I've been listening to this new 2006 album of Dr. John singing the Johnny Mercer songbook off and on for a couple of months, and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. I suppose that might be considered praise right there. Still, I have to say I'm a little disappointed.

That might just be that I'm expecting too much. I'm a pretty big fan of Dr. John, and obviously Johnny Mercer was one of the most prestigious American composers ever. So maybe I was expecting magic, and merely got a good album. It's perfectly well done, but some of this seems more like a rote exercise than any profound expression of the soul of Mac Rebennack, especially the first song.

He starts off with "Blues in the Night." On the one hand, it's a perfectly good swingin' New Orleans arrangement, decked out properly with horns and such. He's in great voice, and locks in a good rockin' groove. Yet it just loses the basic emotional point. When Sinatra or even the co-author Harold Arlen sang it, the song communicates a great dark night of the heartbroken soul. Dr John makes a good jam. A young person not previously familiar with the song might think this is the berries, but I'm missing the real soul of the song.

Likewise, "Moon River" just ain't cuttin' it. I never particularly cared for this sloppy sentimental tune Mercer wrote with Henry Mancini for Breakfast at Tiffany's. I feel a little sheepish saying it, but I'd rather hear Andy Williams sing this than Dr. John. He not only loses connection with the feeling, but he's manhandling the melody for his swing arrangement enough to do damage.

On the other hand, Dr. John's professional swing works better with some of the songs that were more swingin' pop songs than inner statements to start with. "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" — the second track here — works much better. It was just meant for New Orleans swing apparently, and even the bit of goosing of the vocal melody adds to the uniqueness of the performance rather than detracting from the actual song.

"Personality" plays out similarly. I was initially somewhat ambivalent, on grounds that I wasn't entirely sold on the tweaking of the melody as I remembered it. But it does work, and he benefits from the depth of his technical skills as an arranger. Particularly, the understated trumpet commentary really adds another level. This might be the best song to hunt down if you want to sample the album.