#356: Gris-Gris
Revisiting Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020)
Dr. John, 1968
Another troubadour fusing multiple styles - this time, it’s New Orleans jazz with California psychedelia. He’s a bold self-promoter, branding himself “Dr. John the Night Tripper” in the opening track. It’s a weird, voodoo experience, a sinister side of the Hippie experience.
These songs are great and the production is wild, and clearly Dr. John is an over the top character from Mac Rebennack. But the greatest legacy from Dr. John might just be Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, the Muppet house band he inspired.
I recently drove through Louisiana, although I unfortunately did not get to make a stop in New Orleans (my favorite city). It's probably the only place in the country, maybe the world, that could have produced Dr. John.