Dr. John's Gumbo (ATCO 1972) (although my pressing is a reissue on Alligator).
Dr. John was a mainstay of the New Orleans sound as a session guy. Long before he produced his debut album Gris-Gris he had been seasoned session player in Los Angeles.
Cut to 1973, he goes into Sound City Studios in Van Nuys (one berg north of my current abode in Sherman Oaks) to cut a very New Orleans album.
The cover was shot at the Farmer John processing plant in Vernon, California. Happy pigs on the outside, but inside they'll soon be transformed into Dodger Dogs.
Included on the album are authentic renditions of New Orleans classics covered by other artists. Junko Partner ((The Clash), Iko Iko (Grateful Dead), Let the Goodtimes Roll (Jimi Hendrix) and Liza Jane (The Band, David Bowie.
I saw him live when I was a teen. I'll sheepishly admit I was not scholared enough to grasp it. He was coming down off his crossover hit Right Place Wrong Time and my perception was of this goofy guy who dressed like a pirate and threw glitter like Rip Taylor. The fact he was sandwiched between Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa on New Years Eve 1975/1976 probably didn't help. Add to the mood of he arena the moment weed became decriminalized probably didn't help either.
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