Brian Auger & The Trinity & Julie Driscoll - The Mod Years (1965-69)

It was in April-May 1965, when Long John Baldry saw me playing in the Manchester club The Twisted Wheel . Baldry was already a famous name at that time. He even had his own hour basement in London's Wardour Street the part of the city that was known as Soho in the first half of the 1960s. The Mod's who inhabited London's West End back then, gradually became regulars at the club. Also, it was the precursor of the ethnic melting pot that London was to become. In those days the main attraction in clubs was live music. In the breaks between sets, a DJ played some records

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If you want to hear some authentic mid '60s UK mod music - this is it! Great music, great memories and a great tribute a genuine UK musical giant.


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5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for fans of sixties Hammond Organ, 5 May 2004
By
D. Oakley "888 C3" (UK)

Superb blend of catchy mid sixties pop tunes, polished Hammond jazz, Gospel vibes and basement organ groove, with the addition of the classic Road To Cairo, which rates alongside A Whiter Shade of Pale in my opinion. Auger has chops that equal many of the great names, he can gliss, trill and play runs at blinding speed. But there is also a uniquness to his style that explores the sounds of the Hammond Organ in a way that is less evident in the style of many of his forerunners. If your a jazz purist or a fan of sixties pop music, then this album may be of some interest. If your a fan of sixties Hammond Organ and all that is cool from this era, then its a must have.. this album defines the term COOL as it would have been understood in 1960's Soho.
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This album is accurately titled, the modernistic sounds of '65 could notbe better represented than with this album. That said, It's not mainstreammusic, although some tracks have become mainstream, Wheels on Fire forexample. Rather, it's a trip down memory lane for the more discerning, thecool-conscious mod, or indeed simply lovers of quality musicianship. Atthe same time, the tracks are not inaccessible or over-exploratory inanyway, they are a blend of straight-forward, catchy pop and beautifullycrafted melody, The Road to Cairo being one outstanding example of a songthat sounds as classic as A White Shade of Pale, but thankfully not asover-endorsed. Brian Auger's Hammond playing is as exciting as it isskilled and the instrumental tracks in particular, display levels ofability on a par with the greats like J. Smith et al. However there is aBritish sound to his organ playing and the empthasis is on fun andexcitement rather than purity. This is not an album for jazz purists andit is not an album for those looking for rare pop tunes of 1965. This isan album for those who want to know what was really going down with thesocial elite in those dark, smoky London clubs, lofts and cellar bars backin the mid-sixties.
The album is both a time capsule for the period andone of those few albums that you can listen to and appreciate from startto end.
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 customer say;
Most people are familiar with This Wheel's on Fire which reached No 5 in the UK charts in 1968. I'd always loved it (and Julie Driscoll !!) and recently found 2 more tracks by Jools and the Brian Auger Trinity on Polydors' "Spirit of Joy" compilation 3CD boxed set. These pursuaded me to seek out more but I feel I was a bit taken in by this.

The title on Amazon comes up under Julie Driscoll but the CD is actually a Brian Auger production. Perhaps I should have blown up the CD cover pic, which does title it "Brian Auger - The mod years. 1965-1969 Complete Singels (it's a German-produced issue), B-sides & rare tracks". At the bottom it mentions Brian Auger & The Trinity & Julie Driscoll. In fact, only the first 5 tracks of the 21 feature Jools as the lead singer. The rest are tracks by Brian's combo with occasional backup vocals which could be done by her.

The Jools' tracks make the CD worthwhile for me and show her great range of vocals, something which may surprise anyone who is only familiar with "Wheels". Live videos of Tracks 2,3 & 5 can be found on YouTube and they're worth seeking out.

The rest of the album features Brian's combo which on the old Wheels TV videos was always shown to be 3-piece, with bass and drums supporting the Hammond organ. Several of these tracks include guitar with some solos. Several of the tracks are instrumentals (with the Hammond prominent as in the old Peddlars set up). There are also several standards from that era in Green Onions, The In Crowd, Cry Me a River and Canna Get a Witness. Most of the tracks are jazz-style some supplimented by brass and in the mold of Georgie Fame, only a few are R&B.



Tracks:
1      I Am a Lonesome Hobo     (Dylan     4:05
2     This Wheel's on Fire     (Dylan     3:32
3      Road to Cairo     (Ackles     5:21
4      Shadows of You     (Auger, Driscoll     3:40
5      Save Me, Pts. 1-2     (Franklin, Ousley     4:02
6      As She Knows     (Ambrose     3:35
7      Tiger     (Auger, Sutton     2:31
8      Kiko     (McGriff     5:22
9      Fool Killer     (Allison     2:15
10     Let's Do It Tonight     (Kack     4:31
11     Green onions 65     (Cropper, Jackson, Jones, Steinberg     3:20
12     Oh, Baby Won't You Come BackHome to Croydon, Where Everbody Beedle An' (Auger, Sutton     2:22
13     Back at the Chicken Shack     (Smith     3:53
14     The "In" Crowd     (Page     3:43
15     Baby Take Me     (Armshead, Ashford, Simpson     2:12
16     Can I Get a Witness     (Dozier, Holland     3:35
17      Baby Baby         2:26
18      Holy Smoke     (Auger     3:28
19      Cry Me a River     (Hamilton     2:46
20      Oh Baby, Don't You Do It     (Dozier, Holland     3:29
21      Lord Remember Me     (Traditional     4:18

Line Up;

Dave Ambrose     Bass, Vocals (Background)
Brian Auger     Arranger, Clavinet, Keyboards, Liner Notes, Mellotron, Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric), Producer, Vocals
Long John Baldry     Vocals
Gary Boyle     Guitar
Vic Briggs     Guitar
Richard Brown, Jr.     Bass
Clem Catini     Drums
Julie Driscoll     Vocals
Polly Perkins     Flute
Rod Stewart     Vocals
Roger Sutton     Bass
Clive Thacker     Drums
Mickey Waller     Drums
Giorgio Gomelsky     Producer
Eddy Offord     Engineer