BRIAN AUGER

Brian Auger definitely is one of my alltime favourite electric piano and organ player. It was about five years ago, I was lucky to see him playing with his band (including Scotsman Alex Ligertwood!) at the tiny venue 'Schiller', situated in my hometown. Well, afterwards, he was having more than 75(!) years in the back at that time, I thought he'd never become (really) old or outdated, never ever. Man, still exciting stuff he was delivering on the stage. This album has been published in 1977, which means more than 40 year ago. The title, well, somewhat contradictive as such in one way, though actually typical life experience, or not? I always had the feeling it's a rather underestimated effort. Every song shows another Brian Auger stamp on it, the keyboard work is simply fantastic. Maybe one reason that I still have the vinyl in charge, purchased in the very early years.

Brian Auger has a prolific crew on his side as the current Oblivion Express. Examplarily the aforementioned Ligertwood, having a singing voice beyond comparison, or Lenny White on the drums, also working with fusion acts like Chick Corea's Return To Forever aso. 'Happiness Heartaches' is another album which constantly accompanied my 'prog career' during recent decades. Roundabout 40 minutes of well made progressive jazz rock/fusion music. Not much later Alex Ligertwood joined the Santana band. I'm inclined to hear his influences on both the crews, that means on this occasion too. In order to highlight a particular song, Spice Island always makes my day when listening to this album. Auger goes prog here in full blow. The composition features different layers and moods, just great. A recommendable album.

Brian Auger was one of the key figures in the British mid/late 60's psychedelic rock era in combining jazz and r&b elements into rock. He's probably best remembeted as an organist, but before 1964 and the forming of his Trinity band he was actually a jazz pianist.

Julie Driscoll (to whom this hit single was equally credited to) had worked in her teens as a fan club secretary for Yardbirds, and her unique singing ability was discovered by manager Giorgio Gomelsky. Around 1967-68 she was one of the most photographed singers in Europe, a pop star with a certain unease for that role. She departed Trinity in 1969 and made a solo album featuring his to-be husband Keith Tippett, but the album titled 1969 was not released until 1971.

'This Wheel's on Fire' was a cover song, originally being a collaboration between Bob Dylan and The Band. Auger starts the song with a brief piano intro and later on weaves thick layers of organ and Mellotron. Julie's voice has a rawness comparable to Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick or the female vocalists in prog bands such as Affinity, Babe Ruth and Earth & Fire. In this song the male-backed vocals are in my opinion too distorted in a psychedelic manner.

On the B side is 'A Kind of Love In', an uptempo psychedelic rock song, quite gritty and noisy. It's under three minutes, but it makes me annoyed and bored before it's finished. I'm not very fond of the A side song either -- although I can see why it was a big hit in 1968 - -, so excuse my low rating!

BRIAN AUGER (born 1939) has a very long and complicated discography, so let's go right back to the beginning for this London- born Hammond organ maestro and Jazz-Rock legend. Brian Auger formed the soulful British blues band Steampacket in 1965, although they never recorded an official studio album together. He recorded his first solo album "Attention: Brian Auger" in 1965, although the album didn't come to the attention of the record-buying public until its belated release in 1972. The "Open" album followed in 1967, which was billed as a Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger album. His first album as Brian Auger & the Trinity saw release in 1968 under the title "Definitely What" and another album with Julie Driscoll followed in 1969 titled "Jools and Brian". Later that same year, the "Streetnoise" album was released under the banner of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity, followed by the Brian Auger & the Trinity album "Befour" in 1970, this time without Julie Driscoll. He formed the Jazz-Rock ensemble Brian Auger's Oblivion Express in the early 1970's, releasing a whole string of albums:- "Brian Auger's Oblivion Express" (1970); "A Better Land" (1971); "Second Wind" (1972); "Closer to It" (1973); "Straight Ahead" (1974); "Reinforcements" (1975); "Live Oblivion: Volume 1" (1975); "Live Oblivion: Volume 2" (1976) and "Happiness Heartache" (1977). The two volumes of Brian Auger's Live Oblivion albums are especially recommended. He recorded one further album with Julie Driscoll in 1978, billed as "Brian Auger & Julie Tippetts - Encore", and there were three more albums to come from Brian Auger in the 1980's:- "Search Party (1981); "Here and Now" (1984) and "Keys to the Heart" (with Oblivion Express) (1987). And so, after that long introduction, it's time now to step back in time to swinging 1960's London for the Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger album, "Open", which features the spooky Halloween classic, "Season of the Witch". It's an album literally of two halves, with Side One featuring mostly instrumental Jazz-Rock numbers and Side Two where Julie Driscoll joins the party on vocals.

Opening the album, there are few surprises in store with "In and Out", a fairly routine funky jazz instrumental which'll transport you right back in time to a 1960's mods dance floor of swinging chicks in bright mini-skirts and hip and trendy dudes in flared trousers, flowered shirts and kipper ties. Yes, this groovy number sounds like it could have come straight from an Austin Powers movie. It's fabulous, baby! The second instrumental Jazz number, "Isola Natale", is a reference to Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. The music is pretty laid-back but you can still tap your feet along to the funky rhythm, or you may even feel inclined to get up and dance to it if you're feeling particularly energetic, although this is more like the kind of easy-going cocktail lounge Jazz you can do a gentle hipsway to instead of boogieing on down and shaking your booty to down at the Disco. The third song "Black Cat" is where the album REALLY comes to life and hits you straight between the eyes. It's a storming Jazz rocker with Brian Auger taking lead vocals. This is where Brian Auger gets to display his amazing dexterity on the Hammond organ with some incredible keyboard runs. His fingers literally fly over the keys like lightning on the YouTube video that accompanies this barn-storming song. This song is no timid "Black Cat". No, this is a growling black panther which leaps out at you and grabs your attention right from the first blast from Auger's powerful Hammond organ. We're in suitably mellow mood for the next song, "Lament for Miss Baker", a soft and tender piano piece that's as light and breezy as a zephyr wind. The next song "Goodbye Jungle Telegraph" inevitably features tom-tom jungle drums, which conjures up images of Tarzan swinging from vine to vine shouting "Aaaaaggggghhhhhaaaaa!" - or something like that. The sassy saxophonist sounds like he's having a real blast here with a storming "Go wild in the jungle" sax solo, somehow keeping time with the pounding ape-crazy percussionist.

We get to hear the soulful bluesy voice of Julie Driscoll for the first time on "Tramp", a well-known Soul Blues song which was most famously recorded by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas earlier that same year of 1967. The song has since become a funky Soul Blues standard. The seventh song "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)" is a raw and earthy blues number, with Julie Driscoll able to instil the song with all of the soul and powerful emotion of Janis Joplin. Both singers have the same "Don't mess with me" attitude and they also have the ability to sound like they're singing straight from the heart. A stuttering telegram-style tapping of the keyboard keys announces the arrival of our next song, "A Kind of Love In". This is no lovey-dovey ballad though. No, this is an uptempo rocker that barrels along relentlessly at breakneck speed for 150 seconds, which is swiftly followed by another storming Jazz-Rock song, "Break It Up". This song opens to the tolling of wedding bells, although it sounds more like divorce might be looming if the title of this song is anything to go by. This is the first real duet between Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll, with both impassioned singers angrily sounding like a real-life couple who are badly in need of a marriage guidance counsellor. Now comes the real highlight of the album, "Season of the Witch", a song originally co-written and recorded by Scottish songsmith Donovan in 1966 and also famously covered by Vanilla Fudge in 1968 in their own inimitable raucous style. This is spooky bedknobs and broomsticks music to listen to under a full moon on the night of Halloween with a glowing hollowed-out pumpkin for company, although in reality, the song is probably no more scary than a box of Black Magic chocolates.

If you're "Open" to the sound of some storming Hammond organ Rock, then look no further than this impressive debut from Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll. This album is bluesy Jazz-Rock with a heart full of Soul!

Brian Auger was always a capable Hammond organ player and you can recognize his style quite fast. He is one of the grooviest jazz-rock Hammond players. I have a problem that I can't discern his albums much and while they sound like a pleasant flow of music, I would prefer them being full instrumental and showing more ambitions, variety and compositional quality.

Second Wind is better than its predecessor because if features more instruments than singing but it can hardly classify as fusion or progressive album. The highlight is Auger's Hammond organ playing, other players are quite average or forgettable with rockin' rhythm, an occassional guitar solo and vocals.

After hearing albums like this, I don't remember much and wish that musicians had been more creative and challenged themselves harder.

By this point, it's clear that Brian Auger was targeting the American audience (he would soon move to the States by 1975). Closer to It started incorporating elements of soul with the percussion-laden jazz rock he's been doing with the Oblivion Express. Luckily he doesn't go all Motown on us. It's just a bit less rock than the previous album, Second Wind. Here the Oblivion Express is without a vocalist, so Brian Auger himself handles all the vocals. Personally, I really find this album quite enjoyable, even their take on Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" (complete with Mellotron). "Happiness is Just Around the Bend" is another wonderful song I can't get enough of. The rest may have not stuck in my head, but I still find the album very enjoyable. What I do know is the Santana-influence has really had itself felt, probably due to the release of Caravanserai caused many jazz musicians to take notice, where the previous albums (the Woodstock-era) were more geared to the rock audience. At least here Auger didn't include songs that were more fitting of Motown, which is the trouble I often have with albums like Welcome, Borboletta or Moonflower (these albums obviously worked best when the vocals weren't trying to be so soul-oriented, or when the vocals are dropped in favor of instrumental guitar-oriented jams). After being just absolutely blown away by Streetnoise, with Julie Driscoll and the Trinity, it sounds like the Oblivion Express albums tend to tread safer ground, but I can't complain, given I still find Closer To It (and several others from this era) very enjoyable, and well worth getting.

This is clearly the most ambitious album Brian Auger had ever done in his career. This is also the most progressive album in his career. It's a really eclectic collection of songs, with a few surprises. Although this is the third album with The Trinity, it's the second with Julie Driscoll. As with Open (the debut with Jools), she doesn't sing on every song either, here Brian Auger or Dave Ambrose also sing on some of the songs. There are times that Auger almost goes into ELP territory in his organ playing, mind you this is before ELP, and when Emerson was in The Nice. Auger's style, unlike Emerson, always remained rooted in jazz. "Tropic of Capricorn" is pretty typical Auger & The Trinity, with his trademark organ playing, plus it's him that provides the vocals. Jools' "Czechoslovakia" is, naturally, about the Soviet invasion of said country in 1968, not too many songs at that time addressing that! The song starts off pretty typical Auger fashion, but then it goes acoustic, and calm, with a rather disturbing undercurrent, when then ends with the simulated sounds of army tanks. A cover of Nina Simone's "Take Me to the Water" is next. Well, this may not be to everyone's liking, this is very much southern gospel, and pretty straight-ahead gospel, even Brian Auger keeps his organ playing more in the church style here. While gospel has never been my music of choice, I can help but be blown away by Jools' vocals and the overall performance. Progheads won't get much out of the song, though. As much as Jools strikes me as a white soul singer, no doubt a big inspiration for Linda Hoyle of Affinity or Inga Rumpf of Frumpy and Atlantis, she seems just at home with folk music as well, her own "Word About Colour" could almost pass for Fairport Convention with those Sandy Denny-like vocals. I was also surprised she was fully capable of playing the acoustic guitar. She also takes on traditional song, "When I Was Young", which is more of a dirge, with Auger playing organ, done in a way you couldn't mistake for Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span. Two songs from Hair are also included, "Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In)" and "I've Got Life", as much as I usually shy away from the music from Hair, they did a great job at it. "Ellis Island" is an instrumental song, with more of a '70s feel, thanks to the clavinet, which Brian Auger puts to great use. Dave Ambrose's "In Search of the Sun" is a rather psychedelic number, but I like that proggy organ break Auger gives here. Ambrose proves he's better on the bass than singing, but doesn't bother me, despite his shortcomings. I do like that psychedelic vibe, though. "Looking in the Eye of the World" is a rather calm, piano-dominated jazz piece with Auger on vocals. Some may not take too well to the slow pace, but I like the mood, and I actually enjoy it. "Vauxhall to Lambeth Hall" is another one of those folk numbers by Jools, once again how she can make as great a folk singer as a white soul singer (or vocal jazz singer). There's also a take on Miles Davis' "All Blues" (originally from 1959's Kind of Blue), this version includes vocals from Jools herself. This version is dominated by piano, rather than wind instruments, with the addition of vocals from Jools. There's also a cover of Ritchie Havens' "Indian Rope Man", which so many other bands have covered: Frumpy (who does it similar to this version), Tomorrow's Gift, Warm Dust, and probably otheres too. There's also a wonderful take on Laura Nyro's "Save the Country". It's rather soul influenced, so it may not appeal to everyone, but then, like the gospel of "Take Me to the River", regardless if these songs are to your personal liking, make no doubt about the amazing performances. Personally, I do enjoy this take on "Save the Country" (and while I'm not a fan of Laura Nyro, I do like her original version as well). While this album is literally all over the place, there are some great proggy moments that progheads would need to take notice. Mind you, this was out before In the Court of the Crimson King, so I have to say this is a very accomplished album, combining jazz, folk, blues, soul, gospel, and prog, and all done so well I don't even have problems with the non-prog stuff (like the gospel of "Take Me to the Water"). Wonder how these bluesy/jazzy prog bands fronted by female vocalists, like Frumpy (who also did a version of "Indian Rope Man", as mentioned earlier) or Affinity got a lot of their inspiration? Look no further! I wouldn't be surprised if Jools was a main influence for Linda Hoyle or Inga Rumpf. I can't believe how much futher Auger & Co. went that extra mile to create a truly diverse album stacked with simply amazing stuff. I have a bunch of other stuff he did, with the Trinity, and with the Oblivion Express, and make no doubt about it, Streetnoise tops them all. Regardless how you may feel about the whole album, because some songs will not appeal to everyone, to me, this album simply blew me away. Really worth your time.

This is almost a split album, were it not for Brian Auger and the Trinity playing on all the tracks. There's two sides of the album, each representative of the two main creative forces here. The first side, "Auge", consists of Brian Auger leading the Trinity through a range of mostly-instrumental tracks, which are decent enough; the second side, "Jools", consists of a clutch of songs recorded with regular collaborator Julie Driscoll, who knocks it out of the park (as usual) with her excellent vocals. These psychedelic-tinged soul-jazz numbers may be artifacts of their time, but it's a time certainly worth revisiting in Julie's company, and there is an extent to which the "Auge" side feels like little more than a warm-up act. Three stars for side 1, four stars for side 2.

By 1972 Auger had to be one of the busiest men in the rock field.Not only he was fully commited to his own ''oblivion express'', but he had also become an entry in Roland Kovac New Set, a band with which he released a handful of albums during the year.But he also found time to work on his brainchild's next effort, he had actually invited Alex Ligertwood from Troc to join them on lead vocals, so he could focus on his instrumental work.Again the Advision Studios in London was the place of the recordings of ''Second wind'', released in 1972 as well on RCA.

With ''Second wind'' Brian Auger's Oblivion Express would find again their way into efficient and tricky music, the album walks exactly on the thin line between the style of the debut and the somewhat flat offerings of ''A better land''.The accesible influences and playful parts are still present in a great number of funky and Soul influences, but the music is more professional, recollecting the jazzy flavors of the debut and eventually delivering a decent amalgam of intricate and more poppy tunes.Auger shines with his work on Hammond organ, while his piano moments are coming straight out of a Jazz band, the supporting group is always consistent with some muddy bass lines, smooth guitar moves and solid drumming.The album balances dangerously between in-your-face organ-drenched paces and the jazzy abnormalities, where the pieces begin as typically song-structured and end up being a storm of piano and organ tortuting.Alex Ligertwood is definitely a welcome addition on vocals, delivering a nuance of a more rockin' attitude, moreover strengthened by the mass of rhythmic parts.A couple of tracks are still weak, dominated by dated psych and Pop leftovers of the 60's, but the bulk is going the right way with a nice sense for instrumental originality and vocal balance.

Back on track for Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, a sweet little album of jazzy, psych and Fusion elements, recommended for all lovers of organ-based light Prog/Psych.

Recorded after their split with Julie Driscoll, Befour found the Trinity steering away from wide-eyed psychedelic pop to get down and dirty with some jazz fusion material. This might have alienated fans of their prior work, but it did at least position Auger as one of the more interesting of the early prog keyboardists, even if his work isn't as widely celebrated as the likes of Keith Emerson, Dave Greenslade, Tony Banks, Rick Wakeman or Hugh Banton in retrospect. Punchy without being obnoxious, clever without being pretentious, and technically complex without being dull, it's as confident a transition from psychedelia to progressive rock as ever I've seen in stylistic terms.

It's just a shame that the material here isn't that hot. The vast majority of the material consists of cover versions which add nothing to the source material and, instead, largely take away from it. I Wanna Take You Higher isn't improved by just ditching the backing singers from the original Sly and the Family Stone version, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage didn't need all this organ warbling over it - in general, Auger and the Trinity seem to be engaged in a covers band-oriented approach which had worked somewhat better earlier in the 1960s but by this point in time was wearing thin.

A steady performer, elder statesman of the British Jazz-Rock scene, AUGER has been delivering quality material for decades. Indeed, he is so steady that his predictable approach to the Hammond organ has become repetitive and somewhat tedious.

So, what's new here? Well, there is a bit and that's not always a plus. This release appears to have been designed to promote his very talented children while daddy provides a familiar background.

Daughter SAVANNAH has a sweet, endearing voice and sings in the finest tradition of female Jazz vocal. Son KARMA AUGER on drums is on his way to challenge PIERRE MOERLEN, or BILL BRUFORD when it comes to sharp, tight delivery on the skins.

So, what's wrong with this album? Nothing much really, but nothing much right, either. A family promotion designed not to offend, but to appeal to the masses in a compromised way. Some of the tunes are little more than elevator music and when it comes to the horns, it appears that AUGER had sacrificed his identity in order to gain recognition by the US music market. Such attempt by many have failed "big time" before and AUGER's approach is but another casualty.

Enjoyable, but hardly essential work. .

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