A TRUE CLASSIC OF 70's NEW ORLEANS MUSIC!!!!......Mac Rebennack returned to his New Orleans roots with this 1972 concoction. Gathering tunes and players he'd encountered in his many years as a Crescent City session pro, Dr. John assembled a loving tribute to the city and the sounds he loved..................... 1. Iko Iko 2. Blow Wind Blow 3. Big Chief 4. Somebody Changed The Lock 5. Mess Around 6. Let The Good Times Roll 7. Junko Partner 8. Stack-A-Lee 9. Tipitina 10. Those Lonely Lonely Nights 11. Huey Smith Medley: High Blood Pressure / Don't You Just Know It / Well I'll Be John Brown 12. Little Liza Jane Personnel: Dr. John (vocals, guitar, piano); Alvin Robinson (guitar, background vocals); Ken Klimak (guitar); Harold Battiste (clarinet, saxophone); Sidney George (harmonica, saxophone); Moe Bechamin (saxophone, background vocals); Lee Allen, David Lastie (saxophone); Melvin Lastie (cornet); Streamline (trombone); Ronnie Barron (piano, electric piano, organ, background vocals); Jimmy Calhoun (bass); Freddie Staehle (drums); Richard "Didimus" Washington (percussion); Shirley Goodman, Tami Lynn, Robbie Montgomery, Jessie Smith (background vocals). Recorded at Sound City Studio, Van Nuys, California. Originally released on Atco. Includes liner notes by Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack. After a series of albums which presented a unique mix of voodoo exotica and southern Louisiana funk grooves, Dr. John turned his sights on the rich heritage that informed his vision. The resultant GUMBO is a complete winner from start to finish. Opening with "Iko Iko," which dates from the early '50s, he celebrates many of the prime musical influences of his youth in New Orleans; standards from the Crescent City songbook, with nods to key players such as Professor Longhair, Lee Allen, Huey Smith, and Earl King. He even records his own 1960 tune "Somebody Changed the Lock," as well as "Mess Around" by Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun (originally written for and recorded by Ray Charles). Produced by the complementary team of Jerry Wexler and New Orleans' own Harold Battiste, the music is rife with potent grooves in support of topflight songs. This album is an essential
