Dr. John "Anutha Zone" 1998

Deep, dark, spooky and trippy, a walk through the graveyards and bayous where Louisiana magic is real.For those of us who long for the days when Dr. John smeared himself with face paint, wore impossibly large headdresses, and sang about gris-gris, gumbo ya-ya, and croker courtbullion, Anutha Zone is indeed a heartening development. For too long Dr. John has paid the bills as a genteel purveyor of tasteful blues and Tin Pan Alley standards, and while it's helped him sustain a career and win Grammies, it's probably used up about an eighth of his true potential as an artist and musician. In the late '60s Dr. John was a visionary musical alchemist, working with psychedelic imagery and funky rhythms to nab the rock crowd, then plying them with spooky swampland mythology and raw Southern R&B. On Anutha Zone, Dr. John digs deep into that murky musical well once again, with stunning results. "John Gris," "Party Hellfire," and "Soulful Warrior" brilliantly fuse slow-burn grooves, sly musicianship, and Dr. John's elegantly gruff vocals, conjuring images of dark revelry down French Quarter back alleyways. This is the comeback of 1998, hands down. - Marc WeingartenPersonnel includes:

Dr. John (vocals, piano); Paul Weller (vocals, guitar); Jools Holland (Hammond B-3 organ); Martin Duffy (keyboards); Spiritualized, Clive Deamer, Gaz Coombes, Mickey Quinn.

trax:

1. Zonata 2. Ki Ya Gris Gris 3. Voices In My Head 4. Hello God 5. John Gris 6. Party Hellfire 7. I Don't Wanna Know About Evil 8. Anutha Zone 9. I Like Ki Yoka 10. The Olive Tree 11. Soulful Warrior 12. The Stroke 13. Sweet Home New Orleans