A few years ago, I explored the jazz
side of Manfred Mann, but it wasn’t the only Sixties rock aggregation that
came out of the jazz/R&B/ beat scene in the UK. After listening to Hammond
Heroes: 60s R&B Organ Grooves on Bear Family Records, maybe the
question should be which British rockers weren’t part of that scene. Tons of well-known
bands (Ten Years After, the aforementioned MM, the Spencer Davis Group, and
the Small Faces) and artists (Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Ronnie Wood, and Peter Frampton)
turn up in various incarnations on this record, playing jazzy, funky, and―dare
I say it?―groovy
organ-based instrumentals. The keyboardists aren’t bad either―Brian
Auger, Graham Bond, Keith Emerson, Stevie Winwood, and more. Some of the other
protagonists are more obscure (at least to me)―Dave Davani, Steve Miller (not
THAT Steve Miller), and Tony Ashton. An accompanying 48-page booklet provides a
track-by-track history of the players and groups. It’s almost like listening to
an alternative history of Sixties rock, in which Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff,
and Big John Patton replace Muddy Waters and Lonnie Donegan.
Note: out of curiosity, I took a look at the Amazon ratings
for Hammond Heroes; the two reviews seemed to think there was a
certain sameness to the music. Wrong! OK, there’s a lot of B-3 goodness, but I
found enough variety sustain repeated listening and enjoyment. For example, Brian Auger turns in a steaming performance on Ellis Island.
The Dave Davani Four sound like they're Workin' Out at the Key Club in Newark, NJ, circa 1965.
This track, unissued at the time features Steve Miller on organ and the amazing and much-missed Paul Kossoff on Guy Stevens Blues
Here's Grow Your Own, an outstanding unissued track from the Small Faces, Ian MacLagen on organ.
Finally, a great display of proto-prog from the Nice, With Keith Emerson going full bore on Charles Lloyd's Sombrero Sam.
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