October 8, 2010 Playlist

 

"Babylon" by Dr. John (1969)
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Dr. John  "Babylon"  1969 (USA)
New Orleans piano player Malcolm J. "Mac" Rebbennack, known professionally as Dr. John The Night Tripper, has been nominated for the "Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame" this year.  I don't know if he'll get in (the voting -- by a bunch of Rolling Stone magazine hacks --  seems to be driven mainly by corporate and political interests), but he is a unique and wonderful talent.  His first album Gris-Gris from 1968 is a singular odyssey into psychedelic voodoo soul, and there really is nothing quite like it even in Dr. John's own discography.  Over the course of his first four records, he gradually transitioned from a bizarre underground spellcaster into a more traditional New Orleans Boogie Man.  So if you're going to dig through his musical history (and I suggest you do), I would go in order from the beginning.  In other words, his second album Babylon is his second-freakiest.
In his original incarnation, The Night Tripper was quite the exotic character -- dressed like some backwoods bayou magic man and chanting gruff blooz spells, as seen in these clips for "Zu Zu Mamou" and "Where Ya At Mule".  By 1973 Dr. John had stopped wearing voodoo facepaint and dropped "The Night Tripper" from the end of his name -- he scored his biggest hit that year with the funky "Right Place, Wrong Time" (he still had some pretty fly threads though!)  His other big hit from this era was "Such A Night (If I Don't Do It Somebody Else Will)", seen here in a 1981 performance on the SCTV show.  Finally, here is Mac in recent years playing one of his most classic voodoo tunes from the Gris-Gris album, "I Walk On Gilded Splinters".
 
(N) = New Release
   
Artist Song Album Year (label) Country
The Who Heaven & Hell B-side 7" single (Who's Missing compilation LP) 1970 UK
Clear Blue Sky My Heaven Clear Blue Sky 1970 UK
Alice Cooper Refrigerator Heaven Easy Action 1970 USA
Blue Oyster Cult Hot Rails To Hell Tyranny & Mutation 1973 USA
Spinal Tap Hell Hole From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack This Is Spinal Tap
(That is the actual name of the LP, though it comes in a "none more black" cover just like their Smell The Glove album in the movie.)		 1984 USA
BeBop Deluxe No Trains To Heaven Axe Victim 1974 UK
 
 
Dr. John Babylon Babylon
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		 1969 USA
Dr. John Black Widow Spider Babylon
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		 1969 USA
Dr. John Twilight Zone Babylon
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		 1969 USA
Dr. John Zu Zu Mamou The Sun Moon & Herbs 1971 USA
 
 
Gonjasufi
 The Caliph's Tea Party The Caliph's Tea Party (N) 2010 (Warp) USA
Georgia Ann Muldrow as "Jyoti" Blessed Matches Ocotea (N) 2010 (SomeOthaShip
/ E1 Entertainment)		 USA
Dragontears
 Time Of No Time Turn On Tune In Fuck Off!! (N) 2010 (Bad Afro) Denmark
Serpentina Satelite Ai Apaec Mecanica Celeste (N) 2010 (Rocket) Peru
 
 
Mugstar
 Sunburnt Impedence Machine Lime (N) 2010 (Important) UK
Ten Kens
 Can't Not Be Dark For Posterity (N) 2010 (Last Gang) Canada
Les Savy Fav
 Clear Spirits Root For Ruin (N) 2010 (Frenchkiss) USA
Sightings
 Saccharine Traps City Of Straw (N) 2010 (Brah) USA
   
 
Screamin' Cyn Cyn & The Pons Damn, Girl Damn, Girl (N) 2010 (Crustacean) USA
Falcon Arrow High Society Cryptoscience And Hard Times EP (N) 2009 (self release) USA
Holy Fuck
 Lucky Latin (N) 2010 (Young Turks/XL) Canada
Caribou Odessa Swim (N) 2010 (Merge) Canada
   
 
Yoko Ono Hirake (Open Your Box) Fly 1971 Japan
Les Rallizes Denudes Field Of Artificial Flowers Flightless Bird (Yado-Go A Go-Go) rec. 1970's? Japan
Sonic Youth (She's In A) Bad Mood Confusion Is Sex 1983 USA
   
 
Black Mountain The Space Of Your Mind Wilderness Heart (N) 2010 (Jagjaguwar) Canada
Mondo Drag
 True Visions New Rituals (N) 2010 (Alive Naturalsound) USA
5-Track
 Morning Thunder
   / Onion		 Comets EP (N) 2010 (self release) USA
Anton Barbeau When I Was 46 In The Year 13 In The Village Of The Apple Sun 2006 USA/UK
             
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