Graham Bond (United Kingdom)

[Antiquar]

Following the demise of the Graham Bond Organization, British saxophonist / keyboardist / vocalist / composer Graham Bond left the UK for a brief residency in US, where he recorded two little known solo albums, of which this was the second. Bond was probably the most influential figure on the British music scene in the mid-1960s, when he led a group consisting of the finest musicians in the land, which practically invented Jazz-Rock Fusion. Sadly his troubled personal life, which included mental instability and heavy drug abuse, prevented him from achieving the success he so richly deserved and eventually led to his tragic death. But his recorded legacy is with us forever and everything he recorded is worthy of attention. Bond is joined by a great set of musicians on this album: guitarist Harvey Mandel, saxophonist Frank Mayes, bassist Harvey Brooks and drummers Drachen Theaker (another British hero resident in US at the time) and Eddie Hoh. He composed all the music / wrote all the lyrics. The material is amazing, as always, with heavy Jazz influence, but also Rhythm And Blues and Soul references. Bond plays some extraordinary organ parts and his vocals are also excellent, probably the best vocal parts he ever recorded. Considering the fact that this material was not available on the market for over 40 years makes this reissue a momentous occasion. A must to the numerous Bond fans, wherever they might be.

Review by Jazzis, RYM

Graham Bond - Love is The Law, 1968 [2011, eclec2239]



Album: Love is The Law
Year: 1968
Label: Esoteric Recordings
Format: RAR(+3%) Flac(separate)+HQ SCANS
Size: 302 Mb
Source: my CD

Line-up:
Graham Bond - all instruments
Hal Blaine - drums

Engineer [Re-mix] – Greg Venable
Engineer [Recording] – Hank Cicalo
Producer – Abe "Voco" Kesh

Tracklist:
1. Love Is The Law (4:31)
2. Moving Towards The Light (4:29)
3. Our Love Will Come Shining Through (3:05)
4. I Couldn't Stand It Anymore (4:09)
5. Sun Dance (2:25)
6. Crossroads Time (2:36)
7. Bad News Blues (2:50)
8. Strange Time, Sad Time (4:00)
9. The Naz (5:11)
10. The World Will Soon Be Free (3:55)

YandexDisk:

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Post by fovit

[Antiquar]

Graham Bond - Mighty Grahame Bond, 1969 [2011, ECLEC 2241]

At last! This is the album I had always hoped Graham Bond had made but, until now, had almost given up hope. A guy who had a reputation for being a great Hammond player seemed to make a lot of albums that failed to feature the Hammond organ to any great extent. I have heard quite a few of his albums now and many feature more sax and horns than his keyboards, something of a puzzle, considering he was the band leader.

Anyone coming to this album blind might well be fooled into thinking there would be some semblance of psychedelia within. With track names such as "Freaky Beak" and "Magic Mojo", the inclusion of a Mellotron, together with Bond appearing on the cover wearing one of the signature hippy items of clothing, namely the Kaftan, one could easily be seduced into the idea that Bond had "got with the times", as many of his contemporary jazzmen certainly did, and plunged headlong into patchouli fuelled hippydom. The track names are just names and as for the Kaftan, it's probably the only item of clothing he could buy that fitted his now, larger than life frame. After all, there was no such thing back then as the now ubiquitous Oversize shop!

No psychedelia then, but it is, as one might expect, jazz tinged blues but where this differs from all the other Graham Bond albums I have heard, this is full of the great man's Hammond. It's no shrinking violet but all over every track bar one - "Walk Onto Me", where the Mellotron shares centre stage with the |Hammond. For the purist, there are loads of Leslie effects and the organ sounds just great! It's worth noting also, that the Jazz is turned right down for this release, making it, for me, his most accessible and palatable album. So, no avant-garde Jazz moments, just lots of blues, with that typical sixties slant. Good stuff all round!

Review by Crazyworldof, RYM

Album: Mighty Grahame Bond
Year: 1969
Label: Esoteric Recordings
Format: RAR(+3%) Flac(separate)+HQ SCANS
Size: 290 Mb
Source: my CD

Line-up:
Graham Bond - vocals, organ, mellotron
Harvey Mandel - guitar
Harvey Brooks - bass
Drachen Theaker - drums
Frank Mayes - saxophone
Eddie Hoh - drums

Tracklist:
1. Water, Water (3:49)
2. Oh Shining One (2:54)
3. Pictures in the Fire (2:06)
4. Baroque (3:08)
5. Sisters and Brothers (5:48)
6. Stiffnecked Chicken (3:23)
7. Freaky Beaky (4:59)
8. Walk Onto Me (3:12)
9. Magic Mojo (3:30)
10. Brothers and Sisters (4:59)

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Post by fovit