Gris-Gris

This record really got my attention, with the varied, sparse instrumentation, Dr. John’s odd vocals, and the echoey, ritualistic-sounding backing vocals. There are some bird call noises here and there that were produced in such a way that it sounded like one of the birds was in the room with me. I turned around to see, like what the heck.

I didn’t know anything by Dr John except for the radio hits, which were fun but nowhere as interesting as this - another very pleasant surprise. It reminds me a little of Captain Beefheart, only of course it’s much more normal. Well, for some values of "normal."

474/1089 - Sounds like Lou Reed with slightly better instrumentation.

2.0

Also a really inoffensive album to me. Some New Orleans blues type stuff, but generally it's just too vibey and not catchy for my ears (Which is weird to say since I usually like vibey music, but when it comes to blues, I'd like some drive).

I enjoyed a few of the bluesier tracks but the mystical video music was a bit too far out for me.

Never really got Dr. John. This album is murky and messy, and for me not in a good way. It’s extremely lo-fi, maybe they didn’t have very good equipment, or maybe it was intentional, I don’t know. But for me it was hard to even hear a lot of it.

Slow intro with "Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya" and the elongated drawl of Dr. John calling himself "The Night Tripper", then shit gets crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious... "Walk On Gilded Splinters" is a strong closer, though I had only ever heard the Paul Weller cover before.

Evocative, interesting, probably too much for the normal people.

I've heard of Dr. John as a New Orleans R&B singer, songwriter, and artist. He grew up listening to jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and King Oliver while also taking an interest in the practice of voodoo hence the stage name and concept around his debut album Gris-Gris.

I will say this is an album I respect more than I like. I appreciate the boldness of mixing the swampy R&B grooves with psychedelia to create a distinct sound and Dr. John knew how to write and sell his gimmick. There are even a few songs in the middle such as "Mama Roux" and "Danse Fambeaux" that are genuine bops in their swagger. But, I can't deny the hurdle with settling into this album's oddball groove, as the first two tracks "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya" and "Danse Kalinda Ba Doom" come off as more concerned about the outlandish presentation than the execution. Thankfully, this album does not overstay its welcome at 33 minutes, and the session musicians played well enough to make the voodoo pastiche palatable.

Gris-Gris was certainly an experience, and I could see why it made the list because there ain't much else sounding like it. I'd give it a listen once through and cherry-pick your favorites.

Gris Gris is definitely one of the more bizarre albums that i have looked at in this project. That is what helps it to be a really interesting album. It is spooky and kinda sounds like something cavemen or cultists would sing and at some points, sound like an early Tom Waits which i think is actually pretty interesting. The album itself is not a bad listen. Sure, it is a really weird and out of the ordinary album but somehow Dr. John really managed to make things work even with all the weirdness, they also managed to make a sound that i find annoying in most albums sound pretty tolerable (i guess it could just be because i expected it). This might not be the best album to listen to on a normal day but i can still easily recommend it as a curiosity.
Best Song: Croker Courtbullion
Worst Song: Danse Fambeaux

This album is weird, man. It sounds like a Haight Ashbury hippie tried to make spooky Cajun music using a cookie cutter 60s psychedelic formula. It’s not “bad,” per se, but I don’t know why I’d ever listen to it on purpose, you know?

I’d like to give it 2.5 stars because it’s at least *interesting*, but in this format, I think 2 is the play.

Really cool mix of New Orleans R&B and psych rock. I'm surprised I've never listened to this, it's definitely the type of thing I enjoy.

No está mal. Por la portada y el año pensé que iba a ser un peñazo. Croker Courtbullion con el clave tiene un aire al principio de Golde Brown que me gustó. Un disco raro, peculiar, casi más de horror-folk que folk. Creo que aunque no sea brillante hay que escucharlo y en 1968 debió ser impactante.