BRIAN AUGER'S OBLIVION EXPRESS Live Oblivion Vol.2 2LP

"Live Oblivion 1 & 2" został nagrany przez dwie noce 1974 roku w hollywoodzkim lokalu The Whisky A Go Go. Teraz wydany z okazji 50. rocznicy nagrania, jest pierwszą w historii winylową reedycją od czasu oryginalnych tłoczeń. Brian Auger wspomina: "Wszyscy byliśmy absolutnie w szczytowej formie. Zdecydowałem więc, że w tym momencie naprawdę muszę nagrać zespół na żywo". Tym samym powstało to jedno z najlepszych nagrań jazz-fusion na żywo.

FOR FANS OF: Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters, Deodato, The Average White Band, Jeff Lorber, Billy Cobham, Sly & The Family Stone.

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Live albums are often a ‘hit or miss’ affair but ‘Live Oblivion’ 1 & 2 buck that trend, Recorded across 2 nights in 1974 at the Hollywood venue The Whisky A Go Go. The group were finishing off a huge US tour that had roared down the east coast then across the Midwest and by the time they hit LA, as Brian recalls “we were all absolutely performing at our height. So I decided that I really needed to record the band live at that point”. Utilising the Wally Heider Mobile Truck, thescene was set for one of the greatest jazz-fusion live recordings to be made. The show opens with a hyper fast version of Beginning Again due to drummer Steve Ferrone being almost an hour late and running high on adrenaline, Brian remembers thinking “I don’t even know if I can play it that fast!” Fortunately, he and the Oblivion Express including stellar vocalist Alex Ligertwood rise to the challenge and the result is akin to some frenetic jazzy drum & bass but also pushes the group onto another level altogether for the rest of the show. Across both volumes there are no fillers and the highlights are many - Bumpin’ On Sunset, Freedom Jazz Dance, and Inner City Blues are all stunning, but especially the epic version of Maiden Voyage which Mos Def sampled on his 1997 'If You Can Huh! You Can Hear', and both DJ Mitsu in 2004 and 2017 Crimeapple both dipped into Live Oblivion to sample that fire for their own projects.

Auger, in the original liner notes opines how live recordings can often have drawbacks but "I hope that spirit shines through" Live Oblivion 1 & 2, 50 years on from being committed to tape, certainly achieve that and much more.

A1. Freedom Jazz Dance 9:36
A2. Happiness Is Just Around The Bend 08:31
B1. Maiden Voyage 11:11
B2. Second Wind 7:39
C1. Whenever You're Ready 8:21
C2. Inner City Blues 10:03
D1. Straight Ahead 6:01
D2. Compared To What 12:30