N'Awlinz: Dis Dat or D'Udda

1	Quatre Parishe 2:14
2	When the Saints Go Marching In / Mavis Staples 4:52
3	Lay My Burden Down / Mavis Staples 4:32
4	Marie Laveau / Cyril Neville 6:49
5	Dear Old Southland / Nicholas Payton 2:41
6	Dis, Dat or d'Udda 4:20
7	Chickee le Pas / Mardi Gras Indians 4:02
8	The Monkey / Dave Bartholomew 3:49
9	Shango Tango 1:27
10	I Ate Up the Apple Tree / Randy Newman 3:34
11	You Ain't Such a Much 3:11
12	Life's a One Way Ticket 4:25
13	Hen Layin' Rooster / B.B. King 3:35
14	Stakalee 4:34
15	Eh las Bas 2:35
16	St. James Infirmary 4:40
17	Time Marches On / B.B. King 4:19
18	I'm Goin' Home / Cyril Neville 2:21

Barnes & Noble

A musician whose career spans from the '50s to the present tends to have quite a few friends, from both high and low places. And if that player is from New Orleans -- the cradle of jazz and nurturer of blues, R&B, and funk -- that list could practically fill the Louisiana Superdome. So it is with vocalist/keyboardist/songwriter Dr. John, who has played most popular musical styles and played them well enough to heal the most depressed soul. Originally dubbed the Night Tripper (after his 1967 debut recording as a psychedelic voodoo doctor), Dr. John brings many of his hometown colleagues together for N’awlinz: Dis, Dat or D’udda, a collection that spans the sounds of big bands, R&B, blues, gospel, voodoo, and novelty tunes. There’s even a short instrumental tango with his touring band and the smooth pop organist Willie Tee. In addition to Crescent City–bred players, luminaries such as B. B. King, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Willie Nelson, and the soul and gospel vocalist Mavis Staples are brought into the heady roux, deepening the flavor. It’s a hefty CD: There are 18 cuts, none of them a loser. Winners include “Stakalee,” which is done in the early New Orleans R&B style and features native drummer Earl Palmer, who is often credited with creating the backbeat of rock ‘n’ roll. And Dr. John’s piano solo is fine enough to slaughter any thought that this CD is star-studded to cover up an aging talent. The usually lowdown and slow blues “St. James Infirmary” is Latinized and features the horn section of Wardell Quezergue, the noted New Orleans producer who has also worked with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. The early New Orleans R&B hitmaker Eddie Bo’s singing is as strong and bluesy as ever. Singer Mavis Staples shines like a neon cross in the sin-filled Latin Quarter on “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Lay My Burden Down. Staples can growl, testify, and shout without losing the sweetness of a Sunday morning Methodist choir. The anthem in the set, “Time Marches On,” would fit well in both a church and a barroom. It features one of New Orleans’ best marching bands, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and B. B. King, Willie Nelson, and Dr. John on vocals. The set opens with the instrumental “Quatre Parishe” and ends with the hymn “I’m Goin Home” (with Cyrille Neville singing like an angel), both lush and lavishly produced and featuring Quezergue’s string section. But no matter who or what moves into the spotlight on this album, nothing outshines Dr. John’s playing or singing or his place as one of American popular music’s dearest treasures. And with N’awlinz: Dis, Dat or D’udda, Dr. John has created the best musical tribute to the Crescent City to date. Roberta Penn

All Music Guide

N'Awlinz: Dis Dat or d'Udda is a very good record, but it could have been a great one. One has to wonder if the idea of having all these high-profile guest vocalists was Dr. John's, Blue Note's, or producer Stewart Levine's, in order to follow the 21st century trendiness of having "celebrity" guests on a session. This is Mac Rebennack's homeboy album, a tribute to his city and its players. He's recorded some in New Orleans, to be sure, but never has he been able to make use of the Crescent City's greatest arranger, Wardell Quezergue, to such an extent. In addition, the great Doctor was able to enlist Earl Palmer, Smokey Johnson, Nicholas Payton, Dave Bartholemew, Eddie Bo, Walter Wolfman Washington, Snooks Eaglin, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Alfred "Uganda" Roberts, Willie Tee, and a huge slew of players to help him out on canonical N.O. repertoire. The sheer number of percussionists on this set is staggering and welcome. On nuggets like "When the Saints Go Marching In," sung funeral style, the Davell Crawford Singers and the Quezergue horns kick it with the rhythm section and front line. "St. James Infirmary" has Bo second-lining the band as he duets with Mac. The Cousin Joe (Pleasant Joseph) tunes like "Life's a One Way Ticket," Bartholomew's "The Monkey," and Mac's own brilliant "Shango Tango" smolder with that strutting, finger-poppin' R&B. So what's the problem? The lame, completely lifeless vocals of Randy Newman, a track with B.B. King and Willie Nelson, and Nelson on his own on three tracks that will remain nameless mar something so beautifully done that it otherwise might have been one of the finest New Orleans records since the early '60s. There are other guest vocalists who bring home the bacon on duets with Dr. John -- Mavis Staples on "Lay My Burden Down," Cyril Neville on the amazing read of Robert Gurley's "Marie Laveau," and Rebbenack's closer, "I'm Goin Home," are stellar. And King even rises to the occasion on his duet with Mac on "Hen Layin' Rooster." Dr. John is in amazing voice here, his piano playing is knife-edge tough and funky, and his performances are so inspired that they are perhaps career-defining. Three out of 18 cuts is minuscule after all, and the rest of this set is so badass that it should be purchased regardless. After all, what is the remote control for? It's a contender to be sure, but it could have been a champion. Thom Jurek

The Independent (U. K.)

N'Awlinz returns to the musical well of his native city, quite brilliantly.