I mean that in a good way.

 

And nothing else he recorded (that I've heard?) really sounds like that. I've read that Gris-Gris was recorded on studio time paid for by Sonny & Cher, who booked him as a session musician and then bailed, but the studio'd been paid for, so he made an album. I have no idea if that's true, but it certainly seems to be lent plausability by the improvisatory, shambolic, indeed swampy feel of the album. Do enjoy 'em, but don't expect the other albums to sound like that!

 

Wait until the last tune. The album saves the best for last. I Walk on Guilded Splinters is one of the greatest songs ever written. If I have to choose one Dr. John song, that would be it. It's definitely in my top 20.

 

Indeed: one of the greatest songs and greatest recordings. Transports you into another realm. That whole album is like parallel-evolution psychedelic music that just somehow came bubbling up out of the swamp all on its own.

 

Dr. John and his collaborator Harold Battiste did arrangements on a number of Sonny & Cher records, so that's where the money came from. No way this was recorded at one session!