Record Reviews

BRIAN AUGER / TRINITY ~ LIVE AT ROCKPALAST REPERTOIRE 1474 (Barcode: 4009910147429) ~ UK ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2011 Released: 2024 This is a live recording by legendary British Jazz / Fusion keyboards wizard Brian AugerFind albums by this artist, captured on October 20, 2011 in Bonn, Germany. It presents an attempt to relive the brief phenomenal success achieved in the late 1960s by Brian Auger and his TrinityFind albums by this artist with the singer Julie DriscollFind albums by this artist, which produced four quintessential early Fusion / Psychedelia British albums: “OpenFind albums with this title”, “Definitely What!Find albums with this title”, “StreetnoiseFind albums with this title” and “BefourFind albums with this title”. The lineup appearing here includes Auger on keyboards, bassist Les KingFind albums by this artist, Auger’s son Karma AugerFind albums by this artist on drums and his daughter Savannah GraceFind albums by this artist on vocals. The album presents thirteen tracks, most of which are contemporary redemptions of tracks from the a.m. albums. The accompanying DVD offset the video version of the same material. I must admit that I had a lot of reservations about this project before I had the opportunity to listen to the music, for the obvious reasons. These four albums are an absolute “Holy Grail” of British recorded music, and any attempt to touch them in any form or shape sounds like blasphemy. But, with all due respect, it is Brian Auger’s music after all, so if anybody could be trying to revitalize it, it should be him. I am relieved and happy to say that these new versions worked out pretty well after all; they are politely different from the originals and they respect the essence of the original music. Auger’s performances are absolutely sensational and his keyboards work lost nothing of its sensational virtuosity and inventiveness. The rhythm section keeps time, a bit less Jazzy and creatively than the original team, but times they are a-changin’. The greatest fear were of course the vocals, as nobody on earth comes close to the vocal abilities of Julie Driscoll, but Savannah skillfully manages to circumvent the challenge by avoiding copying Julie’s vocal groundbreaking innovations, and simply sticking to the tunes, which she does skillfully and without a hitch. She even manages to mimic some of Julie’s idiosyncrasies, which made me smile. Overall, this is a respectful tribute to some of the greatest music recorded in UK in the late 1960s, brilliantly played by the Godfather of the original project, and for me the greatest organ player of all time. The fact that I managed to enjoy the music wholeheartedly means that is respectful to the origin and offers a first class aesthetic value. Thank you Brian for all the fantastic music you created over time, which made so many music-loving people so happy!

Updated: 24/08/2024Posted: 24/08/2024

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