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)

Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Soul Flowers (1967) [re-rip]

As one of the Soul-jazz pioneers, Johnny “Hammond” Smith soon discovered success resided in the immediacy and the joy the music was able to convey. As the style kept on winning adepts in a crossover movement which embraced both Music styles and races, the organist became a master in pulling the right strings so that his sound could reach audiences as vast as possible.

Recorded September 1967 at the height of Flower Power, “Soul Flower”, although hardly related to Psychedelia or Acid-heads favorite sonorities, unashamedly aimed commercial recognition. Although I would never call it smooth or lounge-Jazz, I have to admit at times it makes a perfect dinner soundtrack or background sound for a living-room gathering of friends while relaxedly sipping a beer or a scotch; Yet it shoots in so many directions and displays such competent musicianship that one is often forced to raise the volume level and pay attention to what’s going on; ‘cause that’s the only way you’ll correctly listen to the blistering organ solo/work on the TV-series theme “Theme from N.Y.P.D.”; more screen related material is available on the melancholic mood of Burt Bacharach’s score for the movie “Alfie” or on the lively, hip-shaking rendition of the popular “Tara’s Theme” from ‘Gone with the Wind’ soundtrack; and on “Ode to Billie Joe”, Smith spells with fervor the conga-rhythm-propelled, horse-riding, Far-west evoking theme.

Previously issued with considerable success in 45rpm/Single format “Dirty Apple” is here offered in an extended version and it’s Bluesy and Funky charm, Soulful organ and smoking sax and guitar work are some of the album’s strong arguments; Still, it’s the diversity shared by the up-tempo version of the classic “Days of Wine and Roses” or the happy, old-time Big-Band swing feel of the Rodgers/Hammerstein “You’ll Never Walk Alone” where Smith displays his hard-won credentials in the style and most of all the Bossa inflected “Here’s That Rainy Day”, where guitarist Wally Richardson shows he can give cards in many a style or the cover of Ray Charles’s “I Got a Woman” with the organ at full throttle and Houston Person’s intense tenor work that definitely make this a record with mood-uplifting characteristics. ~ comusduke.

Prestige Records, PR 7549, 1968

Recorded 27^th September, 1967 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Organ

Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone

Earl Edwards - Tenor Saxophone

Wally Richardson - Guitar

Jimmy Lewis - Electric Bass

John Harris - Drums

Richie "Pablo" Landrum - Congas

Tracks:

A1. N.Y.P.D. {Charles Gross} (3:23)

A2. Dirty Apple {Smith, Richardson} (5:01)

A3. Days Of Wine And Roses {Henry Mancini} (3:21)

A4. Ode To Billie Joe {Bobby Gentry} (3:17)

B1. You'll Never Walk Alone {Rodgers, Hammerstein} (3:12)

B2. Alfie {David, Bacharach} (3:06)

B3. Tara's Theme [My Own True Love] {Max Steiner} (2:57)

B4. Here Comes That Rainy Day {Burke, van Heusen} (3:26)

B5. I Got A Woman {Ray Charles} (5:27)

Credits:

Producer - Cal Lampley

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Liner Notes - Christopher Peters (Jan. 1968)

Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Gettin' Up (1967) [re-rip]

Smith came right out and declared it in the liner notes: "I'm thinking more commercially and I don't care what the critics say." That meant covering soul hits like "Knock on Wood," "Stand By Me," and "The 'In' Crowd," presumably, in addition to throwing in standards like the title cut and "Summertime," as well as three Smith originals. So what does this critic say? Good job, Johnny! This is superior organ-soul-jazz with a feistier edge than much of the genre, evident right from the opening "The Sin-In," which has riffs worthy of a TV detective show and some fine stuttering keys from the leader. The feistiness in this combo is in large part down to drummer John Harris, who really bashes it out; on "Knock on Wood," for instance, he sounds rather more like a rock drummer than a jazz one. Prestige stalwart Houston Person is on hand with tenor sax, while Virgil Jones' trumpet lends the arrangements some good complementary color. In some respects this is more of the same as far as mid- to late-'60s soul-jazz goes, particularly in repertoire ("Summertime" certainly isn't the most imaginative cover choice), but there's a brash energy that makes it a cut or two above the norm for the genre.  ~ by Richie Unterberger, AMG.

Prestige Records, PRST 7494, 1967

Recorded 3^rd March, 1967 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Organ

Virgil Jones - Trumpet

Houston Person - Tenor Saxophone

Thornel Schwartz - Guitar

Jimmy Lewis - Electric Bass [Fender]

John Harris - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. The Sin-In {Johnny "Hammond" Smith} (4:22)

A2. Stand By Me {Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller} (2:44)

A3. Knock On Wood {Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper} (2:43)

A4. The Soulful Blues {Johnny "Hammond" Smith} (7:30)

B1. Ebb Tide {Robert Maxwell, Carl Sigman} (2:44)

B2. Summertime {George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward} (3:33)

B3. Gettin' Up {Johnny "Hammond" Smith} (6:15)

B4. The ‘In’ Crowd {Billy Page} (3:16)

Credits:

Producer - Cal Lampley

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder - RIP

Liner Notes - Chris Albertson

A sweetly funky set from Johnny “Hammond” Smith - a date done right at the start of the jazz funk era on Prestige - and one that marks a nicely heavy Soul Jazz groove.