Gris Gris

Gris gris is the New Orleans term for voodoo, and one could be forgiven for thinking this album was recorded in the dead of night in one of the city s famed graveyards. Well, it was recorded in the dead of night at Los Angeles famed Gold Star Studios, where Phil Spector recorded many of his classics. Long-time New Orleans session man Mac Rebennack wangled some free, after-hours studio time originally intended for Sonny & Cher, gathered the Los Angeles diaspora of New Orleans musicians including Jessie Hill (known for Ooh Poo Pah Doo ), Shirley Goodman (of Shirley and Lee), saxman Plas Johnson and percussionist Richard Didimus Washington and adopted a new persona of Dr. John the Night Tripper, he of the feathered headdresses and name taken from an 1840s New Orleans root doctor. The result was probably the spookiest and most hypnotic album ever made voodoo psychedelia is about as close as you can come, but doesn t quite capture the otherworldly vibe. One thing is for sure if you don t get goosebumps when listening to Croker Courtbullion or Walk on Guilded Splinters, you probably are already dead and the subject of a voodoo ritual yourself! Our Real Gone reissue features notes by Richie Unterberger and added photos. Absolutely indispensable in this life or the next.