Dr John - Babylon (1969)

Dr John (real name Mac Rebennack) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as a pianist.

Rebennack's second album saw him reprise his role as Dr John, The Night Tripper, with a repeat of the voodoo-psychedelia he had created with Gris Gris. Though Babylon perhaps didn't sound quite as dark and swampy as Gris Gris, it was still as strange and eerie, as he further explored the sounds of his New Orleans witch-doctor character. It includeded a fantastic take on Bernard Hermann's theme for The Twilight Zone. Elsewhere "The Patriotic Flag" incorporated a chorus of children singing "My Country, 'Tis Of Thee", and "The Lonesome Guitar Strangler" at one point broke into the riff for Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love" for a brief moment. Unsurprisingly it didn't manage any form of commercial success, but like its predecessor endures today as a strange but fascinating musical artefact. Rebennack's live shows at this time were becoming increasingly theatrical, as he took to to the stage dressed in elaborate costumes and headresses.

Gris Gris (1968) <|> Remedies (1970)
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