This week in the Shack

Welcome back to the Shack. Mind the salt across the front stoop, and don't step on the veves chalked on the floor. It's Halloween, and I've got a mix of murders, minor keys, magic, and the devil for you, including more New Orleans magic from Dr. John, Robert Johnson's eerie blues, and a ghost story from Tom Waits.

Have a happy Halloween.

-The Reverend.

1. Dr. John - John Gris (5:20)
2. Robert Johnson - Hellhound On My Trail (2:40)
3. Skip James - Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues (3:27)
4. Chris Thomas King - Red Mud (4:13)
5. Lyle Lovett & His Large Band - I Will Rise Up/Ain't No More Cane (7:16)
6. Chris Randall - Automatic Jack (3:44)
7. Nina Simone - I Put a Spell on You (2:36)
8. Tom Waits - Big Joe and Phantom 309 (6:29)
9. Cephas & Wiggins - Stack and the Devil (3:34)
10. Son House - Death Letter (4:21)
11. Guy Forsyth - Teeth (4:43)
12. The Atomic Fireballs - Lover Lies (3:19)
13. Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band - St. James Infirmary (3:19)
14. White Ghost Shivers - White Ghost Shivers Ball (3:14)
15. Lowell Fulson - The Blues Is Killing Me (2:32)
16. Nina Simone - Go to Hell (2:50)
17. John Hammond, Jr. - Murder in the Red Barn (5:55)
18. Papa Mali - Walk on Guilded Splinters (9:49)
19. Dr. John - Ki Ya Gris Gris (4:03)
20. Chris Randall - Baron Samedi (4:00)
21. Koko Taylor - Born Under a Bad Sign (4:55)
22. Chris Thomas King - Wicked (4:08)
23. James Cotton/Johnny Winter/Muddy Waters - Dealin' with the Devil [#] (7:49)
24. Long John Baldry - Insane Asylum (5:31)
25. Popa Chubby - Slide Devil Man Slide (4:22)
26. Tom Waits - Whistlin' Past the Graveyard (3:17)
27. Guy Forsyth - Evil Man (8:30)
28. Robert Johnson - Cross Road Blues (2:34)
29. Lightnin' Hopkins - Shotgun Blues (2:41)
30. White Ghost Shivers - The Ghost Song (4:46)
31. Popa Chubby - Preacher Man (3:55)
32. Dr. John - Party Hellfire (4:40)
33. Guy Forsyth - Death Gonna Hunt You Down (4:36)
34. Chris Randall - The Devil His Due (4:00)
35. John Hammond, Jr. - 16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six (4:37)
36. Koko Taylor - Voodoo Woman (3:47)
37. Dr. John; Lower 911 - Dream Warrior (4:57)
38. Tom Waits - Wrong Side of the Road (5:13)
39. Malford Milligan - Death Don't Have No Mercy (4:08)
40. Blind Willie Johnson - If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down (3:09)
41. Robert Johnson - Me and the Devil Blues (2:33)
42. Otis Spann - Must Have Been The Devil (2:45)
43. Rory Block - Devil Got My Man (2:24)
44. Chris Thomas King - Superstitous Blues (3:56)
45. Johnny Winter - Murdering Blues (5:01)
46. Buddy Guy - She Got the Devil in Her (5:10)

(Halloween 1)

This week in the Shack

It's been a little while since I put a brand-new show up on the Shack. Things have been happening, both in my real life and my day job, that made me too tired to do more than bring back shows from early last summer, and for that, I apologize.

This set is a love letter to two cities - one is the city in which I live, and the other is a place to which I've never been as an adult, but which has provided me with much of the music, fiction, history, and food that nurture my soul. If you're a fan of New Orleans R&B, soul, and funk, you already know who a lot of the musicians in the set are - Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, The Meters (and several other bands with members of the Neville clan), Jon Cleary, Henry Butler. And some of the old chestnuts are here as well - "Junco Partner", "Iko Iko", "Cissy Strut". But there are, I hope, some surprises - covers of Marvin Gaye and Creedence Clearwater Revival, the only song (if I recall correctly) that Lil' Queenie and the Percolaters ever recorded, some older stuff from the prolific Dr. John - and a handful of Austin funk and soul artists: Mingo Fishtrap, Papa Mali, Brownout, and The Ugly Americans (featuring Bob Schneider from before his singer-songwriter days).

As always, I hope you dig it.

1. Lil' Queenie & The Percolators - My Darlin' New Orleans (4:01)
2. Henry Butler - Tee-Nah-Nah (3:48)
3. Allen Toussaint - Soul Sister (2:49)
4. Jon Cleary - Groove Me (3:26)
5. Dr. John - Television (4:39)
6. Mingo Fishtrap - Dirty Gritty (3:32)
7. The Ugly Americans - Boom Boom Baby (3:59)
8. Papa Mali - Man of Many Words (4:10)
9. The Meters - Just Kissed My Baby (4:43)
10. Bettye LaVette/The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - What's Happening Brother? (2:52)
11. Anders Osborne With Monk Boudreaux - Junko Partner (4:23)
12. Cyril Neville - Soul Train (3:43)
13. Brownout - You Already Are (5:02)
14. Galactic - Go Go (3:04)
15. The Neville Brothers - Family Groove (4:49)
16. Jon Cleary - More Hipper (5:27)
17. Allen Toussaint - Night People (4:18)
18. Papa Mali - Fire Water (6:52)
19. Anders Osborne With Monk Boudreaux - Dive In The Gumbo (3:56)
20. The Meters - Cissy Strut (3:05)
21. Ivan Neville/The New Orleans Social Club - Fortunate Son (5:13)
22. The Neville Brothers - Brother John/Iko Iko (5:36)
23. The Ugly Americans - Chilly at the Crib (5:41)
24. Mingo Fishtrap - People Person (4:56)
25. Jon Cleary - When U Get Back (Live) (7:32)
26. Henry Butler - Death Has No Mercy (6:22)
27. Dr. John - I Pulled the Cover Off You Two Lovers (2:55)
28. Brownout - Barretta (3:23)
29. The Neville Brothers - Fire on the Bayou (5:18)
30. Leigh Harris - Dog Days (5:49)
31. Allen Toussaint - On Your Way Down (3:59)
32. Ivan Neville/The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - God Is Love (4:30)
33. ReBirth Brass Band - Let's Get It On (3:54)
34. Anders Osborne With Monk Boudreaux - Smoke It RIght (5:07)
35. The Wild Magnolias - Party (4:43)
36. Brownout - African Battle (3:04)
37. Mingo Fishtrap - Bitta Honey (5:24)
38. Lee Dorsey - Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On) (3:10)
39. Papa Mali - Keep Happy (4:41)
40. The Meters - Hey Pocky A-Way (4:04)
41. Dr. John; Eric Clapton; Lower 911 - Stripped Away (3:34)

(Austin & NOLA 1)