Babylon (Dr. John album)

Babylon is the second album by New Orleans R&B artist Dr. John. In his autobiography, Under A Hoodoo Moon, Dr. John describes the origins of the album in detail:

"'Our second album was cut in late 1968—the year of the Tet offensive, and of the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. It was a heavy time for me: Not only was the Vietnam War raging in all its insanity, but, as a semioutlaw, I was being pursued by various kinds of heat across L.A.  In its lyrics and music, this album reflects these chaotic days.  At times hard-driving, at other times following a deliberately spacy, disorienting groove, Babylon was the band's attempt to say something about the times—and to do it with a few unusual musical time signatures.  The lead song, 'Babylon', sets the tone.  To a 3/4 and 10/4 groove, it lays out my own sick-ass view of the world then—namely, that I felt our number was up.  We were trying to get into something...with visions of the end of the world—as if Hieronymus Bosch had cut an album.'"

Personnel

 * Dr. John – vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion
 * Richard "Didimus" Washington – guitar, percussion
 * Plas Johnson – saxophone
 * Moe Bechamin – tenor saxophone
 * Alvin Robinson – guitar
 * Steve Mann – guitar
 * Al Frazier – bass
 * John Boudreaux – drums
 * Ronnie Barron – organ
 * Jessie Hill – backing vocals, percussion
 * Shirley Goodman – backing vocals
 * Tami Lynn – backing vocals
 * John McAlister – quarter-tone piano, gongs, celesta
 * Technical
 * Harold Battiste – producer, arranger
 * Stanislaw Zagorski - album design