For about a year now Brian Auger fans have been busy with obtaining his releases – only while these were, for the most part, reissues of material previously available in some form or other, a couple of forthcoming recordings from two of the great man’s ensembles, THE TRINITY and OBLIVION EXPRESS, will see the light for the first time ever. Both of them, scheduled for October 25th, document the organist’s bands’ outings to Montreux, where the famous jazz festival takes place, yet there’s a great difference between the 1968 and 1970 concerts.
Live At Montreux 1968
The earlier of them, was laid down with not only THE TRINITY but also with the inimitable Julie Driscoll, so there are pieces like “Take Me To The Water” which would be revealed in studio versions on “Streetnoise” in 1969 and “Along Came Zizzi” which even Brian forgot about, as well as cuts from “Definitely What!” that had been put out before the chanteuse joined. Thus, though “Live At Montreux 1968” appears in mono, it looks quite interesting.
1. Soft And Furry
2. Inside Of Him
3. Season Of The Witch
4. Take Me To The Water
5. I’m Going Back Home
6. Save Me
7. Red Beans And Rice
8. A Day In The Life
9. If You Live
10. Along Came Zizi
11. Bumpin’ On Sunset
12. Goodbye Jungle Telegraph
’70 Super Pop Montreux
Not that “’70 Super Pop Montreux” from OBLIVION EXPRESS is any worse, given it was preserved for posterity before the group debuted with their eponymous platter in 1971, and contains a few TRINITY tracks. Essential.
1. The Light
2. Pavane
3. Maiden Voyage
4. On The Road
5. The Sword
6. Dragon Song
7. I Wanna Take You Higher
8. Oblivion Express
9. Listen Here
