My latest album obsession has been all things Hammond and Wurlitzer organ-related. A couple of years ago I found an album by John LaDuca "Mr. Fantastic" at a thrift store. (photos above) Obviously, I HAD to buy it and see for myself what made "Mr. Fantastic" so Fantastic! I was not disappointed. The album is filled with over-the-top cheesy cover songs performed by Mr. Fantastic on his Wonderful Wurlitzer organ. The cover photo is also pretty fantastic...the living room everyone wanted in the 70s. Also fantastic are the comments on the back of the album and the track descriptions. My favorite rave review of "Mr. Fantastic" is this: "Mr. FANTASTIC" is the "hottest" entertaining organist in America today, the entertainer organ "buffs" travel hundreds of miles to hear." (I love the overuse of quotation marks in this particular review). I won't list all of the song descriptions (I will gladly show them to anyone in person who cares to see them though!), but here's a sample: On many occasions Mr. Fantastic has been accused of bringing along a guest artist for this well known "SUGAR BLUES" solo. The accusations are correct! The effect is accomplished by the Wurlitzer Brasshorn, which is simply a speaker mounted on a stand with an actual trumpet bell protruding. (Awesome!!)
Evidently there was an organ craze when Hammonds and Wurlitzers became available to the masses and artists like Mr. Fantastic, Klaus Wunderlich, Gunther Marschner, and many many more were on hand to demonstrate just what those little instruments are capable of! As cheesy as the songs are, I am genuinely impressed with what sounds these guys (and gals) can get from the standard rhythm and instrument presets. Honestly the songs do start all sounding alike after awhile but the more you listen the less you care that they all sound alike. Thus is the power of the cheesy organ presets. I listen to the Mr. Fantastic album whenever I need a bit of a pick-me-up....and now that I've discovered Klaus and Gunther (thanks youtube and spotify!) I'm listening to this stuff like crazy. There's something weirdly annoying yet addictive about these albums. I'm thinking that when I finally have my (waaaaaay overdue) housewarming party, these guys are going to be my party soundtrack...and yeah, I have a nice little Baldwin organ of my own that can contribute to the festivities (sadly there are no preset rhythms but there are plenty of different instrument sounds to choose from)...so fair warning...the cheesy rhythms of Hammond and Wurlitzer ARE going to get ya if you spend any time at all in my music room/lounge.
Just so any Hammond fans out there don't feel left out, here's this...
...and album I don't own but would love to stumble upon one day!!
(:
Awesome! I am a Wurlitzer 4500 fanatic myself who owns a 4500, and 4300 spinet, which is the smaller version of the 4500. I also have a 1956 Wurlitzer electrostatic reed organ model 4410 I love...and two other Wurlitzers, a Hammond RT2, a Thomas Palace III, a Thomas 263 Californian. Also have Gulbransen Rialto II...Okay, I'm obsessed, but it is a cheap hobby. I get to tinker, and it's more fun than my 20 year guitar love affair.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why John started this album out with such a cheesy song. The first impression does leave you thinking the rest of the record will be more of the same, but it's actually a masterpiece in my biased opinion. Unfortunately the entire album is not on Youtube, but I did post an entire album of his that is not hard to find on Youtube as side 1 and side 2. I show the brass horn in that video. You can tell that John must have had a helper in the studio to create delayed vibrato effects. Also if you listen carefully you can hear a kid yell at 12:00 either on side 1 or side 2, but it's at twelve minutes exactly into the video.
PLEASE SAVE THE ORGANS! They are not cheesy instruments at all if you learn how to play them well. My 56' Wurli 4410 sounds big and full and plays through 15 speakers, a Wurlitzer Spectratone cabinet, a Leslie,and a large Altec A7 bass bin and horn. Anything but cheesy!