Tribal (Dr. John album)

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Tribal
Tribal (Dr. John album).jpg
Studio album by
Dr. John and the Lower 911
ReleasedAugust 3, 2010
Studio
Genre Blues
Length1:03:23
Label 429
Producer
Dr. John chronology
City That Care Forgot
(2008)		Tribal
(2010)		 Locked Down
(2012)
Dr. John and the Lower 911 chronology
City That Care Forgot
(2008)		Tribal
(2010)

Tribal is the second and final studio album by American musician Dr. John and his band the Lower 911. It was released on August 3, 2010, through 429 Records. The recording sessions took place at Dockside Studio in Maurice, with additional recording at The Music Shed in New Orleans and Quad Recording Studios in New York City. The album was produced by Herman Ernest III, Dr. John, Chris Finney, and James Lemkin. The album is dedicated to the memory of Bobby Charles.

Contents

In 2011, at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, but lost to Buddy Guy's Living Proof .

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 79/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
PopMatters 6/10 [6]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]

Tribal was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on eight reviews. [1]

AllMusic's Thom Jurek called the album "isn't just a logical follow-up to 2008's excellent The City That Care Forgot, it's close to a career-defining summation from one of America's most important musicians". [3] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "at times, the doctor and his new band sound oddly akin to Steely Dan in a mellow mood, with lyrics only a tad less literary than that group's". [4] Randy Lewis of Los Angeles Times wrote: "sometimes the message overwhelms the music, but largely the good doctor tends to the sick without letting the well-heeled off the hook". [5]

Jonathan Kosakow of PopMatters wrote: "the poignant lyrical message conveyed through most of the album, coupled with the ability of the music to keep you uplifted, is perfectly reminiscent of the spirit of New Orleans. Even though times could be better, there is always a reason to go on". [6]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Feel Good Music"3:28
2."Lissen at Our Prayer"4:03
3."Big Gap"4:43
4."Change of Heart"3:41
5."When I'm Right (I'm Wrong)"4:15
6."Jinky Jinx"3:25
7."Manoovas"4:07
8."Tribal"6:52
9."Music Came"4:10
10."Them"3:18
11."Only in Amerika"3:10
12."Whut's wit Dat"4:33
13."Potnah"4:18
14."A Place in the Sun"4:16
15."Sleepin' in My Bed"5:38
Total length:1:03:23

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2010)Peak
position
UK Jazz & Blues Albums (OCC) [8] 19

References

  1. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Tribal - Metacritic". Metacritic . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  2. ↑ May, Chris (July 7, 2010). "Dr. John and The Lower 911: Tribal album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Dr. John, Dr. John and the Lower 911 - Tribal Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Sinclair, Tom (July 28, 2010). "Tribal". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Lewis, Randy (August 3, 2010). "Album review: Dr. John's 'Tribal'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Kosakow, Jonathan (August 25, 2010). "Dr. John and the Lower 911: Tribal, PopMatters". PopMatters . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ Staunton, Terry (July 31, 2010). "Tribal - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
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