BRIAN AUGER

I did not expect that an album full of covers would work so well for me. There is one original though and it's the closer and one of my favourites on here. And while I want to say this is my number one Brian Auger album, I need to here the followup to this "Oblivion Express" which sounds more like what I'm into, but for now this is the Auger album I prefer.

And what a lineup with Gary Boyle on guitar and he would have his own band ISOTOPE plus he played live with SOFT MACHINE. Clive Thacker on drums and he would replace John Marshall in NUCLEUS. David Ambrose on bass from THE JEFF BECK GROUP. So we have some players with Auger playing the organ here and being the most prominent sound. And he sounds amazing. It's just such a warm and melodic tone much of the time bringing Marc Moulin from PALCEBO/ COS to mind.

This doesn't all work in my opinion like the TRAFFIC cover "No Time To Live" but I love that he went old school Jazz covering an Eddie Harris tune "Listen Here" and Boyle keeps busy on this one. Also "Maiden Voyage" by Herbie Hancock and it's a rare mid 60's Jazz album that I can handle and this is a shortened version of the title track from that one and it's great! There's a couple of Classical numbers they cover plus SLY's "I Want To Take You Higher" to open the album with vocals and energy.

It's the original track though "Just You Just Me" that makes me sad only because this is such an incredible song and more original numbers would have been appreciated. The organ sounds beautiful on here when the song goes instrumental, and the guitar deserves a mention as well. Just such an uplifting piece. The first 2 minutes are vocals, drums and bass leading the way then the vocals step aside for the guitar which is then replaced by Auger's handy work.

I'm glad to own this but it's not the cream of the crop when it comes to my Jazz and related music. A solid 4 stars for this 1970 release.

An album that puts on display how seriously the mercurial keyboard wiz had been affected by the music coming from Jimi Hendrix, Tony Williams, John McLaughlin, and even Jeff Beck; gone are Julie Driscoll and Brian's Doors-style keyboard melody making; abandoned are The Trinity and the "Wassenaur Arrangement" Dutch musical commune experiment; here are the heavy bass and drums, searing sound effects on guitars and keys.

1. "Dragon Song" (4:30) power Jazz-Rock with every bit as much heaviness as anything John McLaughlin or Tony Williams were doing at the same time. The bass, drums, organ, and searing electric guitar work scream "Hendrix Lifetime Devotion"! An incredible song! (9.75/10)

2. "Total Eclipse" (11:38) more heavy instrumental jazz-rock, though at least a little slower and steadier than the album's opener. Great guitar and experimental (for Brian) keyboard play. Engaging as Brian seemed to have a gift for making. (18/20)

3. "The Light" (4:24) the first song with any vocals here shows Brian trying to engage the hippy-trippin' culture but with a high-speed ride rather than some dreamy peacenik stuff. Despite great performances from Brian and bassist Barry Dean, the melodies and hooks just miss the mark. (8.75/10)

4. "On the Road" (5:28) a song whose music is stylistically more oriented toward American blues-rock or even Southern rock of the Band/Allman type. Multiple voices are used to choral sing the lyrics. Nice instrumental performances but just not my kind of music. (8.6667/10)

5. "The Sword" (6:36) more rock that has that Americana or American Rock base and feel--sounding a lot like early Grand Funk Railroad at its base though with much more impressive instrumental performances. (8.6667/10)

6. "Oblivion Express" (7:45) sounding more like Don Brewer-led GRAND FUNK Railroad and the heavier rock 'n' roll from EMERSON LAKE & PALMER. (13.25/15)

Total Time 40:21

A lot of male energy was expended in the creation of these songs! Those were the times!

B+/four stars; an excellent foray into the heavier rock-oriented side of Jazz-Rock Fusion that was being pioneered at the time by Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Williams, and John McLaughlin.

My first exposure to the melodic and keyboard genius of one of rock/Jazz-Rock's all-time great musicians.

1. "Beginning Again" (9:22) great percussion work from Mirza Al Sharif and Lennox Laington as well as drummer Steve Ferrone opens this one. Rhtyhm guitar, Fender Rhodes, electric bass jump in at the 0:43 mark presenting a chord- based progression within which bass player Barry Dean grabs your attention despite band leader Brian Auger's singing. Barry folds his note play very easily within the fast-paced rhythm track of the three percussionists while Brian sings for about a third of this very engaging song. When he's not singing, Brian's keyboard work is excellent--even exciting (which, in my mind, is very rare for a keyboard player). BTW, Brian has a very pleasant voice. Guitarist Jack Mills gets a brief solo (between 4:25 and 5:15) which amounts to nothing very exciting; it's the rhythmatists' work that really earns the bulk of the praise, in my opinion. (18.5/20)

2. "Bumpin' On Sunset" (10:51) one of the greatest three chord foundational riffs of Jazz-Rock Fusion's history supports some iconic organ play that is supported by some very solid band play and strings. It's only weird that nobody, and I do mean nobody else gets a moment of solo time. (18/20)

3. "Straight Ahead" (5:04) another song with some very catchy vocals that is made ten times better by some great, rich funk from the rhythm section as well as some great Fender Rhodes play from Brian. (9.5/10)

4. "Change" (8:10) guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and organ gradually, one instrument at a time, build a great foundation over which guitarist Jack Mills and singer Brian Auger get significant front time. Yet another catchy vocal melody (and lyric). Unfortunately, the great rhythm track occasionally gets a little monotonous. But, Brian finally gives some time in the spotlight to his other band members! (13.5/15)

5. "You'll Stay In My Heart" (3:44) a very catchy earworm of a love song that I've always felt deserved radio play (yes, even AM!). (8.875/10)

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of incredibly engaging and melodic keyboard-centric Jazz-Rock Fusion.

3.5 stars. It was fun going through Auger's solo stuff several years ago despite not being very impressed. It just seemed like he just wanted to be popular and that was the goal. So yes commercial, light music infiltrates pretty much everything he did and "Second Wind" is no exception. While I do like "Streetnoise", "Closer To It!", "Second Wind" and "Befour" only the latter hits the 4 star plateau in my opinion. Maybe Gary Boyle being on that 1970 release had a lot to do with that.

There's a few Scottish musicians on here including singer Alex Ligertwood who was in THE JEFF BECK GROUP and would later join SANTANA in 1979, so he was obviously talented but I really don't like the way he seems to yell the lyrics at times. Interesting that on one of Auger's later albums, a live one from 2015, he has Alex singing on it so that friendship obviously stood the test of time. The drummer here would go on to play in the AVERAGE WHITE BAND.

Another inconsistent album from Auger in my opinion with two tracks bringing this down in "Somebody Help Us" and "Freedom Jazz Dance" being two examples where the vocals disappoint. Highlights though include the opener "Truth", the closer, which is the title track and my favourite "Just Me, Just You" where it just sounds good to my ears and I like that 1 1/2 minute piano solo too.

One of Brian's better efforts in my opinion but check out that 1970 release "Befour". I like that we have all of Auger's albums lumped together on the site here instead of broken down into the solo stuff, the Oblivion Express stuff and the Trinty era. Nice to look at both lists to be honest.

Keyboardist Brian Auger seemed to be endlessly searching for the right musicians to bring forth his musical visions which always seemed to be directed by what others were doing at the time. I just find that there always seems to be that commercial aspect to his albums making most of his records hit and miss for me. I prefer the previous album of his called "Second Wind" as this the followup "Closer To It!" treads that Latin music style that SANTANA just unleashed upon the world called "Caravanserai".

This recording may embrace what Carlos and crew were doing at the time but this pales in a huge way to that legendary album. Mind you to be fair I feel SANTANA also couldn't live up to "Caravanserai" themselves in what they created after that one. So wholesale changes after "Second Wind" leaving only Auger and his bass player. Auger sings here and the new guitarist while trying to emulate Carlos Santana fails in that regard, and the fact they mixed Brian's vocals and the guitarists work low in the mix says a lot.

Again we get covers which Auger loved to do and the highlight for me is Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" where we even get some brief mellotron. I do like the closer as well that to my ears just sounds good like Gaye's tune. On the other hand we get "Happiness Is Just Around The Corner" with the awful sounding synths as well as "Compared To What" with the bad lyrics. A mixed bag like most Auger records.

Auger released this double album back in 1969 as a four piece. Julie sings and plays acoustic guitar while Auger is prominent with the piano and organ. Bass and drums round out the lineup although the bass player also adds acoustic guitar. There's a lot of variety on here which I don't like but that's just the start of the things that make this a 3 star record for me. I do like Brian Auger and am a big fan of his "Befour" album which at least has electric guitar on it and hey Gary Boyle is playing it, and also Brian is the singer which I prefer. A couple of covers on here which was par for the time period and the "Light My Fire" one was a disappointment but I really like the FIFTH DIMENSION cover "Let The Sunshine In". But yeah a ton of variety like Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Folk and on and on. There are so many songs that I just don't like on here but that's my tastes. Pare this down to a single record then I'm on board. Props to the first song on this recording "Tropic Of Capricorn" where Auger shows why he's one of the most talented keyboardists out there. I connect with the next one "Czechoslovakia" as well and it's the one vocal track with Julie singing that I really like. It gets a little crazy too. Very much a hit and miss affair for me over the 75 minutes or so making it a 3 star record.

This is very fine album and for 1967 it is superb. It's important link in the evolution of jazz rock. I'm not an expert but there were not many bands pushing the rock part so upfront while not loosing their jazz credentials at the time.They even throw some psychedelic percussion/flute improvisations for a good measure. Graham Bond Organisation comes to mind as another example. There were many brass rock bands created soon enough but Auger/Driscoll album predates almost all of them and surely is not worst. Brass section is excellent as is the rest. Other important parts of the sound are piano/hammond and the expressive vocals by Driscoll and Auger himself. Driscoll voice often brings comparisions with Janis, and quite rightly but it reminds me Maggie Bell from Stone The Crows even more. This album is a bit dated at times but still highly enjoyable and it remains one of the crucial moments in brass/jazz rock history. Four stars.

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!