Things Happen That Way is
Dr. John's (
Mac Rebennack) last album, recorded during his final months. Suffering from the severe heart disease that would take his life, he finished it -- with a lot of help from his friends -- shortly before his passing. The set was co-produced with guitarist
Shane Theriot, who claims with credibility that it received
Rebennack's seal of approval upon completion. This is an uncharacteristically intimate
Dr. John offering, full of vulnerability, reverie, humor, and a nostalgic longing for the country music he listened to and loved as a kid, hanging around his dad's record store. It also includes some of his last originals. The core band on most of this comprises
Theriot, bassist
Will Lee, keyboardists
Jon Cleary and
David Torkanowsky, and drummer/percussionist
Carlo Nuccio.
Several of these tunes are country & western standards presented in the timeless NOLA vernacular
Rebennack promulgated across the globe. The opener is a bluesy read of
Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away."
Rebennack delivers the first verse accompanied by
Cleary's piano before the band and backing chorus enter, ratcheting it up to party mode. A sinister, choogling electric guitar and drum shuffle introduce a dark, prophetic cover of
Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man," its drama revealed in the singer's deeply weathered voice. A few tracks later, he delivers a deeply moving cover of
Williams' immortal "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," singing in a raggedly expressive vocal as if comparing the song's sentiment with much of his own history. "Gimme That Old Time Religion" is rollicking, stomping country-gospel given a woolly treatment by the band as
Willie Nelson and
Katie Pruitt assist on vocals to fine effect -- the tonal and textural contrasts between these three voices is striking. There's a hip cover of the
Traveling Wilburys' "End of the Line" with soulful duet and backing vocals from
Aaron Neville and
Pruitt rolling atop sultry horns and a funky B-3. The original "Holy Water" is a National Steel-driven blues; its lyrics recount
Rebennack's '60s-era drug conviction and jail sentence.
Pruitt's support vocal adds emotional heft to his testimony.
Dr. John's "Sleeping Dogs Best Left Alone," with its fingerpopping horns, recalls the spirit of his albums with the
Lower 911. Likewise, "Give Myself a Good Talkin' To" offers funky, swinging piano vamps leading the rhythm section and
Rebennack's trademark wiseacre vocals in poignant self-assessment. The set closes with "Guess Things Happen That Way." Penned by Cowboy Jack Clement for
Johnny Cash, it's presented as a bittersweet, country love song with gospel trappings. As
Rebennack's emotion-wracked voice quavers and cracks across the lyrics, the band enfolds and buoys him.
The only out of place tune on
Things Happen That Way is, weirdly, the remake of "I Walk on Guilded Splinters," with
Dr. John backed by
Lucas Nelson & Promise of the Real. It's well done, but it's impossible to improve on the original's spooky perfection. All told, this a fitting, heartfelt, and bittersweet sign-off from an American treasure, and one fans will return to. ~ Thom Jurek