Two-Headed Doctor by David Toop

Two-Headed Doctor by David Toop

David Toop is apparently a well recognised musicologist with a good number of books under his belt, but his work would not have come on my radar if his latest book hadn't been about one of my favourite, but also one of the most bizarre albums of the 20th century, Dr John's debut Gris-Gris. That's right, a whole book (close to 400 pages) on a single album, telling not only the chaotic history of its recording, but analysing it's possible meaning, reflecting on the subsequent carreer of Dr John and the other key participants to Gris-Gris' creation, the cultural connection between Dr John as a white man and the black cultural elements of New Orleans he drew from, etc. It took me a while to get through it, and I found the reading not so easy at times because while Toop's apparent digression all pack meaning, they can go on for a long time to a point where you don't really remember what the starting point was. Still, very glad to have read this one, and if you're as fascinated with Gris-Gris as I am (or more generally with Dr John's early albums), an enlightening read.