Search - Brian Auger :: Auger Rhythms: Brian Auger's Musical History

Hey, You There. . . .LISTEN HERE!

STEPHEN T. McCARTHY | a Mensa-donkey in Phoenix, Airheadzona. | 11/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It seems that there are some things that the majority of people do not like. For instance, the taste of brussels sprouts and fruitcake; or the smell of brand new carpeting; or the low-hanging grey of overcast skies; the cracking of knuckles; the telling of puns; the comedy of Jackie Mason; and the sound of the organ. But all of these are on my "thumb's up" list. If you side with me.....on the sound of the organ, that is.....then this is a "must own" 2-disc set!



This is an excellent 28 song career retrospective of the vastly underrated keyboardist, Brian Auger. The variety of styles employed in his creative, genre-bending recorded output, which encompasses parts of 5 decades, are well represented on AUGER RHYTHMS. If the name Brian Auger doesn't mean anything to you, then sadly, you've missed out on some really exciting music. You can correct that oversight right now. LISTEN HERE. . .



The first 5 tracks on disc 1 give us Brian's early, straightforward jazz excursions with his piano as the lead instrument. These 5 pieces are performed by obviously accomplished musicians, and all are highly enjoyable if somewhat derivative. It's technically impressive, and it swings nicely, but it's not particularly original. This is the early phase of a gifted musician who had not yet discovered the unique, artistic "voice" dwelling in his innermost regions.



It is with track #6, MOANIN', the Bobby Timmons composition, made into a certifiable Jazz classic by the great Art Blakey, that Brian first plugs in his Hammond B-3 organ, and LOOK OUT! Now the sparks are flying all over the place while the scent of burnt ebony, ivory, and ozone goes wafting through the room. This is the incendiary playing that we've come here for. Not only does MOANIN' cook, but AUGER actually cuts BLAKEY on his own signature tune, and I assure you, that ain't some small feat! We get more B-3 flamethrowing on the next couple of tracks. Beginning with I'VE GOTTA GO NOW, the set moves into Auger's stuff with vocals by Julie Driscoll. I don't find it offensive, but it's not my scene; maybe it's yours. Think in terms of the era that gave us Cream, early Doors, Go-Go Dancers and LSD.



Disc 1 closes with a couple of gems : I know this may seem blasphemous to some of you, but I'm not real big on The Beatles. Auger's instrumental take on A DAY IN THE LIFE is a majestic and sweeping epic of fire and crescendo; the arrangement is nothing short of magnificent! The Beatles never sounded so grand or so musical. TROPIC OF CAPRICORN is another winner.



Disc 2 opens with LISTEN HERE, the pinnacle of the collection; the supreme staging ground for Auger's mystifying fingers. The legendary funk drummer from Cork, Ireland, Yoey O'Dogherty, once famously quipped that, "If the hips ain't movin' the tune ain't groovin'!" Well, babe, LISTEN HERE is seriously groovin'! It employs 4 drummers and 2 bassists - yeah, you might say it's got some "bottom" to it. It's a raging 9 minute rhythm monster; a JAM thicker than PEANUT BUTTER! Don't forget to board up the windows, batten down the hatches, anchor the roof with steel cable, and make sure the kids are safe before you crank up this bad boy! And be sure to remove all nearby flammables, because this sucker is on the verge of igniting! It's an outrageous electric guitar, keyboard and drum workout. Honestly, music just DOES NOT get more exciting than this, and I would have gladly paid the full price for this collection even if LISTEN HERE was the only worthwhile cut on it - it's THAT good!



Most of the remaining tunes are taken from Auger's 'OBLIVION EXPRESS' days of Jazz/Rock/Funk fusion. Very 1970s - but in a good way. . . .if you can overlook some of Alex Ligertwood's strained and emotionally-overwrought vocals on a couple of numbers. The last 3 songs feature Auger with his son and two daughters on contemporary recordings. They're OK.



The only disappointments are in the enclosed booklet which contains numerous errors in the commentary and credit listings, making it of limited value. And more importantly : Auger's most in demand tune (which initiated my interest in Jazz in 1978) was the funky Wes Montgomery compostition, 'BUMPIN' ON SUNSET'. This became Auger's signature tune. Playing it live, the band took it at a quicker pace which enhanced the catchy, soulful groove, making it more pronounced. Thus, my favorite version of 'BUMPIN' ON SUNSET' appears on the now unavailable, 'LIVE OBLIVION' album. The version included on AUGER RHYTHMS is neither the live cut, nor the original studio recording, but a previously unreleased take which is too slow and very inferior to both of the others.



I rarely award 5 Stars to anything, but if AUGER RHYTHMS had used the live 'BUMPIN' ON SUNSET', I wouldn't have hesitated for a moment to bestow 5 Stars on it. But it's still a great collection as is, and I dare say that if you can't find much to enjoy on this, then you need to have the authorities release an All-Points-Bulletin because somebody has absconded with your musical "soul." Hey, you there. . .are you LISTENing HERE?

"

Something of a Revelation...

Peter Baklava | Charles City, Iowa | 02/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brian Auger was never quite a headline act in the United States, but he should have been. This two-disc encapsulation of Auger's career is a good place to start, if you missed out on Auger in the 60's and 70's.



DISC ONE begins with some very listenable Brit-jazz, with a very young Auger leading groups on piano. Sounding very influenced by the Blue Note stable of pianists, Auger turns in some very pleasant (though hardly world-shaking) stuff. Midway through the selections, the focus shifts to Auger's B-3 Hammond work, which is where Auger started to turn heads, and really established himself. Of these tunes, the standout is a great arrangement of Art Blakey's "Moanin".



With the addition of British singer Julie Driscoll, Auger's late Sixties band ("The Trinity") steered into lively (if a bit arch) funk music. Driscoll was a powerful singer with a theatrical presence, but it isn't too hard to conjure images of white girls with frizzy Afros gyrating the boogaloo, here. These tracks are really quite good, but you may have to stifle a laugh or two while listening.



With his album "Streetnoise", Auger finally immersed himself in Rock. "Season of the Witch" is probably the best version extant of that Donovan tune, and "Tropic of Capricorn" is as close as Auger ever got to sounding like Keith Emerson and the Nice.



So, the stage is then set for DISC TWO, where Auger again reverses course, and starts laying down some seriously funky fusion music. This is where he really excelled, and why the "Acid Jazz" people still like him today. "Listen Here" is a ten minute piledriver of a vamp. Over a Spencer Davis style, pounding bass line, Auger trades solos with Gary Boyle, who had joined the group on guitar, and who delivers some very exciting, Jeff Beck-style licks. It's too bad that this is about the only track that Boyle is featured on, because he provides more fireworks than his successors. (Boyle went on to play with Keith Tippett, an avant garde pianist who married Julie Driscoll.)



"Freedom Jazz Dance", with Jim Mullen picking up the guitar chores, also has a great groove. Alex Ligertwood had come on board as vocalist by this time, and he sounds A LOT like Steve Winwood. "Happiness is Just Around the Bend" is as close as Auger ever got to a hit record, and features Auger on electric piano. With Auger on this instrument, his band was very similar to Jeff Beck's second group--the one featuring Max Middleton. (Not surprisingly, Beck's bass player, Clive Chaman, turns up on Auger's "Beginning Again", another track that got heavy FM radio play in the 70's.)



This was/is exciting music that should have broken Auger worldwide. But, it wasn't to be. Brian Auger always seemed a hair's breadth away from cracking the big time. He left behind some of the tastiest funk and fusion music of the period. It makes one wish for what could have been--if only Jeff Beck and Brian Auger had gotten together, it would have been a magnificent pairing.



"Auger-Rhythms" is an artifact which conclusively establishes that Auger was one of the top two or three rock keyboardists of all time, who never played badly, and should have been accorded far more recognition than he got."