DR JOHN THE NIGHT TRIPPER "SUN MOON & HERBS" FIRST PRESSING '71 ATCO GATEFOLD

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DR JOHN~THE NIGHT TRIPPER "SUN MOON & HERBS" FIRST PRESSING '71 ATCO GATEFOLD
DR. JOHN - THE NIGHT TRIPPER "THE SUN, MOON & HERBS" FIRST PRESSING ~ GATEFOLD ~ ORIGINAL INNER SLEEVE LABEL: ATCO RECORDS SD 33-362 (EARLY 'COLORWHEEL' LABELS) RELEASED: AUGUST 31, 1971 RECORD COMPANY: ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION NYC RECORDED: JULY - OCTOBER 1970 RECORDED AT: TRIDENT STUDIOS - LONDON, UK RECORDING ENGINEER: (TRIDENT): ROY THOMAS BAKER RECORDED AT: DIMESION RECORDERS - HOLLYWOOD, CA (TRACK B1) RECORDING ENGINEER: (DIMENSION): JUDD PHILLIPS MIXED/EDITED/OVERDUBBED AT CRITERIA STUDIOS MIAMI MIXING ENGINEER: TOM DOWD MASTERING/LACQUERS: GEORGE PIROS ~ ATLANTIC STUDIOS PRESSED BY PRC RECORDING COMPANY ~ RICHMOND, IN ('RI' SUFFIX) ARRANGER/PRODUCER: MALCOLM REBENNACK (Dr JOHN) ALBUM DESIGN: JOHN JOHN MILLERBURG ALBUM PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY BURGESS LABEL CATALOG NUMBER: ST-C-712263/64 RI MATRIX (SIDE A): (Etched)ST-C-712263AAA AT/GP PR MATRIX (SIDE A): (Etched)ST-C-72264AAA-1 AT/GP D PR
CONDITION:  VINYL: VG+  GATEFOLD JACKET: VG+   INNER SLEEVE: VG+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been going thru my large vinyl record collection the past few months and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for nearly 50 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
After all, we are just temporary 'caretakers' of these musical gems until the next owner and next collection takes them in.
This week on EBay I'm offering up this rare, clean, excellent condition, excellent sounding, early First Pressing of Dr John 'The Night Tripper's classic 1971 album 'The Sun, Moon and Herbs'.
This is my personal, original copy that I purchased back in mid 70's, shortly after its release, and has remained in my record collection ever since. 
Please read the full description of this album's great content, odd recording history, how Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton both ended up on it, and details on the record's condition below. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This fantastic album, 'The Sun, Moon & Herbs', released in the summer of 1971, was New Orleans R&B artist Dr. John's 4th album, and the 3rd album in his fantastic run of albums made as his alter ego 'The Night Tripper', all of which contain Voodoo infused psychedelic swamp boogaloo.
This album is celebrated for its swampy, dark, and atmospheric sounds that blend voodoo, soul, funk, and New Orleans jazz influences, it's also noted for its contributions from Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, and other well-known musicians. 
This album was mostly recorded in 1970 while Dr. John and his small band were touring in the UK. Being a continent away, he was clearly having an aching nostalgia for his New Orleans home and it's culture and somehow was able to go in to London's Trident studios, with a group of British rock musicians and friends, and capture the authentic, intense, vibrant  feel and atmosphere of New Orleans' exotic Creole voodoo culture and it's music on tape.
This album, released in the summer of 1971, was recorded at the height of Mac's 'Night Tripper' fame but his earlier spooky, trippy, Afro-Cajun Voodoo-infused sounds have been slightly updated and blended with 70's Soul, Funk and a bit of New Orleans bluesy jazz, resulting in a very strong album, and his first to reach the Billboard 200, peaking at #184 and spending five weeks there.
It served as the perfect 'bridge' between his previous, darker, trippy voodoo-filled 'Night Tripper' albums like 'Gris-Gris' and his mid 70's, more smooth and funky period, where he became more focused, and recorded fantastic albums like 1972's 'Gumbo' and 1973's 'Right Place, Wrong Time' which featured his biggest hit single, the fantastic title track performed with the Meters.
'The Sun, Moon & Stars' is the best of both worlds and contains some great music by Dr John at the height of his powers. Vintage voodoo funk. It's still full of his earlier trademark, trippy, voodoo-laced Bayou-Psych, which many people love, but also has a more modern, soulful, New Orleans R&B sound, which makes it more accessible.
It brought his funky soulful swampy voodoo-laden music to new ears, to people who never stepped one foot in New Orleans, and helped develop more interest in the songs and styles of people like Professor Longhair, Huey Smith, James Booker and countless other NOLA legends. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'The Sun Moon and Herbs' is an ecstatic musical gumbo that pulses with voodoo power and sways to a fantastic funky and soulful groove. This album is fantastic and a true highlight in the long career of the New Orleans legend ‘Mac’ Rebennack, aka Dr John, The Night Tripper. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is an original First pressing from 1971 pressed on Atlantic Record's ATCO label with the early SD 33-362 catalog number. The labels are the early yellow 70's style, with the color wheel to the left of the center spindle hole.
Original pressings came in a beautifully designed colorful gatefold jacket, custom printed by Queens Lithography in NYC.
These first pressings have a fantastic art deco inspired cover, with amazing graphics and colors. The cover art incorporates all sorts of mythological and astrological symbols with the Night Tripper himself, in full voodoo regalia, at the center of it all. One of the first Rock albums to include the bold use of nudity, which was very taboo in 1971. The half-man, half-lion sphinx-like guy on the left also has a very thick and erect left paw, which was controversial at the time.
The back cover shows 2 views of Mac, dressed in his 'Night Tripper' outfit, looking very strange indeed, even for 1971. I'm sure many in the record shops at the time wondered what this guy and his music was all about. 
Originals also came with a custom, 2-sided inner sleeve with lyrics printed on one side and a great image of The Night Tripper himself, in full costume, on the other.
In many ways, a bold and daring album cover, but also a real piece of art. Made back when album covers were just as important as the music inside.
The later re-pressings of this album look dull and lifeless compared to these original pressings. They just couldn't reproduce the bold rich colors, the gold edges, and the photographic images as well as these custom printed originals.
Later 70's pressings became 'product', not art, and dropped the gatefold jacket, the rich deep colors, and the inner sleeve.
These original 1971 pressings have become quite rare and just don't turn up for sale that often. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'The Sun, Moon & Herbs' was originally conceived by Dr John as an ambitious 3-LP concept album, his magnum opus. 
In his autobiography, he described it thus:
“The ‘Sun’ was the record you put on when you woke up in the morning; later, in the afternoon, you’d put on the ‘Herbs’—the herbs you eat, the herbs you smoke, the herbs that heal you. And last would be the ‘moon’—night music dedicated to the enchantment of the evening and the moon goddess. Real lunar-sea action.”
It sounds like a very cool idea and project, but legend claims that the original tapes of the London 'Sun, Moon & Herbs' recording sessions that Dr John compiled for his ambitious 3-LP set, and sent to his managers, somehow got 'lost/erased' or went mysteriously 'missing'. One story is that some of the original tapes were mistakenly 'left' at an airport.
The 'truth' and economic reality is that Atlantic, Dr John’s record company, didn't want a sprawling 3 record set and forced him to cut the epic work back to a single album.
Instead of a deluxe triple album, his producers, managers, and the folks at Atlantic decided to chop it up, whittle it down, and re-assemble the tapes into a much shorter version, which Dr John and recording studio wizard Tom Dowd then overdubbed and polished at Criteria Studios in Miami over late 1970 into early 1971, and the final single-disc version was released by Atco in the summer of 1971.
The album is still excellent, and still has an energetic 'morning' section, a hazy 'Herbal' middle section, and a dark, mysterious voodoo-filled night section, but nothing like the Doctor originally conceived.
Many years later, Rhino Records supposedly uncovered the original session tapes and a 3-LP version of 'The Sun, Moon & Herbs' was put together and released for Record Store Day in 2021.
Although the 3-LP Record Store Day version is excellent, and helps paint the original picture, most Dr John fans agree that, it too, was cobbled together from various tapes and other sessions and obviously NOT the complete 3-LP version that the Doctor originally conceived and intended 'Sun, Moon & Herbs' to be. 
Those original session tapes are likely gone forever, so we have to be happy that at least we have this terrific single album of material. ~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE MASTERING AND SOUND OF 'THE SUN, MOON & HERBS'
Although this album has lots of layers, with many different musicians, instruments, voices and 'textures', the mixing, mastering and sound of this original, all-analog first pressing is outstanding and truly amazing.
The album's original editing and overdubbing was done at Criteria studios in Miami by Tom Dowd, then final mastering was done at Atlantic by Roy Thomas Baker, two of the best recording engineers of their day.
The lacquers were then cut at Atlantic by the legendary George Piros, the Bernie Grundmen of his day. Everything Piros cut sounded crisp, punchy, dynamic and magical. This album is no exception.
The rich instrumental textures and the evocative, gritty vocals of Dr. John are recorded perfectly. 'Sun, Moon & Herbs' has my favorite sound and energy of all his early 'Night Tripper' era albums.
This record has that rich, warm, natural sound that all vintage  analog recordings are known for, why we love them so much, and why we seek them out.
You can really hear all the details, 'see' all the performers, and it feels as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, watching and hearing the voodoo unfold.
A big, wide, spacious and deep, three-dimensional soundstage and room ambiance that captures the distinct reverberant signature of Trident studios, something that it was known for, and why it was such a popular recording studio in those days.
Beautiful midrange with all the instruments and voices having natural tone, correct timbre, presence and immediacy. There's nice space and air around all the instruments, and like I mentioned, you can 'see' them. The vocals have great clear 'presence' and are up front and center.
There's a nice tight punch to the horns, and fast, clear, sharp, transient attacks on the drums. Tight, rich, full-bodied bass, with the perfect amount of weight and funk down low.
All the rich instrumental textures are clear and well layered in the mix, despite the dense grouping of instruments and voices at times.
This is one of those records where the original first pressing is, by far, the best and only way to hear and appreciate this rich, layered, soulful voodoo the way it was intended.
For some reason, the later repressings of this album, even the Record Store Day release, don't sound as crisp and clear as these all-tube, all-analog, first pressings. 
The reissues sound flatter, veiled, less dynamic, and unfortunately don't capture the fidelity and voodoo magic of these original first pressings.
This nice clean original first pressing is the only way to properly hear this amazing record. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE RECORDING AND THE VARIOUS MUSICIANS ON THIS ALBUM
Although Dr John was the embodiment of gritty, soulful, funky New Orleans music and culture, this fantastic album was recorded, not in the storied French Quarter of New Orleans, but at Trident Studios in London. 
Dr John was in England, finishing up his successful European tour, which concluded with his appearance at the huge and popular Bath Music Festival on June 29, 1970.
His next scheduled performance wasn't until he was booked to play New York's Randall Island Pop Festival on July 19th, so he had a few weeks off to continue work on his new album.
For the convenience and ease of travelling around Europe, Dr John was performing at the time as a small 3-piece band, with his regular core musicians Tommy Feronne on Guitar and John "Buddy" Boudreaux on drums & percussion, who knew exactly what Dr John wanted and knew how to deliver it.
Mac was in his hoodoo hippie 'Night Tripper' phase at the time, which blended the powerful esoteric psychedelic rock of the era with the rootsy traditional Cajun blues and R&B of New Orleans, all flavored with various herbs, potions, 'substances' and the strong magical and mystical powers of Voodoo. 
London, in 1970, was a hip, swinging, loose city, full of great talented rock musicians and artists who were in awe of early authentic American Blues, R&B, and Soul music, and when word got around that the hip, wild, 'Night Tripper' himself was in town, had a few weeks off, and was working on a new album, everybody wanted to meet him, hang with him, play together, party, and soak up a bit of the Night Tripper's vibe, energy and funk.
Dr John had the basic songs, ideas and concepts sketched out in his head for the new album, and booked some session time in July at London's new modern Trident Studios in Soho, the best studio in town, to record his ideas.
Mac needed lots of help from local musicians to flesh out his ideas, and London's Rock stars and studio musicians were more than happy to help out.
Although Dr John was in charge, given top billing, and the only artist heard front and center, this album has guest appearances by Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and many other noted London musicians.
Eric Clapton was leading his brand new band at the time, Derek and the Dominos with keyboardist-singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, all of which had previously played together in Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, and all of which play on this album, although mostly buried in the mix among all the other musicians. They are all together and best heard on 'Craney Crow'.
Eric plays some slinky slide guitar on several tracks, but is best heard on 'Black John the Conqueror' and 'Craney Crow'.
Delaney & Bonnie's horn players Bobby Keys & Jim Price, not yet absorbed into the Rolling Stones, are also on this album, but also blended in the mix with other punchy brass parts played by the fantastic Memphis Horns.
Speaking ot The Stones, Mick Jagger also showed up and sang backing vocals along with other great backing vocalists like Doris Troy, PP Arnold and Shirley Goodman. Mick harmonizes so well with the girls that it's difficult to pick out his voice, but he's in there.
New Orleans native and session drummer Fred Staehle, with his great funky, soulful rhythms, is on drums on most of these songs, and he would go on after these sessions to become Dr John's regular drummer for years.
English rhythm and blues legend Graham Bond is even in the mix, playing sax on "Black John the Conqueror".
Dr John always surrounded himself with great side men, and women, who understood his music and the particular 'vibe' he was trying to create. In 1970, all these various singers and musicians were excellent, talented, performing at their peak, and were able to deliver just what the Doctor wanted and needed at these sessions.
An amazing collection of artists who all made contributions to this great album, but as I mentioned, none are featured up front, except possibly Eric Clapton.
Some songs provide tasty glimpses of these musicians grooving in the studio, but mostly they are buried deep down in the mixes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On this album, 'The Sun, Moon & Stars', the Night Tripper puts together a terrific set of 7 long interesting and rhythmically grooving tracks. The songs include:
"Black John the Conqueror" "Where Ya at Mule" "Craney Crow" "Familiar Reality (Opening)" "Pots on Fiyo (Filé Gumbo) / Who I Got to Fall On (If the Pot Get Heavy)" "Zu Zu Mamou" "Familiar Reality (Reprise)" ~~~~
'Black John the Conqueror' kicks things off with some opening piano trills that settle into a soulful, thick, dark, and swampy groove. A standout track, derived from old Cajun folklore, which Dr John updates with a modern, bluesy and funky sound. 
It's a terrific opening song with mesmerizing choruses and really sets the feel and vibe of this album's journey.
Dr John's deep, coarse vocals and frequent use of Cajun dialect tell the song's tales, but the Doctor's vocal delivery also serves as an additional musical instrument in the mixes. It can be a little intense and hard to decipher for the uninitiated, but luckily all of the song's lyrics are printed out on the very cool inner sleeve.
"Where Ya at Mule" is full of jazzy New Orleans bounce and swagger with great female backing vocals singing about the Doctor's longing for the Bayou..."There's no place like home - home sweet home".
An online reviewer said the Doctor's voice sounds like a mix of Tom Waits, Lou Reed and Van Morrison. I agree, making this song another standout track.
Side One finishes off with the fantastic, swampy, 'Craney Crow', a voodoo-infused, atmospheric, and hypnotic track that has a similar trance-like groove and feel of his earlier song 'Walk On Gilded Splinters' from his great debut album 'Gris-Gris'.
Dr John's deep rich Tom Waits style voice casts a funky spell as he sings "Chickama, Chickama Craney Crow, Salt and Pepper She can go" backed by excellent soulful female vocal harmonies.
Side One of this album is fantastic, but it's on side two of this great album where the funky spooky voodoo magic really shines and unfolds. 
'Familiar Reality' opens the side in a explosive and soulful manner with a funky drum & percussion beat that sets the pace and mood of this long and slightly psychedelic groove.
An awesome song with great psychedelic lyrics about a flashback, with the Doctor's trying to recollect where he has seen and experienced something before. Dark, deja vu voodoo with great vocals and fantastic backing from the Memphis horns. A great song with great playing and musicianship.
'Familiar Reality', the centerpiece of this album, was written early in this album's recording process, and features Dr. John's regular small band. It contains the best playing on the record, especially John Boudreaux's hypnotic, offbeat drumming. It was recorded at Dimension Recorders, in Hollywood, and then fleshed out with horns and backing singers at the London Trident sessions later that summer.
All the other songs on this album, including some musical additions to 'Familiar Reality' were recorded at Trident Studios with a large cast of British musicians.
From here, side two of the album gets much more funkier and deeper into the Voodoo.
Next up, Dr John takes you into the kitchen with 'Pots on Fiyo (Filé Gumbo)', and stirs up some rhythmic Cajun funk, seasoned with voodoo chants, spells, and some light Latin American flavors.
This great track has lots of interesting layers of vocals and instrumentation, all neatly packaged around strong mesmerizing choruses.
Next up the Gumbo really starts to thicken and Dr John and his cast of characters throw on their Mardi Gras garb, transforming into ZuZu Men, and women. “Zu Zu Mamou” is so thick with voodoo atmosphere and rich, dense music that you can almost cut it with a knife. 
The music begins with a dark, but soulful and funky, tuba line before settling into a chuggin' rhythmic groove. 
Dr. John's vocals are rough, gruff and full of ZuZu and Voodoo. In the middle of the song there's a snatch of genuine spooky voodoo dialogue between two voodoo practitioners, which is creepy, but the excellent female back-up singers and great choruses really tie this one together, and keep it from getting too 'out there'.
As the side ends, we get a return to the funky groove of 'Familiar Reality (Reprise)' which serves to put a soulful wrap on the whole thing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you spin this album and turn it up loud, preferably on a hot summer night, you are instantly transported to an odd time and space and a bizarre musical soundscape where you can almost see the dark atmospheric Louisiana swamps, almost smell the spicy Cajun crawfish gumbo bubbling & boiling in the pot, and sense the voodoo spirits in the air in front of you.
James Chrispell described this album on 'AllMusic' as "dark and swampy" and "best listened to on a hot, muggy night with the sound of thunder rumbling off in the distance like jungle drums".
On this album, the good Doctor's really got his magical Night Tripper/Voodoo thing going on, as he takes you on a trip, and 'trip' is the right word, through a thrilling, colorful, mystical journey. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While the other outstanding albums from Dr John's 'voodoo' era: 'Gris-Gris', 'Babylon' and 'Remedies' are all terrific, and a great listen for any fan of the Doctor, this original pressing of ''The Sun, Moon & Herbs' has an amazing sound, vibe & energy, some fantastic raw, soulful musical grooves, and is one of my favorite Dr. John albums from those early 'Night Tripper' daze.
The seven cuts are all nice and long, the musicianship and playing are fantastic, and and the rhythmic spells that Dr. John and his consorts weave are dark and swampy.   In addition to that, the perfectly mastered, rich, full, detailed sound and the beautiful, colorful, trippy gatefold album art of this original First pressing makes this an essential record to have in your vinyl collection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
I purchased this copy back in the mid 70's, 50 years ago, on one of my regular vinyl digs in those days, and have taken great care of it since.
VINYL: The vinyl still looks very nice, clean and shiny. There is some mild evidence of play, some hairlines and paper scuffs, but no significant flaws. No serious scuffs, palpable scratches, or dings. It's been played a few times over the years, but always well taken care of. It still looks great. I'll call it at least VG+.
The Deadwax has the simple early etched matrix numbers, with the 'AAA/AAA-1' first pressing suffix, the 'AT/GP' mastering mark, and the 'PR' for the PRC pressing plant.
See the full Matrix numbers above.
I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it still looks. Still very clean despite a few hairlines and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
I haven't messed with it or cleaned it, other than my trusty 'DiscWasher' brush, in 50 years, since Nixon was in office. It has some light 'dust' and paper specks and could use a good deep cleaning to make it even better looking and better sounding than it already is. I'll leave that up to the winning bidder.
LABELS: This is pressed with the classic early Yellow 'color wheel' ATCO labels. The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing and my careful handling over the years.
INNER SLEEVES: This early pressing also comes with it's original 2-sided inner sleeve with lyrics and a cool image of the Night Tripper. 
JACKET: As you can see from my pictures, this still looks fantastic for a 50+ year old copy. This one's a beauty!
The artwork is bold and bright, the colors just Pop and the corners are relatively sharp. No seams splits and the spine is straight.
The surface of the jacket is still fantastic. No marks, names, writing, scratches, dents or stains. No ringwear. Some mild wear along the bottom of the spine, but not bad. A nice survivor. 
The inner gatefold is clean and bright, with an intact seam. These are typically found with marks, scuffs, damage, and stains from 'substances' on the inside, but this copy looks clean and fantastic. 
This record has been sleeved and stored properly for Decades, and, as you can see from my pictures, it's still quite nice for an early first pressing from 1971.
If you like 70's rock music, 70's Psych, or just want something cool and different, you really need this absolutely essential album in your collection.
Add this classic, First Pressing copy of Dr John's 'The Sun, Moon and Herbs' to your collection today.
~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. 
Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,600 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 25 years, so please bid with confidence!
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far. I know I rambled on a bit, but can't help it. I have a passion for records and music, especially classic 70's rock like the great Dr John.  I hope this listing was entertaining and informative.   -- JOHN