Dr. John - Locked Down (CD)

Facts New Orleans legend Dr. John's Nonesuch debut, produced by Black Keys guitarist and uber-fan Dan Auerbach, distills half a century of this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee's picaresque musical history, melding his shamanistic stage persona with the authority of a consummate studio musician, the cosmic conjurer with the street-savvy poet. The ten new songs on LOCKED DOWN, written by Dr. John with Auerbach and a handpicked crew of backing musicians, combine incantatory chants and often politically charged raps with candid and soulful reflections, swaggering R&B and a healthy dose of hypnotic, simmering funk. As with much of what this multiple Grammy-award winning singer and composer has recorded over the last five decades, the Big Easy is the musical and spiritual jumping-off point, but these new tracks incorporate a world's worth of influences, from gospel and blues to psychedelic rock and Afro-beat.