Dr. Rosansky

Recorded in 1995 with Germany's WDR Big Band, the album features 16 tracks with over 60 minutes of music including an a bonus track on the CD only. Dr. John arguably has never sounded better. Hisvocals are crisp and clear and joyful, as if he turned back the clock toanother time and to a jubilant state of mind.

Over his 35 years of recording, Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack has worn many hats, from '50s greasy rock & roller to psychedelic '70s weirdo to keeper of the New Orleans music flame. All of these modes, plus more, are excellently served up on this two-disc anthology. From the early New Orleans sides featuring Rebennack's blistering guitar work ("Storm Warning" and "Morgus the Magnificent") to the fabled '70s sides as the Night Tripper to his present-day status as repository of the Crescent City's noble musical tradition, this is the one you want to have for the collection.

Over the course of his six-decade-long career, Dr. John embodied a near-mythic multitude of musical identities: global ambassador of New Orleans funk and jazz and R&B, visionary bluesman, rock and roll innovator, one-time top 10 hitmaker, self-anointed and massively revered high priest of psychedelic voodoo. On Things Happen That Way, the six-time Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer otherwise known as Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack Jr. reveals yet another dimension of his cosmically vast musicality: a lifelong affinity for classic country and western, whose songs he first encountered via the 78 rpm records frequently spun at his father’s electronics shop.

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show (shortened to Dr. Hook in 1975) was an American rock band, formed in Union City, New Jersey. They enjoyed considerable commercial success in the 1970s with hit singles including "Sylvia's Mother", "The Cover of 'Rolling Stone'" (both 1972), "Only Sixteen" (1975), "A Little Bit More" (1976), "Sharing the Night Together" (1978), "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" (1979), "Better Love Next Time" (1979), and "Sexy Eyes" (1980). In addition to their own material, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show performed songs written by the poet Shel Silverstein…

Unlike his In a Sentimental Mood, which swung wildly from Tin Pan Alley standards to supper-club blues, Afterglow is mostly interested in recapturing the late '40s and early '50s, when jazz, blues, and pop intersected with sophisticated ease. The choice of material is impeccable–songs made popular by Nat "King" Cole, Louis Jordan, and Duke Ellington–and the playing is superb throughout. However, "Ain't I Been Good to You," "Just a Lucky So and So," and a stark read of "I'm Confessin'" are particularly effective. And on his original, "I Still Believe in You," Dr. John proves just how influenced he is by West Coast blues legend Charles Brown, who once recorded at Cosimo Matassa's studio where the future Night Tripper got his start.

2 CD 2019 Release featuring Dr. John's early singles pre-Atlantic Records and live concert recordings previously unreleased in North American and Japan. This new retrospective includes rarities from the Rex, Ace, Crazy Cajun labels, and rare live band and solo performances of Dr. John's greatest hits.

Although he didn't become widely known until the 1970s, Dr. John had been active in the music industry since the late '50s, when the teenager was still known as Mac Rebennack. A formidable boogie and blues pianist with a lovable growl of a voice, his most enduring achievements fused with New Orleans R&B, rock, and Mardi Gras craziness to come up with his own brand of "voodoo" music. He's also quite accomplished and enjoyable when sticking to purely traditional forms of blues and R&B. On record, he veers between the two approaches, making for an inconsistent and frequently frustrating legacy that often makes the listener feel as if "the Night Tripper" (as he's nicknamed himself) has been underachieving.