City Lights (Dr. John album)

City Lights
Studio album by Dr. John
Released	1978
Recorded	1978
Studio	The Hit Factory (New York) mixed at Capitol (Hollywood)
Length	38:29
Label	Horizon (SP-732)
Producer	Tommy LiPuma, Hugh McCracken
Dr. John chronology
Hollywood Be Thy Name (1975) City Lights (1978) Tango Palace (1979)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]

City Lights is an album by Dr. John, his first for Horizon Records.^[4] It was released in 1978.^[3][5]

Neon Park provided the album artwork.^{[citation needed]}

Production

Doc Pomus collaborated with Dr. John on a few of the album's songs.^[6]

Critical reception

The Globe and Mail wrote that Dr. John's "honky-tonk piano sounds especially fine and strange against the lushness of strings - the title song virtually drips with sweet decadence."^[7]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that the album "established Dr. John as a skilled songwriter."^[8] Phoenix New Times deemed "He's a Hero" " the ultimate hipster-in-the-night song."^[9] Writing after the musician's death, Billboard thought that the title track, "combining stride piano, strings and an evocative lyric, displays a subtlety Dr. John wouldn’t fully commit to again."^[10]

Track listing

All songs written by Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) except where noted

Side One

1. "Dance the Night Away with You" (Rebennack, Doc Pomus) – 4:06
2. "Street Side" – 6:01
3. "Wild Honey" (Rebennack, Bobby Charles) – 4:10
4. "Rain" – 4:48

Side Two

1. "Snake Eyes" – 6:44
2. "Fire of Love" (Rebennack, Alvin Robinson) – 3:58
3. "Sonata (instrumental)/He's a Hero" (Pomus, Rebennack) – 5:20
4. "City Lights" (Pomus, Rebennack) – 3:22

Personnel

Musicians

• Dr. John – piano, vocals, Fender Rhodes and clavinet on "Street Side", Fender Rhodes on "Rain"
• Hugh McCracken – acoustic & electric guitars, Moog synthesizer on "Fire of Love", harmonica on "Street Side"
• John Tropea – acoustic & electric guitars
• Will Lee – bass guitar
• Steve Gadd – drums
• Richard Tee – Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, clavinet, synthesizer, piano
• Arthur Jenkins – percussion
• Charlie Miller – cornet
• Neil Larsen – Hammond organ on "Street Side" and "Fire of Love"
• George Young – tenor saxophone
• David Sanborn – alto saxophone
• Ronnie Cuber – baritone saxophone
• Barry Rogers – trombone
• Ronnie Barron – background vocals
• George & Nancy Jones – background vocals
• Tamiya Lynn – background vocals
• Alvin Robinson – background vocals
• Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone on "Fire of Love" and "He's a Hero"
• Alvin Batiste – clarinet solo on "He's a Hero"
• Buzz Feiten – guitar solo on "Snake Eyes"

Technical Tommy LiPuma – producer Hugh McCracken – producer Hank Cicalo – engineer Kevin Herron – engineer Al Schmitt – engineer, mixing Don Henderson – assistant engineer David Prentice – assistant engineer Erick Labson – mastering Mike Reese – mastering Christine Martin – production assistant Cameron Mizell – production coordination Hollis King – art direction Isabelle Wong – design Neon Park – cover painting

Arrangements Dr. John – horn arrangements, rhythm arrangements Hugh McCracken – horn arrangements, rhythm arrangements Claus Ogerman – string arrangements, conductor

References

1. Jurek, Thom. "City Lights - Dr. John" at AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
2. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 112.
3. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 204–205.
4. "Dr. John | Biography & History". AllMusic.
5. Buckley, Peter (April 5, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.
6. Friedman, Josh Alan (April 5, 2008). Tell the Truth Until They Bleed: Coming Clean in the Dirty World of Blues and Rock 'n' Roll. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879309329 – via Google Books.
7. Gilday, Katherine (7 Feb 1979). "INSIDE THE SLEEVE City Lights". The Globe and Mail: F9.
8. "Dr. John". EW.com.
9. Friedman, Josh Alan (April 6, 1995). "HIGH PRIEST OF EVERYTHINGDOC POMUS CRAFTED ENOUGH MAGIC MOMENTS TO FILL A MILLION JUKEBOXES". Phoenix New Times.
10. "R.I.P. Dr. John: 10 Essential Cuts from the Soul, Funk and Boogie Woogie Great". Billboard.