Brian Auger – Befour / Oblivion Express (2009)

SPV and Yellow team up to offer absolutely stellar reissues of these two seminal recordings by Brian Augerin a deluxe, two-disc set with a new booklet (including historical essay), photos, personal reminiscences by the man himself, and most important of all, bonus cuts. Befour was the last album by Auger's band Trinity, and featured guitarist Gary Boyle back in the band; the vocalist, Julie Driscoll, had departed for a solo career. The band was pushing the jazz-rock thing even then, and its take on funk -- as evidenced by the opening cut, a stellar reading of Sly Stone's "I Want to Take You Higher," was quite unusual for Great Britain at the time. There are three bonus tracks added to the original seven; these include the demo for "Pavane" as well as the single "Fire in the Mind" and its flip, "Rain Forest Calling." On the Oblivion Express disc, the original six tracks are complemented by a live reading of John McLaughlin's "Dragon Song," from a music festival in Germany, circa 1972. The sound on these recordings has been totally remastered in 24-bit, and is simply gorgeous, making these a righteous purchase for anyone interested in Auger -even if you've bought them before.