| Tribal | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Dr. John and the Lower 911 |
| Cover: | Tribal (Dr. John album).jpg |
| Released: | August 3, 2010 |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Label: | 429 Records |
| Prev Title: | City That Care Forgot |
| Prev Year: | 2008 |
| Next Title: | Locked Down |
| Next Year: | 2012 |
| Chronology: | Dr. John |
Tribal is the second and final studio album by American musician Dr. John and his band the Lower 911. It was released on August 3, 2010, through 429 Records. Recording sessions took place at Dockside Studio in Maurice, with additional recording at The Music Shed in New Orleans and Quad Recording Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Herman Ernest III and Dr. John himself, with additional production from Chris Finney, and James Lemkin serving as associate producer. The album is dedicated to the memory of Bobby Charles.
In 2011, at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, but lost to Buddy Guy's Living Proof.
Tribal was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on eight reviews.
AllMusic's Thom Jurek called the album "isn't just a logical follow-up to 2008's excellent The City That Care Forgot, it's close to a career-defining summation from one of America's most important musicians". Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "at times, the doctor and his new band sound oddly akin to Steely Dan in a mellow mood, with lyrics only a tad less literary than that group's". Randy Lewis of Los Angeles Times wrote: "sometimes the message overwhelms the music, but largely the good doctor tends to the sick without letting the well-heeled off the hook".
In mixed reviews, Jonathan Kosakow of PopMatters wrote: "the poignant lyrical message conveyed through most of the album, coupled with the ability of the music to keep you uplifted, is perfectly reminiscent of the spirit of New Orleans. Even though times could be better, there is always a reason to go on".