« Back to Top Level | Graham Bond Organisation, The

The Graham Bond Organisation - Sound of 65 + Bond Between Us (1965)

Track listing:
  1. Hoochie Coochie Man 3:13
  2. Baby Make Love To Me 1:52
  3. Neighbour Neighbour 2:40
  4. Early In The Morning 1:50
  5. Spanish Blues 3:05
  6. On Baby 2:42
  7. Little Girl 2:15
  8. I Want You 1:45
  9. Wade In The Water 2:42
  10. Got My Mojo Working 3:11
  11. Train Time 2:24
  12. Baby Be Good To Me 2:35
  13. Half A Man 2:06
  14. Tammy 2:49
  15. Who´s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf 2:05
  16. Her Me Calling Your Name 2:38
  17. The Night Time Is The Right Time 3:01
  18. Walkin´ In The Park 3:30
  19. Last Night 3:00
  20. Baby Can It Be True? 5:05
  21. What´d I Say? 4:17
  22. Dick´s Instrumental 2:34
  23. Don´t Let Go 2:43
  24. Keep A´Drivin´ 2:04
  25. Have You Ever Loved A Woman? 4:53
  26. Camels And Elephants 4:42

Notes

This two-LPs-on-one-CD package is essential listening for anyone who is seriously interested in either British blues, the Rolling Stones' early sound, or the history of popular music, in England or America, during the late '50s and early '60s.

In England during the years 1957-1962, jazz and blues used to intermix freely, especially among younger blues enthusiasts and more open-minded jazzmen — by 1963, most of the former had gone off to form bands like the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Pretty Things, etc., with guitars a the forefront of their sound, while the latter (most notably British blues godfather Alexis Korner) kept some jazz elements in their work. The Graham Bond Organization (along with Zoot Money's Big Roll Band and other, similar outfits) represented the jazzier side of the British blues boom, less charismatic and sexually provocative than blues-rock bands like the Stones or the Yardbirds, but no less potent a product of the same inspiration, sax and organ being much more prominent in their sound.

Indeed, Bond's playing on the organ as represented on this CD is the distant antecedent to Keith Emerson's more ambitious keyboard excursions of 3-4 years later, without the incessant copping of classical riffs. The playing and singing (by Graham Bond and a young Jack Bruce) are curiously soulful, and when Ginger Baker takes a solo on "Oh Baby," it's a beautiful, powerful, even lyrical experience (as drum solos go), and one of those bold, transcendant, virtuoso moments, akin to Brian Jones' harmonica solo on the Stones' version of "Hi Heel Sneakers."

The band was more exciting on stage, as the evidence of their one surviving early live performance indicates, but they were worth hearing on record as well. In a universe that was fair and idealized, this CD and the two albums contained on it would rank right up there in sales with anything (including the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton album) that John Mayall ever released, and Bond also proves himself a more fervent and exciting figure here than Mayall ever seemed on his records.

Both 1965 LPs by this British blues rock group together on one disc. Robert Stigwood produced both records. The band featured pre-Cream members Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. The full title of each album is 'The Sound Of 65' and 'There's A Bond Between Us'. Remastered from original master tapes. (All Music Guide - AMG)

Few people - other than obsessive Cream fans - have heard of the Graham Bond Organisation, and that's a shame. The group is historically significant because it represents the earliest recordings of Cream's rhythm section - bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. However, the leaders of this group were singer/organist Bond and sax-man Dick Heckstall-Smith. Quite simply, the Organisation cut some of the grooviest blues- and jazz-rock of the early 1960s. The absence of guitar makes for an unusually "cool" British blues sound. And (hold onto your hats!) Ginger Baker's drum work is understated and tasteful, providing a swinging foundation for the other members' improvisation. Some have mentioned that Bond is not much of a singer and, while that may be true, he's certainly no worse than John Mayall. In short, this is an underrated and underappreciated classic that is a must-have for the fan of early British R&B. ("steve_seim" (Beaver Dam, WI United States)