GRAHAM BOND
''HOLY MAGICK''
1970
39:48
**********
1. Holy Magick Suite (Graham Bond) 21:41
.Meditation Aumgn
.The Qabilistic Cross
.The Word Of The Aeon
.Invocation To The Light
.The Pentagram Ritual
.Qabalistic Cross
.Hymn Of Praise
.12 Gates To The City
.The Holy Words Iao Sabao (These Are The Words)
.Aquarius Mantra (In Egyptian)
.Enochian (Atlantean) Call
.Abragadabra The Word Of The Aeon
.Praise "City Of Light"
.The Qabalistic Cross, Aumgn
2 Return Of Arthur (Graham Bond) 05:06
3 The Magician (Graham Bond) 04:03
4 The Judgement (Diane Stewart) 04:47
5 My Archangel Mikael (Diane Stewart) 04:09
**********
Alex Dmochowski/Bass Guitar
Rick Gretch/Bass Guitar
Jerry Salisbury/Cornet
Godfrey McLean/Drums
Keith Bailey/Drums
John Morsehead/Guitar
Kevin Stacey/Guitar
Big Pete Bailey/Percussion
John Gross/Tenor Saxophone
Aliki Ashman/Vocals
Annette Brox/Vocals
Victor Brox/Vocals, Electric Piano, Piano, Vocals
Diane Stewart/Vocals, Gong
Graham Bond/Vocals, Alto Electric & Acoustic Saxophone
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Richie Unterberger
Graham Bond was getting more into "magick" in his private life at the beginning of the 1970s, and those interests are heavily reflected in this album. That's particularly true of the side-long medley that occupies the first half of the LP, with its attempts to musically re-create rituals. The problem was a mundane one afflicting many ambitious concept albums of the era: The music wasn't as interesting as the concept. It was meandering, sometimes improvised-sounding blues-jazz-soul-rock, featuring Bond's distinctive organ, female soul backup vocals, and John Gross' tenor sax. The irony was that it actually didn't sound as sinister as Bond's more demonic recordings in the mid-'60s as leader of the Graham Bond Organisation, even though those earlier recordings had no explicit magickal references in the lyrics. Nor was it nearly as effective or memorable as the voodoo rock of early Dr. John, an unavoidable comparison as far as the mood for which Bond seemed to be aiming. For side two, Bond returned, nominally at least, to a more conventional song-oriented format, presenting four songs on as many tracks, though with a similar lyrical focus. These pieces weren't too different from the other side, however, though there was a bit more of a funky, earthy blues feel. The album was combined with the 1971 Bond LP We Put Our Magick on You on a single-disc CD reissue on BGO.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Richie Unterberger
An important, underappreciated figure of early British R&B, Graham Bond is known in the U.S., if at all, for heading the group that Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker played in before they joined Cream. Originally an alto sax jazz player -- in fact, he was voted Britain's New Jazz Star in 1961 -- he met Bruce and Baker in 1962 after joining Alexis Koerner's Blues Incorporated, the finishing school for numerous British rock and blues musicians. By the time he, Bruce, and Baker split to form their own band in 1963, Bond was mostly playing the Hammond organ, as well as handling the lion's share of the vocals. John McLaughlin was a member of the Graham Bond Organization in the early days for a few months, and some live material that he recorded with the group was eventually issued after most of their members had achieved stardom in other contexts. Saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith completed Bond's most stable lineup, who cut a couple of decent albums and a few singles in the mid-'60s.
In their prime, the Graham Bond Organization played rhythm & blues with a strong jazzy flavor, emphasizing Bond's demonic organ and gruff vocals. The band arguably would have been better served to feature Bruce as their lead singer -- he is featured surprisingly rarely on their recordings. Nevertheless, their best records were admirably tough British R&B/rock/jazzsoul, and though Bond has sometimes been labeled as a pioneer of jazz-rock, in reality it was much closer to rock than jazz. The band performed imaginative covers and fairly strong original material, and Bond was also perhaps the very first rock musician to record with the Mellotron synthesizer. Hit singles, though, were necessary for British bands to thrive in the mid-'60s, and Bond's group began to fall apart in 1966, when Bruce and Baker joined forces with Eric Clapton to form Cream. Bond attempted to carry on with the Organization for a while with Heckstall-Smith and drummer Jon Hiseman, both of whom went on to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Colosseum.
Bond never recaptured the heights of his work with the Organization. In the late '60s he moved to the U.S., recording albums with musicians including Harvey Brooks, Harvey Mandel, and Hal Blaine. Moving back to Britain, he worked with Ginger Baker's Airforce, the Jack Bruce Band, and Cream lyricist Pete Brown, as well as forming the band Holy Magick, who recorded a couple albums. Bond's demise was more tragic than most: he developed serious drug and alcohol problems and an obsession with the occult, and it has even been posthumously speculated (in the British Bond biography Mighty Shadow) that he sexually abused his stepdaughter. He committed suicide by throwing himself into the path of a London Underground train in 1974.
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GBO BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
**********
GB/BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''HOLY MAGICK''
1970
39:48
**********
1. Holy Magick Suite (Graham Bond) 21:41
.Meditation Aumgn
.The Qabilistic Cross
.The Word Of The Aeon
.Invocation To The Light
.The Pentagram Ritual
.Qabalistic Cross
.Hymn Of Praise
.12 Gates To The City
.The Holy Words Iao Sabao (These Are The Words)
.Aquarius Mantra (In Egyptian)
.Enochian (Atlantean) Call
.Abragadabra The Word Of The Aeon
.Praise "City Of Light"
.The Qabalistic Cross, Aumgn
2 Return Of Arthur (Graham Bond) 05:06
3 The Magician (Graham Bond) 04:03
4 The Judgement (Diane Stewart) 04:47
5 My Archangel Mikael (Diane Stewart) 04:09
**********
Alex Dmochowski/Bass Guitar
Rick Gretch/Bass Guitar
Jerry Salisbury/Cornet
Godfrey McLean/Drums
Keith Bailey/Drums
John Morsehead/Guitar
Kevin Stacey/Guitar
Big Pete Bailey/Percussion
John Gross/Tenor Saxophone
Aliki Ashman/Vocals
Annette Brox/Vocals
Victor Brox/Vocals, Electric Piano, Piano, Vocals
Diane Stewart/Vocals, Gong
Graham Bond/Vocals, Alto Electric & Acoustic Saxophone
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Richie Unterberger
Graham Bond was getting more into "magick" in his private life at the beginning of the 1970s, and those interests are heavily reflected in this album. That's particularly true of the side-long medley that occupies the first half of the LP, with its attempts to musically re-create rituals. The problem was a mundane one afflicting many ambitious concept albums of the era: The music wasn't as interesting as the concept. It was meandering, sometimes improvised-sounding blues-jazz-soul-rock, featuring Bond's distinctive organ, female soul backup vocals, and John Gross' tenor sax. The irony was that it actually didn't sound as sinister as Bond's more demonic recordings in the mid-'60s as leader of the Graham Bond Organisation, even though those earlier recordings had no explicit magickal references in the lyrics. Nor was it nearly as effective or memorable as the voodoo rock of early Dr. John, an unavoidable comparison as far as the mood for which Bond seemed to be aiming. For side two, Bond returned, nominally at least, to a more conventional song-oriented format, presenting four songs on as many tracks, though with a similar lyrical focus. These pieces weren't too different from the other side, however, though there was a bit more of a funky, earthy blues feel. The album was combined with the 1971 Bond LP We Put Our Magick on You on a single-disc CD reissue on BGO.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Richie Unterberger
An important, underappreciated figure of early British R&B, Graham Bond is known in the U.S., if at all, for heading the group that Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker played in before they joined Cream. Originally an alto sax jazz player -- in fact, he was voted Britain's New Jazz Star in 1961 -- he met Bruce and Baker in 1962 after joining Alexis Koerner's Blues Incorporated, the finishing school for numerous British rock and blues musicians. By the time he, Bruce, and Baker split to form their own band in 1963, Bond was mostly playing the Hammond organ, as well as handling the lion's share of the vocals. John McLaughlin was a member of the Graham Bond Organization in the early days for a few months, and some live material that he recorded with the group was eventually issued after most of their members had achieved stardom in other contexts. Saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith completed Bond's most stable lineup, who cut a couple of decent albums and a few singles in the mid-'60s.
In their prime, the Graham Bond Organization played rhythm & blues with a strong jazzy flavor, emphasizing Bond's demonic organ and gruff vocals. The band arguably would have been better served to feature Bruce as their lead singer -- he is featured surprisingly rarely on their recordings. Nevertheless, their best records were admirably tough British R&B/rock/jazzsoul, and though Bond has sometimes been labeled as a pioneer of jazz-rock, in reality it was much closer to rock than jazz. The band performed imaginative covers and fairly strong original material, and Bond was also perhaps the very first rock musician to record with the Mellotron synthesizer. Hit singles, though, were necessary for British bands to thrive in the mid-'60s, and Bond's group began to fall apart in 1966, when Bruce and Baker joined forces with Eric Clapton to form Cream. Bond attempted to carry on with the Organization for a while with Heckstall-Smith and drummer Jon Hiseman, both of whom went on to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Colosseum.
Bond never recaptured the heights of his work with the Organization. In the late '60s he moved to the U.S., recording albums with musicians including Harvey Brooks, Harvey Mandel, and Hal Blaine. Moving back to Britain, he worked with Ginger Baker's Airforce, the Jack Bruce Band, and Cream lyricist Pete Brown, as well as forming the band Holy Magick, who recorded a couple albums. Bond's demise was more tragic than most: he developed serious drug and alcohol problems and an obsession with the occult, and it has even been posthumously speculated (in the British Bond biography Mighty Shadow) that he sexually abused his stepdaughter. He committed suicide by throwing himself into the path of a London Underground train in 1974.
**********
GBO BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
**********
GB/BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
