Another thing I've come to appreciate on my journey
through charity shop vinyl is that I never knew there were so many albums
devoted to the Hammond organ. These things are Legion and, to my ears, most are
them are just as full of demons, bad music ones. On one hand I can ponder why
there's any need for so many of the things, but one the other I recognise that
to criticise purely on those grounds is probably unfair.
After all, a non fan
could reasonably ask why there are so many rap, metal, folk or whatever albums
out there too. To the non-believer they're all going to sound the same and so
the fact the ubiquity of Hammond albums leaves me baffled shouldn't necessarily
count as a black mark against them as it could just as easily count as a black
mark against me for showing my ignorance. They are what they are I guess, but to
recap - why anyone should need one, let alone dozens of compilations of
contemporary hits played as instrumentals on a Hammond organ will forever remain
as far removed from my understanding as advanced calculus is from my dog's. And
here we have another one all lined up for me to sharpen my claws
on.
From that bland, non descript title and
impenetrable cover art in, "Hammond Pop Party" promises little except more of
the same, but appearances can be deceptive From my own (admittedly limited)
research, it would appear that "Hammond Pop Party" represents the sole recorded
output of Zygmunt Jankowski. I think the man had an inkling that might be the
case before he started too, because just as Rocky went for it great guns when he
was given a shot at the title out of the blue, Jankowski cranks up his Hammond
to the max and plays the shit out of this stuff with the wild abandon of a man
with a gun to his head and bare minutes left to live.
For once, the term 'happy Hammond' wouldn't be
something that required investigation by the trading standards people.
Jankowski not only hammers out the main melody
with enthusiasm, he plugs the gaps with some outrageous fills, runs and riffs in
a way worthy of Keith Emerson at his most unhinged. Never mind his backing band,
Jankowski is his own one man orchestra, his own lead and rhythm organist, a role
helped no end by a selection of songs that actually lend themselves to this kind
of manic key bashing. Tom Jones, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder - it's all the same
to Zygmunt, there's no reverence or respect, just a tune to be attacked with all
the zeal of a starving man at a banquet.
I can't honestly say that 'Hammond Pop Party' is
something I'm likely to return to again any time soon, but with a running time
of a little over thirty minutes, I can honestly say I wouldn't have
minded if it had gone on for a bit longer and it's not often I've made
that claim to date.
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