The Brightest Smile in Town
| The Brightest Smile in Town | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Label | Clean Cuts[1] | |||
| Producers | Ed Levine, Jack Heyrman | |||
| Dr. John chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Brightest Smile in Town is an album by the American musician Dr. John, released in 1983.[2][3] It was his second solo piano album.[4][5] It was reissued in 2006, along with Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack, Vol. 1 plus bonus tracks.[6] In 2024, Sundazed complemented its reissues of Dr. John's early 1980s solo piano recordings by releasing Frankie & Johnny, an album of solo piano recordings from August 1981 and November 1982.
Production
The album was coproduced by Ed Levine.[7] Half of its songs are instrumentals.[8] "Waiting for a Train" is a cover of the Jimmie Rodgers song.[9] "Touro Infirmary", about a dead friend, was included on the album's reissue.[10]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[11] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [1] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [13] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
The Philadelphia Inquirer deemed the album "an uneven but charming record that peaks with his rowdy performances of 'Marie La Veau' and ... 'Average Kind of Guy'."[13] The Globe and Mail praised the "unassuming, easy-rolling vein of New Orleans' piano playing."[15] The Philadelphia Daily News called it "a joyous romp through various aspects of traditional and modern music from the Crescent City."[16]
Robert Christgau noted that "too often on his second unaccompanied mostly-instrumental album he's as pleasant and boring as any other session man doing his thing."[11] Goldmine determined that the album is "filled with glissandos, arpeggios and quiet, almost eerie, passages."[17]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saddled the Cow" | Rosco Gordon | 2:49 |
| 2. | "Boxcar Boogie" | Mac Rebennack | 5:16 |
| 3. | "The Brightest Smile in Town" | Ray Charles, Robert B. Sherman, Barry De Vorzon | 3:12 |
| 4. | "Waiting for a Train" | Jimmie Rodgers | 3:21 |
| 5. | "Monkey Puzzle" | James N. Black | 4:41 |
| 6. | "Your Average Kind of Guy" | Rebennack, Doc Pomus | 3:32 |
| 7. | "Pretty Libby" | Rebennack | 3:13 |
| 8. | "Marie La Veau" | R. L. Gurley | 3:56 |
| 9. | "Come Rain or Come Shine" | Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer | 4:43 |
| 10. | "Suite Home New Orleans" | Rebennack | 3:51 |
References
- 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 350.
- ↑ Bambarger, Bradley (May 21, 2006). "Dr. John takes it easy". Spotlight. The Star-Ledger. p. 12.
- ↑ Sweeting, Adam (June 7, 2019). "Dr John Obituary". Music. The Guardian. p. 8.
- ↑ Milkowski, Bill (June 6, 2019). "Dr. John Dies at 77". DownBeat. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ↑ McDermott, Tom (December 21, 2002). "Solo Practice – Twenty years ago, Dr. John single-handedly recorded one of the best albums of his career". Food & Drink. Gambit.
- ↑ Shuster, Fred (March 5, 2006). "Recordings". Zest. Houston Chronicle. Los Angeles Daily News. p. 4.
- ↑ Levine, Ed (2019). Serious Eater: A Food Lover's Perilous Quest for Pizza and Redemption. Penguin. p. 37.
- 1 2 "The Brightest Smile in Town Review by William Ruhlmann". AllMusic. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ↑ "Building a Library". Stereophile. April 1998. p. 249.
- ↑ Rebennack, Mac (1995). Under a Hoodoo Moon: The Life of the Night Tripper. Macmillan. pp. 242–243.
- 1 2 "Dr. John". Robert Christgau. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 112.
- 1 2 Tucker, Ken (January 15, 1984). "Dr. John, The Brightest Smile in Town". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. I5.
- ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 204–205.
- ↑ Lacey, Liam (January 26, 1984). "The Brightest Smile in Town Dr. John". The Globe and Mail. p. E3.
- ↑ Marsh, Dave (March 24, 1984). "Dr. John: The Brightest Smile in Town". Features. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 18.
- ↑ "Dr. John". Goldmine. Vol. 37, no. 5. Spring 2011. pp. 43–47.