Having cut an album of standards on his first Warner Brothers album,
In a Sentimental Mood (1989),
Dr. John turned for its follow-up to a collection of New Orleans standards. On an album he described in the liner notes as "a little history of New Orleans music,"
Dr. John returned to his hometown and set up shop at local Ultrasonic Studios, inviting in such local musicians as
Pete Fountain,
Al Hirt, and
the Neville Brothers and addressing the music and styles of such local legends as
Jelly Roll Morton,
Huey "Piano" Smith,
Fats Domino,
James Booker, and
Professor Longhair. The geography may have been circumscribed, but the stylistic range was extensive, from jazz and blues to folk and rock. And it was all played with festive conviction --
Dr. John is the perfect archivist for the music, being one of its primary proponents, yet he had never addressed it quite as directly as he did here. ~ William Ruhlmann