Gris-Gris

Description

New Orleans-born pianist Mac Rebennack had been making a living as a Los Angeles session musician for years before he adopted the persona of Dr. John, a name taken from a 19th-century witch doctor. Under that guise, he crafted a sound that mixed the old world of New Orleans (the tribal rhythms of the Mardi Gras Indians, second-line grooves, swamp blues) with the new musical world of 1968 (funk, R&B, rock, free jazz). The resulting gumbo bears a deep, dark, mysterious flavour full of voodoo mysticism and ancient rites. GRIS-GRIS would have made the perfect soundtrack for a horror movie set in New Orleans, as Dr. Johns raspy murmur weaves a hypnotic spell atop a bed of exotic-sounding string instruments, ominous keyboards, primal percussion stomps, and spooky background vocal chants. Few could have predicted that this fearsome medicine man would eventually metamorphose into a charming, accessible rock star.