The latter of which this album greatly resembles. There's a similar all-star cast of New Orleanians, including the Dirty Dozen, Monk Boudreaux, John Boudreaux, Wardell Quezergue, Snooks Eaglin, Davell Crawford, Willie Tee, Cyril Neville, Dave Bartholomew, Nicholas Payton, Smokey Johnson and Eddie Bo, all of whom acquit themselves well. (B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Mavis Staples and Randy Newman also drop in, with more mixed results.) There's a spooky quasi-classical opening number in "Quatre Parishe," much like Goin' Back's "Litanie des Saintes," and some hoary old N'Awlins lore by the likes of Kid Ory and Cousin Joe, whose "You Ain't Such a Much" contains the memorable lines "You wouldn't give a blind pig an acorn / you wouldn't give a crippled crab a crutch / but babe, you and your food stamps, you ain't so such a much." And there are also overfamiliar standards almost unrecognizably reborn: The Mavis Staples collabo of "When the Saints Go Marching In" becomes the bluest of dirges, while "St. James Infirmary" is transformed into a conga-replete ass-shaker featuring an excellent guest verse from Eddie Bo.

And so while we wait for Dr. John's next installment of updated New Orleans tradition, what can we expect next?

If his past is any indication, perhaps something along the lines of Anutha Zone, which found him keeping company with strange bedfellows like Portishead, Paul Weller, Primal Scream and Jason Pierce. Or maybe it will be something closer to home. Or maybe it will be something closer to home and with strange bedfellows -- he could team up with Juvenile, Silkk the Shocker and Lil' Romeo on Dr. John and Master P Brang Da Crunk Funk or something like that. But rest assured it won't be any Jambalaya in Paradise nonsense. -- John Nova Lomax

Friday, September 24, at H-Town's Arena Theatre, 7326 Southwest Freeway, 713-988-1020.