The sound that hit me in that dimly lit Neasden living room seemed like a tight knot of tones and harmonics compressed, nay fracked, into a single note. The same sound I’d heard on the John Barry soundtrack. I pressed chunky tabs, pulled things and generally prodded, but I didn’t really know what I was doing - I was too used to drawbars and Hammond registrations. Upon first encounter I was immediately reassured by its off–white waterfall keys and solid–looking build (in other words, it was really heavy). I made arrangements to go and investigate. It was a bit of a surprise when I chanced upon a Lowrey Heritage advertised in Loot some years after first hearing its raw tones on record. As the organ oscillations weaved in and around orchestral moods, I was struck by the satisfying deep electronic raspiness of its tone, and I couldn’t work out how it sounded so strangely dissonant. This was my first encounter with the Lowrey Heritage and its curious sonorities. Then, one mid–1990s day at the height of the lounge scene, a DJ friend played me The Knack, a lilting string–laden ’60s film soundtrack by composer John Barry. Like many Hammond owners, I listened to the greats: Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Trudy Pitts and all that funky crowd. I bought it in the mid–’80s when everyone else was buying a DX7. The author at his Lowrey Heritage Deluxe - with matching bench! Photo: My first organ was a Hammond C3. So if you’re lucky enough to find one hidden behind suburban bay–window curtains, read on and learn of its secret majesty and why it has a significant place in electric organ history. However, the Lowrey Heritage is a seriously endangered species, and the exact number still in existence in the UK is not known. It’s also about having a great bit of gear for the modern recording studio. So, owning and gigging one is not only about upholding a great British tradition of hard–swinging organ jazz and groovy rhythm & blues. Plunder it some more and it starts to sound like a precursor to a polyphonic synth. Tonally, it offers everything from classic soul jazz registrations to deep electronic fizzy buzzes, from nasal Stylophone–like reeds to end–of–the–pier theatre organ. But in this age of clones, modules and laptops, the Lowrey Heritage Deluxe, with its rat’s nest of circuits, proper switches, and super–visceral sound, is a refreshing if somewhat dusty breath of sonic fresh air. Some smoke Benson & Hedges, others Lambert & Butler. People often ask me “Why the Lowrey? Why not a Hammond?” Well, some people play a Gibson rather than a Fender. It might have lacked drawbars and tonewheels, but, sonically, the little–known Lowrey Heritage Deluxe was a match for any Hammond organ.
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