Show Me!

Long-time readers of this 'zine will know that nothing gets me more excited than great organ playing, & Barney's Hammond B3 is certainly among the best I've heard in the last decade, especially when paired with the Central Washington University Big Band... it's not a combination I hear often (most organ-related submissions here are quartets or quintets), but as you listen to the stellar (& smokin') energy on "Hookin' It", you'll hear right away why I fell in love with this album as soon as it started spinning! Even stalwart traditional songs like "Willow Weep For Me" are different than you've ever heard before... this is one of the best arrangements of that song I've ever heard. Of the ten songs offered up, it was the closer, "SchizoBlues" that got my vote for personal favorite... this one just COOKS, and Barney's B3 is full of life! I give Barney & the whole big band behind him a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an "EQ" (energy quotient) rating of 4.99 for this fine album.