Dr. John - "Gris-gris" (1968)

Dr. John, aka the Night Tripper. Or Mac Rebennack as his real name is. Gris-Gris was his debut album, a boiling keettle of psychedelic voodo blues, music that awakens the sleeping swamp spirits and attracts the undead from their hiding places.

Dr. John lived in New Orleans and was a sought after studio musician and producer. Trouble with drugs and the police (he had been a drug dealer, had run a brothel and spent a few years in prison) made him escape to Los Angeles. There, he joined a group of other musicians in exile from New Orleans, and managed to get by on occasional gigs.

Before starting the recording of Gris-Gris, it was thought that another New Orleans singer would take the the role of Dr. John, but in the end Mac Rebennack himself had to shoulder the responsibility, and maybe that was for the best, he has remained in this character until today. The inspiration for the character was Dr. John Montaine, an African magician Mac felt a spiritual closeness to. And perhaps we also should thank Sonny & Cher for Gris-Gris, it was leftover studio time from them which Dr. John could use.

The music then? Gris-Gris is not a record to be played a beautiful summer's day, when the sun is shining, the birds are singing and happy children play outside in freedom. But when darkness has fallen, humidity approaches 90%, the thunder rumbles somewhere nearby and everything, including yourself, feels hot and sweaty. Then it's time for Gris-Gris. It's psychedelic blues with a voodo ingredient, which at least I appreciate. Dr. John's growly voice is complimented by female choirs that contributes to the mystique. Suddenly you are in the deep South, where noone hears you scream.

When the album was released, it wasn't received with a lot of interest. But as the years have passed, the record has grown in esteem and is now hailed by many as a masterpiece. The spells have worked. On me too, because I like the album. Another one of my naive project of finding a used copy in the Montreal stores, of an older date. Impossible. In the end I had to get a reissue from Amazon. The album is played at your own risk. Who knows what's going to knock on the door.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya 5:36
2. Danse Kalinda Ba Doom 3:39
3. Mama Roux 2:59
4. Performing Fambeaux 4:56

Side B
1. Croker Courtbullion 6:00
2. Jump Sturdy 2:20
3. Walk on Guilded Splinters 7:37

Ray LaMontagne - "Ouroboros" (2016)

Mr. LaMontagne is a new acquaintance in my life. I met him one spring day when I listened to the only internet radio station I sometimes use, Radio Paradise. I needed to lighten things up a little at work.

Ouroboros is a really groovy record, fuzzy and druggy without being too much. It's like a mix of Spiritualized, Pink Floyd and Beck. It's one of these albums you sometimes meet which have no weak tracks. Produced by none other than Jim James from My Morning Jacket, who also takes part with some singing and instrument playing. A total of eight songs, but the record describes itself as Part One and Part Two. And that's exactly the way it is, two consecutive sides that create a whole. I also have LaMontagne's previous record, Supernova. That's also a good record, but I think Ouroboros is even better.

So, not much more to say, get the album, inhale and float away. Modern psychedelia at its best. LaMontagne ends the entire album with the lines 'You never gonna hear this song on the radio'. I hope he's wrong.

Tracklist

Part One
1. Homecoming - 8:28
2. Hey, No Pressure - 6:34
3. The Changing Man - 4:13
4. While It Still Beats - 4:10

Part Two
1. In My Own Way - 6:36
2. Another Day - 3:05
3. A murmuration of Starlings - 2:33
4. Wouldn't It Make a Lovely Photograph - 3:58

David Bowie - "Heroes" (1977)

A summer has passed, and a longer stay in the motherland of Sweden paused the blogging for a while. But now the Canadian everyday routine is back, and so the blog starts again.

The thread running through the last posts has been recently deceased musicians, and Bowie is perhaps the greatest legend of them all. His passing spread shock waves throughout the world. Just like Lemmy and Prince, Bowie always went his own way without too much worries what others would think. This must be respected.

Heroes offers a pretty messy and noisy side A and a much calmer side B, more towards the ambient genre. I am fascinated that Bowie became such a huge artist as he did, for his music is not always easy to grasp. This very much applies to Heroes, which is the second part of Bowie's Berlin trilogy. On the album both Brian Eno and Robert Fripp participate, and with such a company it's not strange that the musical result becomes a challenge.

I'm not entirely fond of the A-side, it's a little too messy and loud for my taste. The obvious highlight is of course the title song, perhaps the highlight of Bowie's whole career. It is a song which in itself makes a record worth buying, and though I've heard it so many times I haven't grown tired of it. The other songs are not really my thing, though. Generally concerning Bowie, his voice always creats a sort of unpleasant neurotic feeling within me, so I don't really know how to handle the listening.

When you switch to side B, it gets more interesting. It's more experimental where Bowie, with the help of amongst others Eno, creates different instrumental soundscapes. Perhaps not music for the radio or the pre-parties, nonetheless of high quality and interesting. The album ends with a more "normal" song with voice, perhaps to bring the listener back to the reality again.

Although Bowie was / is popular amongst the masses, and even though Heroes is an album that has sold large quantities, I consider the record to be a challenge. It requires a lot of listenings to be fully understood, and I don't know if I've really understood it yet.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Beauty and the Beast 3:32
2. Joe the Lion 3:05
3. Heroes 6:07
4. Sons of the silt Age 3:15
5. Blackout 3:50

Side B
1. V-2 Schneider 3:10
2. Sense of Doubt 3:57
3. Moss Garden 5:03
4. Neuköln 4:34
5. The Secret Life of Arabia 3:46