Freddie McCoy - Listen Here (1968) [re-rip]

One of the hardest to find albums by this lost 60s soul jazz vibist - and all of his albums are pretty darn hard to find! The album's also perhaps his best - as Freddie takes a little more straight funky jazz approach, and loses some of the pop feel of his other albums. There's 2 different groups on here - one a bit large, and with Wally Richardson, Bernard Purdie, and Dud Bascomb; the other a groovy quintet with Joanne Brackeen on electric piano and Gene Walker on Varitone. The album includes a great cover of "Listen Here", plus "Stone Wall" and "Short Circuit". ~ Dusty Groove, Inc.

Prestige Records, PRST 7582, 1968

Recorded 10^th June, 1968 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Freddie McCoy - Vibraphone

Wilbur Buscomb, Edward Williams - Trumpet (#A1,B2)

Quentin Jackson, Melba Liston - Trombone (#A1,B2)

Gene Walker - Varitone (#A1,B2)

JoAnne Brackeen - Electric Piano (#A2-A3,B1,B3), Organ (#A1,B2)

Wally Richardson - Guitar (#A1,B2)

Raymond McKinney - Bass (#A2-B1,B3)

Jimmy Lewis - Electric Bass (#A1,B2)

Bernard Purdie - Drums (#A1,B2)

Al Dreares - Drums (#A2-B1,B3)

Montego Joe - Congas (#A1,B2)

Tracks:

A1. Don't Tell Me That {Freddie McCoy} (4:51)

A2. Short Circuit {Freddie McCoy} (6:44)

A3. Love For Sale {Cole Porter} (5:25)

B1. Listen Here {Eddie Harris} (7:24)

B2. MacArthur Park {Jimmy Webb} (7:45)

B3. Stone Wall {Milt Jackson} (3:17)

Credits:

Producer - Cal Lampley

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Arranger, Conductor - Dave Blum

Cover Design - Don Schlitten

Cover Art - Jo Schwalbach

Sleeve Notes - Fred Norsworthy

Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Love Potion #9 (1967) [re-rip>flac]

A fairly typical mid-'60s soul-jazz effort by Johnny "Hammond" Smith. This LP (not yet reissued on CD) features Smith performing several current pop tunes -- including "A Taste of Honey," "The Impossible Dream," "Sunny," and "The Shadow of Your Smile" -- while letting his quintet (which also includes trumpeter Virgil Jones, tenor saxophonist Gene Walker, guitarist Eddie Diehl, and drummer John Harris) stretch out on "Blues on Sunday" and "Up Comes Monday." Since there is less than half-an-hour of music here and nothing unexpected occurs, this is just an average outing, although it should please jazz organ fans. ~ by Scott Yanow, AMG.

This LP has been overlooked and seriously underrated as one of Smith’s better works. Regardless of its size it is well worth spinning a few times. Ripped from a well-loved vinyl, some areas suffer a few sound artifacts, but as a love potion it’ll do me. Enjoy!

Prestige Records, PRST 7482, 1967

Recorded 28^th September, 1966 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Personnel:

Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Organ

Virgil Jones - Trumpet

Gene Walker - Tenor Saxophone

Eddie Diehl - Guitar

John Harris - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. Love Potion #9 {Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller} (2:52)

A2. A Taste Of Honey {Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow} (3:23)

A3. The Impossible Dream {Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion} (3:07)

A4. Blues On Sunday {Johnny "Hammond" Smith} (5:13)

B1. Sunny {Bobby Hebb} (3:10)

B2. The Shadow Of Your Smile {Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster} (3:38)

B3. Kimberly's Delight {Johnny "Hammond" Smith} (2:51)

B4. Up Comes Monday {Johnny "Hammond" Smith} (5:30)

Credits:

Producer - Cal Lampley

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Liner Notes - Christopher Peters (Jan. 1967)