DOWN THE ROAD: Interpretations of Junco Partner
A Compilation
A Skiddly Bop Production
Disc One
1. Dr. John, Tipitina's, New Orleans, April 28, 2007
2. Chris Spedding, AB Club, Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 5, 2001
3. Funky Meters, Fox Theatre, Denver, March 10, 1995
4. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, St. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY, April 6, 2002
5. Papa Mali, Michael Antone's Crawfish Festival, Augusta, NJ 6/3/07
6. David Bromberg Band, Detroit Theatre, Port Chester, NY, March 8, 1980
7. Radiators, Riverview Supper Club, Minneapolis, April 19, 1992
8. Widespread Panic, American Theatre, St. Louis, April 15, 1997
9. Papa Grows Funk, The Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans, March 1, 2009
Disc Two
1. James Booker, Dream Palace, New Orleans, 1977
2. Zero, Wetlands Preserve, New York, May 30, 1998
3. BIIG (Batiste, Ian, Ivan, George), Balcony Music Club, New Orleans, Aug. 2, 2008
4. Jojo's Mardi Gras Band, Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Denver, Feb. 28, 2009
5. Anders Osborne, Bradfordville Blues Club, Tallahassee, FL 1/9/09
6. Porter, McGraw, Vidacovich, Krown & Wozniak, Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, Feb. 26, 2009
7. The Bridge, Whiskey 1803, Annapolis, MD, Dec. 1, 2007
8. Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Rick's Cafe Americain, Starkville, MS April 1, 2009
Disc Three
1. Dr. John w/The Meters, St. Bernard Civic Center, Chalmette, LA, March 5, 1975
2. Outformation, Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh, NC, Sept. 27, 2008
3. George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners, Muddy Waters, New Orleans, March 20, 1993
4. Leftover Salmon, Dobson Arena, Vail, CO, Dec. 12, 2008
5. Derek Trucks Band, Tipitina's, New Orleans, Oct. 16, 1999
6. Kimock, Porter, Seals & Kimock, Mexicali Blues, Teaneck, NJ, May 17, 2008
7. Bennett Harris Blues Band, Sparky's Texas BBQ, Farmingdale, NY, June 28, 2008
8. Jerry Garcia Band w/James Booker, Sophie's, Palo Alto, CA, Jan. 10, 1976
This is a result of my obsessive-compulsive nature. Over the summer, I listened to Dr. John's Gumbo for the first time in quite a while and fell in love with this song again, as well as the rest of the album, as I did when I first heard it when I was a teenager. What I find most fascinating about this song is despite it's lyrics of self-destruction, addiction and prison, it's melody could pass for a children's song.
I bought the album originally after reading a review from the original Rolling Stone Book of Record Reviews in the early 70's (see link below). It was my introduction to New Orleans music, to Professor Longhair, to Huey "Piano" Smith, et al. And while it wasn't the music of my youth, being a born-and-bred New Yorker, I have come to adopt it as my own. So after hearing Junco Partner again, it made me think of a version I'd heard a couple of years ago by the David Bromberg Band and I wondered who else might have covered it. So after a month's worth of searches of Dimeadozen and a couple of other trackers, I found quite a few different versions.
This collection runs the gamut from Anders Osborne's back porch version to David Bromberg's rather manic treatment. There are familiar New Orlean's names like James Booker, George Porter Jr. (with varied and numerous collaborators) and Papa Grows Funk and some non-New Orleans folks like Derek Trucks, Widespread Panic and Joe Strummer. Sadly, I couldn't come up with a version by Professor Longhair. While I don't imagine most people will listen to three straight hours of the same song, I do imagine someone listening to one of the discs and going back to the others at another time. Each disc has been constructed to include a balance of native New Orleanians and non-natives.