Saturday, September 17, 2011

A Record a Week: Dr. John - The Night Tripper/Gris-Gris



SIDE 1.
GRIS-GRIS GUMBO YA YA
DANSE KALINDA BA DOOM
MAMA ROUX
DANSE FAMBEAUX

SIDE 2.
CROKER COURTBULLION
JUMP STURDY
I WALK ON GUILDED SPLINTERS

As mentioned last week, this album is the voodoo/funk beginning of Dr. John (aka Mac Rebennack)'s career. The songs on this album invoke that slow deep south style of dance and images of masked voodooists dancing around a fire.

Dr. John's career was lifted instantly by this album and with the recent funk revival, this record has seen another wave of success. Although his live show contains only a few of these tracks by now, the album is still full of classics. The opening Gris-Gris is slow-cooked, much like the cuisine in Louisiana, where Rebennack calls home. The album gets upbeat in the following songs, infused with much jazz and funk.

This album was how I came about discovering Dr. John several years back, and it has been part of my rotation ever since. Not to be missed on side B is Jump Sturdy.

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