The Brightest Smile in Town
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| The Brightest Smile in Town | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Label | Clean Cuts[1] | |||
| Producer | Ed Levine, Jack Heyrman | |||
| Dr. John chronology | ||||
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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.[citation needed]
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]
