Definitely What!/Open

Personnel: Brian Auger (vocals, keyboards); J. Harris, S. Margo, A. Peters, C. McKeown, K. Albrecht, R. Mosley (violin); B. Thomas, J. Harrison, T. Lister, K. Cummings (viola); Peter Willison (cello); Ray Swinfield (flute); Albert Hall, Derek Watkins (trumpet); Alf Reece (trombone); Clive Thacker (drums, percussion).
Arranger: Brian Auger.
Simply put, this double-disc set is part of Fuel 2000's Brian Auger reissue campaign. This one pairs the brilliant Definitely What! (an album that featured Auger's group with guitarist Gary Boyle on two tracks, and full string and horn sections) with Open, the first set of recordings split between the names of Auger and British vocalist Julie Driscoll (now Julie Tippetts) -- the album was billed with her name listed first. The two recordings are nearly straight reissues with bonus tracks added to each from singles issued around the same time. On Definitely What!, the extra material amounts to the two-part "Red Beans and Rice" single (a cover of the Booker T. & the MG's tune). For Open there are four bonus tracks: covers of "This Wheel's on Fire," David Ackles' "The Road to Cairo,"Aretha Franklin's "Save Me," and "I've Gotta Go Now," a 1967 track that has only recently seen the light of day on European CD reissues. The sound on these is terrific, but the booklets, other than listing basic credits, offer no biographical information. If you already own the Disconforme reissues from a few years back, these are merely better-sounding ones. ~ Thom Jurek