JODY GRIND

Those early organ-dominated heavy proto-prog rockers from the late Sixties/early Seventies are always tasty listening, and another example of that addictive sound were Jody Grind, a British group driven by the sublime keyboard skills of vocalist Tim Hinkley. Similar to other bands of the era such as Uriah Deep, Chase, Raw Material and Nosferatu, Jody Grind presented a mix of heavy guitar rock with lavish smatterings of Hammond organ fusing with elements of R n'B, blues and jazz on their 1969 debut `One Step On'. Shorter compact tracks sat beside ambitious side-long multi-part suites of fully improvised soloing, with the addition of brass instruments worked in as well.

The group begin with the almost nineteen-minute four-part suite title-track `One Step On', and an energetic and confident opener it is. Sounding like a more frantic version of everything from Greenslade, The Web and Beggars Opera (Hinkley's voice actually not dissimilar to the singer of that band Martin Griffiths, just more prone to boisterous outbursts in a few spots!) and mostly comprised of an extended jam with breaks of vocal passages here and there, it's completely dominated by toasty-warm Hammond organ, Barry Wilson's lively and driving heavy drumming and Ivan Zagni's electric guitar effortlessly moving from heavy riffing, red-hot wailing to lighter jazzy licks. Horns blast in and out of the piece here and there before it finally culminates in a thrashing and break-neck crash through the Rolling Stone's `Paint it Black'.

The second side offers some shorter pieces, yet display plenty more variety and is probably the superior material. The catchy pop-rocker `Little Message' is bookended with plenty of Chase-like call-and-response horn bursts answering the vocals and some dirty guitar mangling in between, `Night Today' is smoothly jazzily foot-tapping with a romantic vocal and plenty of soloing, and `U.S.A' is a smouldering heavy bluesy plodder. Sadly `Rock n Roll Man' is filler and nothing but a throwaway cover of old rock n' roll standard `Johnny B Goode' with different lyrics, if still well played.

While it's very much of its time, and apparently the follow-up album (the immaturely titled `Far Canal' ? take that Caravan, gives your cheeky and smutty `Cunning Stunts' and `If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You' a run for their money!) is even more adventurous and `proggy', this is an addictive and hugely enjoyable album, caught somewhere between youthful naivety and growing sophisticated talent, crammed full of great playing and bold vocals. Fans of any of the above mentioned groups and heavy jazzy rock in general should have a blast with `One Step On', and once again Hammond organ freaks should definitely make it their next priority as well!

Four stars.

Since I knew the band for the first time (I just known it couple of months ago) I started to search the net and found very limited information about this band. The one I got from Wiki was about the organ player Tim Hinkley but not about Jody Grind. But from what I learn from the net this band was established at the end of 60s. Tim Hinkley was basically a session player for other musicians but nothing was specified in reasonable details about Jody Grind. If you have information about the band please do let me know. Thanks.

Excellent vintage music!

I am so curious about the band because I really love the vintage brass-rock music it delivers and reminds me to bands like Chase or Collosseum. The music is really something that I like. The opening track "One Step On" (18:47) is an epic comprising four parts : a. In My Mind, b. Nothing At All, c. Interaction, and Rolling Stones' d. Paint It Black. This epic really explores the guitar solo by Ivan Zagni who plays the solo wonderfully throughout almost first 8 minuets of the track. There are much of jazz and blues influence throughout the song. His guitar improvisation is really enjoyable and, in fact, captivating. The brass section augments the music nicely. Tim Hinkley's Hammond organ work is also great and another key attraction to the overall track and album!

"Little Message" (4:42) starts brilliantly with Hammond organ punch followed with brass-based music and high register notes vocal work. This is something like Chase, really. The guitar provides its stunning solo afterwards. It's so cool, so lively and so vintage! The organ returns back with dazzling sound backed with inventive bass lines. Oh man .. I like it! "Night Today" (5:04) is a jazzy tunes that moves the album in moderate to mellow tempo. It's another great composition which relies in the combination of vocal, guitar, brass section and organ. I imagine that the music is a blend of Chase and Dave Brubeck's band. The guitar solo really blows me away!

"U.S.A." (6:41) tones down the music a bit with a bluesy style but still using organ and guitar as major components of the music. The guitar exploration now centers around blues notes in a bit rocky singing style and it makes an excellent combination. As the title implies "Rock 'n' Roll Man" (4:31) is Jody Grind's interpretation of rock'n'roll which is delivered excellently. The singing style is excellent especially when it's combined with stunning guitar work.

Overall, this is a gem that you have to own the album if you really love vintage sounds. The key to the music is the guitar work and organ augmented with brass section. The guitar work blows me away. The vocal is also excellent. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)

Belated recognition

Interaction is by far the best way to discover the hidden talents of this obscure band from 1969/70 (unless of course you prefer to pay vast sums of money for the rare original vinyl albums). This collection brings together the band's only two albums plus a trio of "bonus tracks". There is nothing rare as such in the bonus tracks, two simply being single edits and the third an alternative version. With the absence of unreleased material, this double CD release is relatively brief, the first disc containing only the first album and thus coming in at under 40 minutes.

The music is refreshingly original and dynamic especially on the first album "One step on" (and more especially the two opening tracks of that album). If ever a band placed their best number right up front, it is here on the 18+ minute title track. The combination of organ, lead guitar and brass arrangement all contribute to an immensely powerful sound which drives along with energy and enthusiasm.

The second album saw a complete change in the line up, with the exception of band leader Tim Hinkley. Hinkley pulled the band is a more orthodox rock direction, the numerous 7 minutes tracks being more straightforward in structure and devoid of the brass arrangements which distinguished the first album. The music remains well performed and accomplished, but in general it lacks the spark which propelled the magnificent debut.

In all, a great way to discover this sadly forgotten band from the early days of prog.

Falling into line

Following the release of Jody Grind's debut "One step on", the ubiquitous musical differences quickly developed between band leader Tim Hinkley and the other two members. As a result, Hinkley found himself in a similar position to Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster (an interesting comparison given both were organ players), in having a band name but no band. Essentially, Hinkley wanted to move in a more straightforward, perhaps commercial, direction which could be exploited in a live environment, while the other two wanted to continue to explore the roots of prog direction of their first album.

Hinkley therefore recruited Bernie Holland and Peter Gavin as replacements, creating a line up which would last until the end of the band's brief 2 year existence. "Far canal" (I am not sure where the title comes from, but it appears to be a disguised form of swearing. Interestingly, or perhaps not, it is the name of English Football team Plymouth Argyle's fan site) was released a mere 6 months after the band's debut, the opening 5 minute song "We've had it" immediately indicating the softer and more accessible style of the new line up.

Tracks such as "Bath sister" and "Jump bed Jed" are fairly ordinary rock numbers, the latter having a rhythm guitar riff similar to Focus's "Syliva" (which of course it predates). The complete absence of the wonderful brass rock arrangements which adorned the first album are in part the reason why the tracks appear under-developed. While on the plus side, this leaves more room for the fine organ playing of Hinkley, it renders the tracks far less distinctive than their peers on the band's debut.

"O Paradiso" is a looser instrumental which once again (per the debut album) features an unwelcome drum solo. "Plastic [&*!#]" was recorded live, and as such is the only live recording of the band available. The song is essentially a Hendrix like piece featuring obscure vocals and a dynamic lead guitar jam.

The album closes with a couple of largely instrumental numbers with obscure titles and an outro of smooth jazz . Of these, "Red worms and lice" is an impressive, if slightly wandering organ and guitar jam. "Ballad for Bridget" is not a ballad at all, but a shuffling jazz piano number which is quite out of place.

In all, an interesting if unexceptional second album, which sees Jody Grind rather falling into line. Had Hinkley decided to continue to explore the direction of the band's fine debut, perhaps things might have been different. As it was, this was to be this short lived band's swan-song.

After the demise of Jody Grind, Hinckley went on to join Vinegar Joe, a band which featured Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer in its line up, and later moved to Nashville, USA where he now lives.

The one that got away

It can be a real enigma sometimes how some groups make it and others do not. For no apparent reason, a band who have originality, energy and some fine musicians manage to completely bypass any form of recognition or success. Jody Grind are a classic example. Formed in late 1968 by band leader and keyboard player Tim Hinkley, they released two classic albums which immediately sank without trace. Fortunately, today they are belatedly beginning to receive the recognition they deserve.

The music of Jody Grind is a sort of melting pot of Deep Purple, Chicago, Uriah Heep, Vanilla Fudge, The Nice and many others. It should be remembered though that Jody Grind are more leaders than followers, their albums predating many of the best known releases of those great bands.

The album opens with a stunning 18 minute suite bearing the album's title. This four part epic includes a wonderful cover of the Rolling Stones "Paint it black", the other three sections being self composed. The driving brass and superb guitar work remind me a little of Uriah Heep's great "Salisbury" suite. The track oozes energy and originality, especially when you remember it dates from 1969. The brass sections were actually added after completion of the recording of the album, being arranged by David Palmer (later of Jethro Tull). My only minor gripe is the inclusion of a drum solo, but thankfully it is kept brief.

The following "Little message" continues the magic, the track once again focusing on the instrumental prowess of the band. "Night today" finally sees the band taking a breather, the song being a softer piece featuring more in the way of vocals. While it is a pleasant listen, it lacks the dynamics of those which precede it, and is very much of its time. Anyone who enjoys the obscure one album band Aquila will also enjoy this and the following track "USA". The latter is a straight blues rock number featuring some good guitar work.

The album closes with a Chuck Berry tribute "Rock'n'roll man", a thinly disguised cover of "Johnny B. Goode". Once again some good if predictable guitar work, but the track is by and large the definition of "filler".

In all, a tremendously exciting album which loses its way slightly in the latter part. The first 20+ minutes though are as good as anything you will hear from the period.

Incidentally, the band's name does not reflect that of any of their members, simply being the name of a jazz number by Horace Silver.

JD's second album is a fairly different affair compared with their debut: gone are the heavy brass arrangements, leaving the group with a much sober (less jam-oriented) songwriting and a harder sound. The group will suffer two major line-up changes and by late 69, only Hinkley was left from the original group. Holland and Gavin were asked to join up.

Surprisingly enough, the opening We've Had It starts on a classical guitar, but soon veers towards a more realistic form of proto- prog. Bath Sister starts on a blues-rock guitar riff, and while foraying a little, it remains close to the starting motif. Much more enthralling is the 7-min Jumb Bed Jed where past the hard-riffing guitar intro; the track veers very elegantly towards a demonstration of superb interplay and soloing. However the side closer Paradiso is marred by a lengthy drum solo taking up half the track, and it is too bad, because the other half is quite pleasant.

The flipside starts with the live-recorded Plastic Shit, which is understandably rougher and rawer than the rest of the album. Vegetable Oblivion is bit of a short instrumental interlude, very pleasant with the guitar gently dominating but has an overall feel of one of those power ballads of the 80's, but much better. Red Worm And Lice is clearly the album's highlight is JD's best track, with its seven minutes of excellent instrumental interplay where Holland's doubled guitars soars like an eagle in the sky. The closing Ballad For Bridget is a short jazz-inflicted ballad that doesn't find its place easily in this album.

Both albums differing enough, it is difficult to find one superior to the other (most opt for FC over OSO, but this writer prefers the debut because it communicates its enthusiasm better. While both albums are anything but essential to progheads, they are both worth the occasional spin and will certainly add depth to their shelves.

JD is one of those early 70's UK proto-prog that enjoys a semi-legendary status mostly because their two albums were highly sought- after by collectors along with Indian Summer, Cressida and a few others. I must admit that I like most progheads hailed these groups as they received early 90's Cd reissues that made them fairly easily obtainable and allowed us to discover those small-unearthed gems. But some 15 years later, have those groups kept their early discovery magic? Not really, if you ask me. Most progheads marvelled at these unearthed albums (me included) because they got reissues in very dire times (just before the start of the second prog boom in 93-4), so the famined proghead was maybe a bit too enthusiastic back then, just as they were in the 80's with those neo-prog groups that wouldn't raise an eyebrow today.

JD delivered only two albums, but did so fairly early and disappeared relatively quickly from the scene, even if all three members would find future adventures throughout the rest of the decade. With this haunting and bizarre artwork, their first record was a very honest and thrilling debut, even if it was a bit indulgent in terms of songwriting. Indeed most of the tracks have a jam-derived structure, especially the sidelong title-track that included a rendition of the Stones' Paint It Black and a drum solo. But with their organ-driven hard prog, the group manages to stray fresh, energetic and maintain your enthusiasm, sometimes by short brass/horn section bursts that provided incredible surges of power and intrigue, Hinkley's organ providing much of the sound, but was often superbly seconded/answered by Holland's fiery guitar solos.

The flipside unveils what they were taunting us with: the horn section coming in a full part of their music. Indeed Little Message and Night Today appear as almost full-blown brass rock: while not abusing of them either, this remained quite tasteful and as powerful as when Atomic Rooster used the brass section. The lengthier (almost 7-mins) blues-rock USA is a real pleaser and the highlight of this side of wax, while the closer is a Foghat-like boogie-RnR track without much interest.

This debut album came out when the adjunction of heavy horn/brass arrangements was obviously the craze, but if JD's debut bows to that trend/fad, they do not succumb to it either: their brass section is made of guest musicians and are not part of the group. While hardly essential on a prog scale, JD's first album is a pleasant affair even if at times they could've been slightly more concise.