Afterglow is an album by the American musician Dr. John, released in 1995.[2][3] The majority of the tracks are covers of jazz and blues songs from the 1940s and 1950s; many of the songs were introduced to Dr. John by his parents.[4][5]
| Afterglow | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Studio | Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California; Bill Schnee Studios, North Hollywood, California | |||
| Label | Blue Thumb[1] | |||
| Producer | Tommy LiPuma | |||
| Dr. John chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Traditional Jazz Albums chart.[6] Dr. John supported the album by playing shows with the Afterglow Big Band.[7]
Production
editThe album was produced by Tommy LiPuma, with arrangements by John Clayton and Alan Broadbent.[8][9] It was engineered by Al Schmitt, who was nominated for a Grammy Award.[10] Dr. John used a 20-piece string section to back his 19-member band; Ray Brown led the rhythm section.[11][12]
"New York City Blues" and "There Must Be a Better World Somewhere" were cowritten by Dr. John and Doc Pomus.[8] "I Know What I've Got" is a cover of the Louis Jordan song; "Blue Skies" was written by Irving Berlin.[13][14]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [16] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [17] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [18] |
| (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [19] |
| The Tampa Tribune |  [12] |
| Windsor Star | B[20] |
The Guardian called the album an "elegant homage to the torch songs of yesteryear."[21] The Windsor Star deemed it "too polite to count as a Dr. John album, and too New Orleans-bluesy to be a legitimate big-band album."[20] The Globe and Mail considered it "a sweet exercise in pop nostalgia."[22]
The Orlando Sentinel noted that the album "harks back to the lush, big-band sound that served the singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist so well on 1989's In a Sentimental Mood."[18] The New York Times stated that Dr. John "rambles nostalgically down pop-blues trails originally blazed by Ray Charles... The singing is sultry and swinging."[23] The Independent opined that the album is "spoilt by a showbiz orchestra that varnishes over his shaggy greatness."[24]
AllMusic praised Dr. John's "gravel-and-honey voice."[15] (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide dismissed the album as "empty pop."[19]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Know What I've Got" | Louis Jordan, Sid Robin | 5:01 |
| 2. | "Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You" | Andy Razaf, Don Redman | 4:18 |
| 3. | "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" | Duke Ellington, Mack David | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Blue Skies" | Irving Berlin | 4:42 |
| 5. | "So Long" | Irving Melsher, Remus Harris, Russ Morgan | 5:04 |
| 6. | "New York City Blues" | Doc Pomus, Mac Rebennack | 4:00 |
| 7. | "Tell Me You'll Wait for Me" | Charles Brown, Oscar Moore | 4:39 |
| 8. | "There Must Be a Better World Somewhere" | Doc Pomus, Mac Rebennack | 5:21 |
| 9. | "I Still Think About You" | Mac Rebennack | 4:18 |
| 10. | "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" | Al Neiburg, Doc Daugherty, Ellis Reynolds | 4:27 |
Personnel
edit- Dr. John - piano, vocals
- Phil Upchurch - guitar
- John Clayton, Ray Brown - bass
- Jeff Hamilton - drums
- Larry Bunker - percussion, vibraphone
- Lenny Castro - percussion
- Technical
- Al Schmitt - recording, mixing
References
edit- ^ "Dr. John Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (July 1, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides.
- ^ Bourne, Michael (Jul 1995). "Dr. John's temple of big band". DownBeat. Vol. 62, no. 7. p. 16.
- ^ Andrews, Marke (27 July 1995). "The good doctor is in — to music of the '40s, '50s". Vancouver Sun. p. C8.
- ^ Garcia, Chris (September 8, 1995). "Goin' with the Flow". The Press Democrat. p. D1.
- ^ "Dr. John". Billboard.
- ^ Reich, Howard (10 Sep 1995). "What's Ahead for the Ensembles". Arts & Entertainment. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
- ^ a b Verna, Paul (Jul 15, 1995). "Album reviews — Afterglow by Dr. John". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 28. p. 66.
- ^ Blake, Joseph (3 Aug 1995). "New Orleans sound". Entertainment Stories. Times Colonist. p. 1.
- ^ Daley, Dan (Mar 16, 1996). "Grammy winner Al Schmitt engineers creative ways of staying on top". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 11. p. 59.
- ^ Levesque, Roger (9 July 1995). "The Doctor is In with soulful, sensitive, jazzy blues". Edmonton Journal. p. D4.
- ^ a b Booth, Philip (July 7, 1995). "Dr. John, Afterglow". Friday Extra!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
- ^ Daly, Mike (August 3, 1995). "Afterglow". Green Guide. The Age. p. 20.
- ^ Marymont, Mark (October 18, 1995). "Dr. John, Afterglow". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. 1F.
- ^ a b "Dr. John Afterglow". AllMusic.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 112.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 350.
- ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (28 July 1995). "Dr. John". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 9.
- ^ a b (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 250.
- ^ a b Jones, Owen (6 July 1995). "CD reviews". Windsor Star. p. X23.
- ^ Spencer, Neil (25 June 1995). "Pop Releases". The Observer Review Page. The Guardian. p. 7.
- ^ Miller, Mark (22 July 1995). "Recordings Jazz Afterglow Dr. John". The Globe and Mail. p. C9.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (10 Nov 1995). "They're Adults, and Sound It". The New York Times. p. C1.
- ^ Barber, Nicholas (14 Jan 1996). "Rock; Swamp doctor's heap good medicine". The Critics. The Independent. p. 14.