Babylon (Dr. John album)
1969 studio album by Dr. John
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Babylon is the second album by New Orleans R&B artist Dr. John. In his autobiography, Under A Hoodoo Moon, Dr. John describes the origins of the album in detail:
"Our second album was cut in late 1968—the year of the Tet offensive, and of the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. It was a heavy time for me: Not only was the Vietnam War raging in all its insanity, but, as a semioutlaw, I was being pursued by various kinds of heat across L.A. In its lyrics and music, this album reflects these chaotic days. At times hard-driving, at other times following a deliberately spacy, disorienting groove, Babylon was the band's attempt to say something about the times—and to do it with a few unusual musical time signatures. The lead song, "Babylon", sets the tone. To a 3/4 and 10/4 groove, it lays out my own sick-ass view of the world then—namely, that I felt our number was up. We were trying to get into something...with visions of the end of the world—as if Hieronymus Bosch had cut an album."
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Head Heritage | Positive [3] |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Rolling Stone | (negative) [4] |
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Track listing
All tracks are written by Dr. John, except where indicated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Babylon" | 5:25 | |
| 2. | "Glowin'" | 5:39 | |
| 3. | "Black Widow Spider" | 5:01 | |
| 4. | "Barefoot Lady" | Dr. John Creaux, Harold Battiste | 3:10 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Twilight Zone" | 8:15 |
| 2. | "The Patriotic Flag-Waiver" | 4:52 |
| 3. | "The Lonesome Guitar Strangler" | 5:34 |
Personnel
- Dr. John – vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion
- Richard "Didimus" Washington – guitar, percussion
- Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone
- Moe Bechamin – tenor saxophone
- Alvin Robinson – guitar
- Steve Mann – guitar
- Al Frazier – bass
- John Boudreaux – drums
- Ronnie Barron – organ
- Jessie Hill – backing vocals, percussion
- Shirley Goodman – backing vocals
- Tami Lynn – backing vocals
- John McAlister – quarter-tone piano, gongs, celesta
- Technical
- Harold Battiste – producer, arranger
- Stanislaw Zagórski – album design