Customer Reviews
CORRECTION - By: Mis R. L. Pearson, 08 Nov 2007 
NOTHING TO ADD TO PREVIOUS REVIEWS AND AGREE THAT THESE ARE GREAT ALBUMS. WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT I KNEW AND WORKED WITH GRAHAM BOND AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE HE COMMITTED SUICIDE AS THE PREVIOUS REVIEWER SAYS. AS FAR AS I REMEMBER THE VERDICT OF THE INQUEST WAS EITHER 'MISADVENTURE' OR MORE LIKELY 'OPEN VERDICT'. FINSBURY PARK TUBE STATION WHERE HE DIED GETS VERY BUSY IN THE RUSH HOUR AND IT IS INFINITELY POSSIBLE HE WAS SIMPLY BUSTLED OFF THE PLATFORM.
AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH HE WAS GETTING HIS ACT BACK TOGETHER AND ACCORDING TO SOME SOURCES HAD BEEN CLEAN OF HEROIN FOR SOME TIME. IT SEEMS STRANGE THAT HE WOULD CHOOSE SUCH A TIME TO END HIS LIFE.
THAT GRAHAM BOND WAS A VERY TALENTED MUSICIAN WITH MANY DEMONS IS BEYOND DOUBT. HIS MUSIC DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE OVERLOOKED AND MOST OF THE ALBUMS ON AMAZON ARE WORTH CHECKING OUT. GRAHAM WAS GREAT COMPANY WHEN HE WAS ON FORM AND MUSICALLY, WHEN HE WAS GOOD HE WAS VERY, VERY GOOD INDEED.
Great Raw Sound! - By: RUEBEN AMOS RUNACRE, 17 Aug 2007 
This compilation of two studio albums by the Graham Bond Organisation is superb & sounds great even now which clearly indicates how ahead of their time they were & along with Alexis Korner & John Mayall, forerunners of the sixties British Blues movement. Graham Bond's raw vocals are an acquired taste but I feel sure by the end of the cd it will definately grow on you. More important is what a great group of musicians these were. I always thought Ginger Baker was one of the greatest ever drummers & these early recordings go a long way to support my claim. Also quite apparant is some great bass playing by Jack Bruce, however, it is unfair to single out individuals when the whole band were a group of exceptionally talented musicians.
I Was There - By: David Billman, 22 Jul 2007 After listening to just the first track "Hoochie Coochie Man" I was right backin the packed upstairs room at Klooks Kleek listening to Graham Bond playing the blues. I visted this club many timesin my younger days & have loved listening to the blues ever since.
Organised quality - By: D. J. H. Thorn, 28 Feb 2007 Proof that the single was still kingin 1965 are The Graham Bond Orgaisation. A superior r&b outfit without a guitarist, they made the two fine albums included here at a time when the LP was considered as a bonus to keep the fan happy. What they didn't have was a hit. Boasting a sax player & organist with jazz credentials, their substance wasin the way they played. But a look at the track listings shows that they were turning out covers of the same numbers as other r&b bands. Bolstered by Bond's hoarse vocals, their versions of uptempo material such as 'Neighbour Neighbour' are rootsy. Significantly, though, their instrumentals, particularly Bond's 'Spanish Blues' are among the highlights.
The presence of Ginger Baker is also a major plus. Though he gets to solo here, these were days when bands tended to keep track time to three minutes maximum. Baker's forays therefore keep you hungrier than the ones he made with his later bands. The GBO were not exactly blazing a trail then, but this CD offers a mouth-watering alternative to those that were.
"Sound of '65" seminal British blues/jazz/rock recording - By: M. Davies, 05 Nov 2005 The "Sound of '65" album by the Graham Bond Organisation never even bothered the LP charts of the time (neither did the follow-up "There's a Bond Between Us") but I thinkin some respects it was a little ahead of its time. The band is renowned for half its membership being Jack Bruce (Bass & Harmonica) & Ginger Baker (drums), both to unite with Eric Clapton the following year & create supergroup Cream. Dick Heckstall-Smith was a superb blues/jazz saxophonist & later was an integral part of Colosseum having passed through John Mayall's Bluebreakers. I assure you this album WILL grow on you whether or not you are an early British R & B fan. Graham Bond's voice is raw but it works within this fusion of rock/jazz/blues. Bruce sings on some tracks ( perhaps he should have been lead vocalist? ) & you get a taste of experimaental stuff that matures laterin Cream. Baker's drumming is brilliant of course (just listen to track 6) & how about his own composition 'Camels & Elephants' on the second album, all sorts of influences can be found here. It all gel's, & although it never scored at the time, I can see why thosein the business at the time rated this band. Some say its because there was no glamorous image or pretty boy up front, but that doesn't hold water when you think of the Jeff Beck Group, they had a pretty boy up front but were unlucky enough to have a manager more interestedin bubble-gum pop .... perhaps bad management with no visionin both cases ?????
Alas Bond slid into very serious substance abuse, Ginger & Jack hated each other with Jack departing to John Mayall who I believe thought him too unorthodox blues (Mayall's guitarist at the time Eric Clapton was impressed however) & Jack then went to Manfred Mann. Ginger later approached Eric about forming a new band & Eric would if Jack was in, so Ginger had to visit Jack & the rest is history Cream-wise.
Graham Bond had other lines ups but drug abuse became worse & later led to suicide under a train.
BUY IT, its an experience.
