THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,364) Affinity — “You Met Your Match”
From a UK jazz rock group (see #1,055) that released one legendary album, here is a Stevie Wonder song transformed into a mod barn burner — unreleased at the time — with very much of a Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll & the Trinity feel.
As to Affinity, Jon “Mojo” Mills writes:
English jazz-rock group Affinity released only one album and one single during their brief existence, and though their work is obscure, it remains an important document of the type of crossover between psychedelic rock and progressive styles they and many other bands of their ilk were exploring in the early ’70s. The band remains a favorite for fans of deeply buried psychedelic artifacts . . . . Affinity formed gradually throughout the late ’60s, growing out of a jazz trio comprised of University of Sussex science students Lynton Naiff on keyboards, Nick Nicholas on upright bass and Grant Serpell on drums. Nicholas was replaced by Mo Foster early on. The band reached their highest form with the addition of guitarist Mike Jupp and vocalist Linda Hoyle, whose blues-tinged vocals added character to the band’s blend of jazz virtuosity and psychedelic exploration. Affinity signed on with Vertigo for the release of their self-titled 1970 album. The album included adventurous reinterpretations of songs by Bob Dylan and the Everly Brothers . . . . The record was well-received by critics and the band played often, but they broke up shortly after the albums’ release and went on to different musical pursuits. . . .
The self-titled album . . . displays a lot of potential, which if not wholly successful has an individuality separating them from their more jazzy and progressive peers. If Linda Hoyle’s talent for fusing the vocal traits of Bessie Smith, Grace Slick, and Sandy Denny together semi-successfully is the defining point, then Lynton Naiff’s pounding Hammond workouts fall somewhere between the exceptional and the overdone. [The album has] a very soulful feel reminiscent of the latter work of Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll & the Trinity [see #1,031-33, 1,312].
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/affinity-mn0001345141#biography, https://www.allmusic.com/album/affinity-mw0000222793
Chris Welch interviews Mo Foster:
What were their musical ambitions?
“It was that magic word ‘jazz rock.’ Bands like Colosseum and Blood, Sweat & Tears were happening. It was all about being able to play to rock audiences with jazz leanings. We also had a fascination with the Hammond organ and Brian Auger was our hero. . . . In a way they provided the template for our band. We ended up buying his Hammond organ.”
Their debut gig was at the Revolution Club in Bruton Place, London on October 5, 1968. . . .
[“]I read in Melody Maker about Ronnie Scott’s Club re-opening and wanting to manage younger bands. So I travelled up to London and took my tape to Ronnie’s partner Pete King. He listened and invited us to play in their Upstairs room. That was how Ronnie Scott and Pete King became our managers.”
[M]ost reviewers loved it. Distinguished critic Derek Jewell of the Sunday Times . . . [wrote] . . . . ”Affinity’s organist, Lynton Naiff, is already a virtuoso, soul-style, and the whole group is probaby the best new thing heard in the jazz-pop area this year.”
Explains Mo: “Affinity really ended because Lynton and Linda were an item and they fell out badly and you can’t have a band like that.”
liner notes to the CD reissue of Affinity
Stevie Wonder:
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