Wild Horses Rock Steady

Organ star Johnny Hammond released four albums on the Kudu label in the first half of the seventies before moving to Milestone and beginning his legendary Mizell Brothers era. Wild Horses… is a quality early ‘70s funky organ jazz album targeted at the crossover audience, and the tracks, all reinterpretations of popular songs, are mostly backed by swooping orchestration, making for a silky, accessible and radio-friendly feel. Hammond’s upgraded take on Aretha Franklin’s funk juggernaut “Rocksteady,” for example, is  glossy and cinematic, complete with superb rolling Billy Cobham drums and ultra-funky wah wah from guitarist Eric Gale. Hammond’s “Who Is Sylvia” cover meanwhile, plays down the orchestration and instead builds gloriously from its gentle electric piano and strings beginnings into an intense, gale-in-your-face groove while Hammond rips a particularly thunderous solo. These dancefloor tracks are balanced by softer, simmering, semi-easy listening Broadway show cover versions replete with more virtuoso trademark crescendo B-3 solos. Funky Hammond excellence.