Dr. John and Dan Auerbach collaborate on a new album
Published: Saturday, November 26, 2011, 11:22 AM Updated: Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 6:57 PM
By Wesley Hodges

According to Relix magazine, recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dr. John is currently in Nashville, Tenn. at work with Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach on a new LP.

The report details how the cross-generational collaboration came to life: "Dr. John first heard The Black Keys’ music earlier this year thanks to his granddaughter and met up with Auerbach the next time the guitarist was in New Orleans." The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival powers-that-be heard about the recent creative connection between Rebennack and Auerbach, and in light of the festival's NOLA-centric 10th anniversary festivities, decided to booked Auerbach and Dr. John to help resurrect the famed SuperJam on the festival's final evening.

I was lucky enough to be in attendance for what appeared to be a once-in-a-lifetime on-stage collaboration at the time, but in light of this recent news, perhaps those who weren't able to make it to Manchester this summer will have a chance to see these two perform together. The setting and musical set itself were both phenomenal (with a view of the Centeroo arch that paid tribute to Mac’s signature hat-and-feather look), and it was a beautiful sight to see a couple members of the festival's headlining bands - Dan Auerbach (Black Keys) and Patrick Hallahan (My Morning Jacket) - joining the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer at sunset for a proper New Orleans SuperJam.

Dr. John and Auberbach began work on a new studio album in September and word is that the two are continuing the sessions during the Thanksgiving holiday. Produced by Auerbach, who split mixing duties with engineer Collin Dupuis, the record will come out under Dr. John’s name sometime in 2012.

Although there is little left for Dr. John to accomplish as a legendary musician, such a collaboration will likely have a similar effect of fellow Nashvillian Jack White's producing collaborations with Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson - opening up Dr. John's music to hordes of uninitiated younger fans and hopefully inciting some to dig deep in the vinyl bins to uncover a classic or two like Desitively Bonnaroo or Gris Gris.

The album will feature contributions from current Black Keys touring members Leon Michels (keyboards) and Nick Movshon (bass) (who joined Auerbach and Carney on the Brothers tour to round out a fuller sound), as well as multi-instrumentalist Brian Olive and drummer Max Weissenfeldt. It will be interesting to see what kind of magic these sessions produce.

Friday, January 13, 2012
Dr. John to Release “Locked Down” on Nonesuch Records April 3, Produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach

Storied musician and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John—Mac Rebennack—will release Locked Down, a startling album that marks a significant departure from his recent efforts, on April 3, 2012. The new album, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, will be Dr. John's first for Nonesuch Records.

It’s an entirely new approach for the iconic Dr. John, featuring as it does his collaboration with Auerbach and a band of young musicians Auerbach hand-picked to make Locked Down at his studio Easy Eye Sound in Nashville. "It was way cool cutting this record with Dan and the crew he put together for it," says Rebennack. "It's reel HIP."

For his part, Auerbach—who currently is preparing for a worldwide tour in support of The Black Keys' new album El Camino—says about the collaboration: "Mac inspired me every single day we were in the studio together: musically, spiritually, cosmically ... something special seemed to be happening and everyone involved could sense it. For my money, Mac's one of the greatest who ever was and who ever will be ... I'm so honored to have had this opportunity to work with him."

Auerbach, a long-time fan of the influential musician, dubbed “the Night Tripper” in the late 60s, visited Dr. John late in 2010 in his hometown New Orleans, announcing his ambition to produce "the best record you've made in a long time." Rebennack replied that he had done his research—his children had told him good things about The Black Keys—and the conversation led to an agreement to collaborate on the 2011 Bonnaroo Jam being curated by Auerbach.

That performance—called by New York Times critic Ben Ratliff in his best-of-the-year list “deep and oozy, close-to-the-vest, low-frequency funk”—confirmed that something unusual was taking place and led to September recording sessions in Nashville. Dr. John returned to Nashville at Thanksgiving to complete the vocals and Locked Down was mixed by Auerbach and completed in early 2012. Stay tuned for album pre-order details to come shortly.

This looks very cool.

Locked Down, the forthcoming album from storied musician and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John—Mac Rebennack—due out April 3, is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. The new album was produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and will be Dr. John's first for Nonesuch Records. The vinyl album, which also includes the complete album on CD, is due out on Record Store Day, April 21. Nonesuch Store pre-orders for both CDs and LPs include an exclusive print of Dr. John and Auerbach plus MP3s of the complete album available release day. To reserve a copy, click here.

Locked Down is an entirely new approach for the iconic Dr. John, featuring as it does his collaboration with Auerbach and a band of young musicians Auerbach hand-picked to make the album at his studio Easy Eye Sound in Nashville. "It was way cool cutting this record with Dan and the crew he put together for it," says Rebennack. "It's reel HIP."

For his part, Auerbach says about the collaboration: "Mac inspired me every single day we were in the studio together: musically, spiritually, cosmically ... something special seemed to be happening and everyone involved could sense it. For my money, Mac's one of the greatest who ever was and who ever will be ... I'm so honored to have had this opportunity to work with him."

Dr. John will lead a three-weekend residency titled Dr. John: Insides Out at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in Brooklyn, New York, starting March 29. The centerpiece of the residency is a three-night run of concerts in which Auerbach will join Dr. John and a handpicked band to premiere new music from the album at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, April 5–7. Dr. John: Insides Out begins the previous weekend, March 29–31, with a tribute to Louis Armstrong, and concludes April 12–15 with Funky But It’s Nu Awlins, a funk-infused night of New Orleans music, featuring key players from the Crescent City.

Tracklisting from Nonesuch:

1 Locked Down 4:59
2 Revolution 3:26
3 Big Shot 3:49
4 Ice Age 4:24
5 Getaway 4:35
6 Kingdom of Izzness 3:36
7 You Lie 4:45
8 Eleggua 2:51
9 My Children, My Angels 5:09
10 God's So Good 4:58

Cover artwork:

Credits

MUSICIANS
Dr. John, keyboards, lead vocals
Dan Auerbach, guitar, percussion, background vocals
Max Weissenfeldt, drums, percussion, background vocals
Leon Michels, keyboards, percussion, woodwinds, background vocals
Nick Movshon, electric and upright bass, percussion, background vocals
Brian Olive, guitar, percussion, woodwinds, background vocals
The McCrary Sisters (Regina, Ann & Alfreda), background vocals

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Dan Auerbach
Recorded at Easy Eye Sound, Nashville, TN
Engineered by Collin Dupuis
Mixed by Dan Auerbach and Collin Dupuis
Studio assistance by Danny Tomczak
Mastered by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering

All songs written by Dr. John, Daniel Auerbach, Maximilian Weissenfeldt, Leon Michels, Nick Movshon and Brian Olive

Art Direction and Photo Coloring by Michael Carney
Dr. John Photographs by Joshua Black Wilkins
Studio Photographs by Alysse Gafkjen
Album Notes by Gabe Soria