Brian Auger

Brian Auger - Auger Rhythms - 2003 - Quicksilver

Good compilation album covering Brian Auger's career. There are tracks from the early Brian Auger's more piano dominated period, tracks from his Oblivion Express days, and tracks from his Trinity days with Julie Driscoll. His son Karma plays percussion on the album, and his daughters Ali and Savannah feature on vocals. The AWB's Jim Mullen and Robbie McIntosh also feature on the album. If you are a Brian Auger fan you may have most of these tracks in your collection. On the album's release in 2003, twelve of the tracks were supposedly appearing on an official album for the first time. Sound quality varies, but nevertheless a great album from one of Britain's greatest ever multi-instrumentalists. If you like great Hammond playing, you may like this album. BTW, this album is 344 Mb in size, so think about the DL

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

CD 1

1. Blues Three Four - Auger * 2. East of the Sun - Bowman * 3. Poinciana - Bernier, Simon * 4. There Is No Greater Love - Jones, Symes * 5. If You Could See Me Now - Dameron, Sigman * 6. Moanin' - Timmons * 7. Sister Sadie - Silver * 8. Misty - Buke, Burke, Garner * 9. I've Gotta Go Now - Pappalardi * 10. Break It Up - Auger, Sutton 11. Inside of Him - Havens 12. This Wheel's on Fire - Danko, Dylan 13. Season of the Witch - Leitch 14. A Day in the Life - Lennon, McCartney 15. Tropic of Capricorn - Auger 16. Light My Fire - Morrison, Densmore, Manzarek, Krieger

CD 2

1. Listen Here - Harris 2. Freedom Jazz Dance - Auger, Harris, Ligertwood 3. Second Wind - Auger 4. Happiness Is Just Around the Bend - Auger 5. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Gaye 6. Straight Ahead - Dean 7. Brain Damage - Ligertwood, Mills 8. Beginning Again - Auger 9. Bumpin' on Sunset - Montgomery * 10. Indian Rope Man - Havens, Price, Roth 11. Slide - Auger, Auger * 12. The Lady's in Love - Lane, Loesser

* N.B: * Previously unreleased tracks. CD ONE Tracks 1-5 (Brian Auger: The Jazz Piano Years): Tracks 6-7 (Brian Auger's Hammond Organ Big Band): Tracks 8-16 (Brian Auger Trinity with Julie Driscoll). CD TWO Tracks 1-10 (Brian Auger's Oblivion Express): Track 11 (Karma Auger): Track 12: (Ali Auger)

REVIEW

Auger Rhythms, the double-disc career overview of the last 40 years by Brian Auger, is, quite simply, a textbook case for what a career retrospective should be -- outside of a box set that is, though it would be great if Ghosttown Records would get around to that as well. Auger is not simply a musician who did one thing and perfected or milked it. Since the early '60s he has proven to be a restless, wandering musical spirit, and this collection is the proof in the pudding that his enormous talent and vision have warranted -- and continue to warrant -- his participation in multiple genres as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and arranger who has successfully blurred the lines between jazz, blues, R&B, funk, soul, fusion, and rock. All of Auger's periods are covered here, from his earliest days as a jazz pianist to the Trinity to the Oblivion Express to being a sideman on his children's recordings. Of the 28 tracks contained here, 13 of them are previously unreleased. One of these, "Inside of Him," is a new track from the Trinity years with Julie Driscoll, featuring her elegant, deeply moving voice on top of a standard jazz trio setting -- Auger's towering harmonics on the acoustic piano would have been just as welcome in a Billie Holiday set in the early '50s. The earlier work includes the beautiful original "Blues Three Four" from 1961 and a killer version of Bobby Timmons' hard bop-blues classic "Moanin'." The early jazz material showcases Auger as a consummate soloist whose rapidly developing sense of harmony and rhythmic inventions pointed the way for his R&B and fusion excursions. Disc one is simply revelatory. It's breadth and range are astonishing in that they document the inner and hidden life of Auger as well as his hits from the era. The second disc here documents all the obvious choices, from "Freedom Jazz Dance" to "Happiness Is Just Around the Corner" to "Inner City Blues" to "Second Wind." But there are surprises here as well, the most notable of which is the alternate take of Wes Montgomery's "Bumpin' on Sunset," from 1974. Auger's kids, as one would suspect, are not slouches either. Auger Sr.'s playing on Karma Auger's acid jazz opus "Slide" is dirty, greasy, and funky; it's an elastic groove that doesn't quit. Likewise, daughter Ali, a jazz singer from the old standards school (with all the immediacy and sass of the young and hungry), performs with her father on the Frank Loesser nugget "The Lady's in Love," and Auger's arrangement and solo swing very hard against Ali's throaty contralto. The sound here is awesome, even on the early material; it's 24-bit remastered and quite warm. The package that comes in a foldout digipack is loaded with photos, a biographical essay by Tom Vickers, and a track-by-track analysis by Auger. Vickers is very fine in his appreciation, though there is one glaring error where he states that Julie Driscoll's career never recovered after she left Auger following a management fiasco with the notorious Giorgio Gomelsky. Ms. Driscoll is now Julie Tippetts, a brilliant and visionary vocalist in the vanguard jazz and free improvisational field. Vickers' remark is simply an ignorant statement by a critic with a prejudice. Auger Rhythms is being rolled out as the opening salvo in a complete program of Auger reissues. Featuring a wealth of material for the collector and a solid introduction for the novice, this is the Auger document to have. © Thom Jurek © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com

MUSICIANS

Brian Auger - Mellotron, Moog Synthesizer, Organ, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Piano (Electric), String Machine, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Jim Mullen, Jack Mills, Chris Clermont, Vic Briggs, Gary Boyle - Guitar Alex Ligertwood - Guitar, Percussion, Vocals Roger Sutton, Rick Laird, Barry Dean, Dave Ambrose - Bass Alan Skidmore, Tommy Whittle - Tenor Sax Robbie McIntosh, Colin Allen, André Ceccarelli, David Dowle, Phil Kinorra, Steve Ferrone, Godfrey McLean, Barry Reeves, Mike Scott, Mickey Waller, Clive Thacker - Drums Karma Auger - Drums, Percussion, Vocals Long John Oliva, Lennox Laington - Conga Larry Andrew Williams - Flugelhorn, Trumpet Derek Wadsworth - Trombone Julie Driscoll, Ali Auger, Savannah Grace Auger, Marion Williams - Vocals