GRAHAM BOND WITH MAGICK
''WE PUT OUR MAGICK ON YOU''
1971
39:36
**********
1 Forbidden Fruit, Pt. 1 04:46 (Diane Stewart, Graham Bond)
2 Moving Towards The Light 05:14 (Diane Stewart, Graham Bond)
3 Ajama 06:15 (Gaspar Lawall)
4 Druid 04:56 (Graham Bond)
5 I Put My Magick On You 05:43 (Diane Stewart, Graham Bond)
6 Time To Die 04:08 (John Weathers, Graham Williams)
7 Hail Ra Harakhite 05:42 (Diane Stewart)
8 Forbidden Fruit, Pt. 2 02:48 (Diane Stewart, Graham Bond)
**********
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
Even in his mid-'60s prime, Graham Bond's forte had never been original material. At his best, he compensated for his limitations as a composer by incorporating many covers into his repertoire and surrounding himself with some great musicians, like the pre-Cream Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. By the early '70s, he was working with a lesser caliber of supporting players, relying almost wholly on his own songs, and focusing many of his lyrics on obscure "magickal" concerns. As the unfortunate consequence, the music itself became a pedestrian blend of blues-rock with elements of soul and jazz, albeit one that was more eccentric and interesting than those of many of his journeyman peers mining similar styles. Less sprawling than the similar, preceding Holy Magick by virtue of not containing a side-long medley, it really isn't all that bad, just unmemorable. There's a bit of a burnt-out progressive-psychedelic-blues fusion feel, and certainly a bit of early Dr. John in the invocational chants and mood at times, particularly on "Ajama" and "I Put My Magick on You." The album was combined with the 1970 Bond LP Holy Magick 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
**********
''WE PUT OUR MAGICK ON YOU''
1971
39:36
**********
1 Forbidden Fruit, Pt. 1 04:46 (Diane Stewart, Graham Bond)
2 Moving Towards The Light 05:14 (Diane Stewart, Graham Bond)
3 Ajama 06:15 (Gaspar Lawall)
4 Druid 04:56 (Graham Bond)
5 I Put My Magick On You 05:43 (Diane Stewart, Graham Bond)
6 Time To Die 04:08 (John Weathers, Graham Williams)
7 Hail Ra Harakhite 05:42 (Diane Stewart)
8 Forbidden Fruit, Pt. 2 02:48 (Diane Stewart, Graham Bond)
**********
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
Even in his mid-'60s prime, Graham Bond's forte had never been original material. At his best, he compensated for his limitations as a composer by incorporating many covers into his repertoire and surrounding himself with some great musicians, like the pre-Cream Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. By the early '70s, he was working with a lesser caliber of supporting players, relying almost wholly on his own songs, and focusing many of his lyrics on obscure "magickal" concerns. As the unfortunate consequence, the music itself became a pedestrian blend of blues-rock with elements of soul and jazz, albeit one that was more eccentric and interesting than those of many of his journeyman peers mining similar styles. Less sprawling than the similar, preceding Holy Magick by virtue of not containing a side-long medley, it really isn't all that bad, just unmemorable. There's a bit of a burnt-out progressive-psychedelic-blues fusion feel, and certainly a bit of early Dr. John in the invocational chants and mood at times, particularly on "Ajama" and "I Put My Magick on You." The album was combined with the 1970 Bond LP Holy Magick 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
**********
