Dr. John - City Lights (1978)

If you're a Dr. John fan and don't have this (and if you do, it will be on vinyl, not this with its superior sound), you need it as part of the missing link between two eras of a career. And if you haven't properly discovered him yet, this is a great way to ease through the door.

Tracks
01 Dance the Night Away with You Pomus, Rebennack 4:06
02 Street Side Rebennack 6:01
03 Wild Honey Guidry, Rebennack 4:10
04 Rain Rebennack 4:48
05 Snake Eyes Rebennack 6:44
06 Fire of Love Rebennack, Robinson 3:58
07 Sonata/He's a Hero Pomus, Rebennack 5:20
08 City Lights Pomus, Rebennack 3:22

Review by Chris Nickson
Long out of print, this is a welcome return for one of Mac Rebennack's most overlooked gems. It's not simply because of the quality of musicians here (people like guitarist Hugh McCracken, drummer Steve Gadd, and others) or Tommy LiPuma's excellent production. It was the good Doctor continuing to pull away from the alter ego that had served him so well earlier in the '70s and putting down some new roots (this album, really, is half of a pair with Tango Palace). To that end, he co-wrote with the venerable Doc Pomus, and through there are only eight songs here, every one is wonderful. There's a strong jazz feel to the record, starting the course he'd steer during the '80s. There's still, inevitably, a Crescent City feel to the performances – it's so ingrained in everything Rebennack does – but also a hipster sensibility that's redolent of berets and smoky basement clubs. If you're a Dr. John fan and don't have this (and if you do, it will be on vinyl, not this with its superior sound), you need it as part of the missing link between two eras of a career. And if you haven't properly discovered him yet, this is a great way to ease through the door.

Review @ cduniverse
CITY LIGHTS marked a transitional point for Dr. John. It found him beginning to move away from the swampy, gritty New Orleans R&B sound of his earlier albums toward a cleaner, jazzier style. It's the first of two albums he made for A&M/Horizon, … Full Descriptionand while its follow-up, TANGO PALACE, is more commercial, both feature collaborations with legendary '50s/'60s rock-&-roll songwriter Doc Pomus and production by Tommy LiPuma. While the urbane jazz-inflected direction taken here was a departure, Dr. John's visceral piano playing and warm growl of a voice are sonic fingerprints that provide plenty of connecting thread.