The Doctor is in!

Today, November 20, would have been Dr. John's 84th birthday.  While The Night Tripper, a.k.a. Mac Rebennack, himself passed away in 2019 at the age of 77, his musical legacy lives on - and Omnivore Recordings is celebrating in high style.  Tomorrow, the label will premiere Live at the Village Gate, a previously unreleased concert, in 2CD and digital formats.

Live at The Village Gate captures the singer-songwriter-pianist in his element at one of his favorite venues, New York City's Village Gate, on March 5, 1988. Impresario Art D'Lugoff's late, lamented nightclub famously hosted the likes of Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix.  When Dr. John performed there, he brought the spirit of the Crescent City with him.  The album preserves the electrifying and joyous sound that filled the intimate room thanks to Dr. John and a group of ace musicians including Ronnie Cuber on baritone saxophone, Lou Marini on tenor saxophone, and Lew Soloff on trumpet, among others.

The seven-piece, New York-based band raised the roof of the Gate with a career-spanning set of hits and rarities alike  The Good Doctor reached back to his debut album,1968's Gris-Gris, for a command performance of "Mama Roux" and tapped 1972's Dr. John's Gumbo (a tribute to New Orleans classics) for rousing renditions of Ahmet Ertegun's "Mess Around" and Earl Johnson's "Let the Good Times Roll" (the latter with a dash of Jessie Hill's "Ooh Poo Pah Doo").  In the Right Place's "Qualified" and "I Been Hoodooed" were highlights for the Manhattan crowd, too, along with selections from his subsequent A&M Records period: "Rain" from 1978's City Lights and "Renegade" (co-written with Gerry Goffin) and "Keep That Music Simple" from 1979's Tango Palace.  Some of the tunes ("Life Is a 1-Way Ticket," "1 Rat Woman") had yet to appear on a Dr. John album, while the jubilant finale "Mardi Gras Day" had featured on a 1981 collaborative LP with Chris Barber, Take Me Back to New Orleans.

Omnivore's release has been beautifully restored and mastered by Michael Graves and includes new liner notes by The Second Disc's own Joe Marchese.  Live at the Village Gate hits stores tomorrow, and you'll find the track listing below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Dr. John, Live at The Village Gate (Omnivore OVCD-588, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore)

CD 1

1. Renegade
2. Qualified
3. Life Is A One Way Ticket
4. Keep That Music Simple
5. One Dirty Woman
6. I've Been Hoodood
7. Rain

CD 2

1. Let The Good Times Roll/Ooh Poo Pah Doo
2. Mess Around
3. Georgia On My Mind
4. Mama Roux
5. Mardi Gras Day​