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.

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.