Brian Auger: Auger Rhythms: Brian Auger's
Musical History
Ghosttown OSCD 4028 (two-CD set)
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 Auger Rhythms is what all retrospectives should
be: comprehensive, convincing, and all-meat-no-filler. It's also a fascinating journey
with a musician who never got much recognition here in the US.
If Auger is known at all over here, it's from his version
of "This Wheel's On Fire," which was released before The Band's first album (but
gained more notoriety for its use as the theme for Absolutely Fabulous). What that
omits, however, is Auger's restless, lifelong career of crossing genre lines and his keen
ear for musical companions.
John McLaughlin, Rick Laird, Julie Driscoll, Long John
Baldry, Rod Stewart, Jimmie Page, and Robbie McIntosh all played with Auger, as did two
phenomenal but less well-recognized musicians, Dave Ambrose and Clive Thacker, who made up
the group Trinity with Auger.
For nearly 20 years, Auger called his band The Oblivion
Express, as an acknowledgement that the group was never going to be a major musical force.
Musically it was a force, but it was just not a band that was all that well known.
That never kept Auger from soldiering on, however, and now
that he's in his 60s, it's about time he got some credit for his lifetime of great music
making -- which is precisely what Auger Rhythms set out to accomplish.
In the course of two discs, AR follows Auger's
career from child prodigy to accompanist to his own children -- and demonstrates that his
music was never less than compelling. Actually, I'm not completely knocked out by Auger's
own vocals, but I have no right to throw stones for that particular sin.
But there's a host of great tracks to enjoy here -- and out
of the 28 offered, 13 have never been previously released. My favorite is "Inside of
Him," from the Trinity band with vocalist Julie Driscoll, whose haunting, powerful
voice nimbly rides above some of Auger's most muscular acoustic piano.
At the opposite end of the energy spectrum is "Listen
Here," which rocks along powerfully, with three drummers trading polyrhythms, and
some searing electric guitar from Gary Boyle.
Showstopper that "Listen Here" is, it's Auger's
early jazz forays that move me the most powerfully here. His original "Blues Three
Four" stands proudly next to classics like Bobby Timmons' "Moanin'." What
sets Auger apart from many of the young rock-inflected jazz buffs of the era is how deeply
rooted they were in R&B rather than '60s rock -- and that makes his later forays into
R&B-tinged fusion have a resonance that most of that format lacked.
And always, there's Auger's command of the keyboard --
whether acoustic piano, electric piano, or Hammond B-3 organ. Especially his organ, since
Auger emphasized the percussive snap of that powerhouse of an instrument, forging a sound
that was completely individual.
If you've never heard Brian Auger's music -- or if you've
been intrigued by a song you've heard here or there -- Auger Rhythms is the perfect
place to discover a great talent that deserves a great deal of respect.
Alternatively, if you do know Auger and need a
one-stop fix of his great musical legacy, Auger Rhythms is precisely what you've
been searching for.
Either way, Auger Rhythms is a blast and a treat.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
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