Klaus Wunderlich: Hammond Fur Millionen (Helidon 1973)
Wunderlich has been nicknamed “the Super-Organ Wonder”. [Insert your own joke here].
His organ playing is pretty damn cheesy by today’s standards (actually, screw that, you’d have to think it was pretty damn cheesy by 1970s standards too…I mean, how can you do a Hammond cover of “Hey Jude” and not be a little cheesy?) This album is the Yugoslavian (yeah, you heard that right) issue of what I believe was a German album (on Telefunken, which is just a dope label name even if I have no idea what that really translate into). I first heard the main cut on this album, a cover of “Summertime”, on this mid-90s break compilation that was also the first time I heard Galt MacDermot’s “Space”. I always remembered the “Summertime” version on that comp though because it was so light and funky, like it was aspiring to some kind of heavy Hammond greatness, slipped and fell into funkiness instead. It’s some shizniz that the Beatnuts would have sampled. Or maybe they actually did? Try it. You’ll like it. Hell, one Soul Strut feature already gave it some love.
Plus, look at that picture of Wunderlich – what a MFin’ mack he was in his little tux. P.I.M.P. for real.
chatter