I am no monkey, but I will speak my mind about the Dr. John cut anyway :-)
In typical Dr. John fashion, amazing groove. And what a voice! Hard to believe, but as he gets older his voice drips more and more funk; it's almost scary. The band is smoking. Simple, repetitive playing, but grooving like there's no tomorrow in order to feature Dr. John's "from the gut" singing and Nicholas Payton's trumpet in great "call and response" interplay. I love the use of handclaps as percussion; somehow seems appropriate for a song about monkeys speaking to each other.
What I find most interesting about the song is how a fun and infectious groove can be married to lyrics with a strong social-conscious message. And what a message. Great stuff!
In typical Dr. John fashion, amazing groove. And what a voice! Hard to believe, but as he gets older his voice drips more and more funk; it's almost scary. The band is smoking. Simple, repetitive playing, but grooving like there's no tomorrow in order to feature Dr. John's "from the gut" singing and Nicholas Payton's trumpet in great "call and response" interplay. I love the use of handclaps as percussion; somehow seems appropriate for a song about monkeys speaking to each other.
What I find most interesting about the song is how a fun and infectious groove can be married to lyrics with a strong social-conscious message. And what a message. Great stuff!