Anteater

There's something fascinating about the idea that someone has been a master at his instrument of calling for decades before you were even born, sharing the stage with music legends both alive and long deceased...and then decides, out of the blue no less, to release a record under his own name in 2012 despite the fact that nobody was even watching for it.

When I heard this solo offering for the first time a few months ago, I asked myself: is this really the same Brian Auger, undisputed god of the Hammond organ, who played with Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin during their heydays? It sounds so...well, contemporary! Unusual, catchy, kinda atmospheric....and proggy?

Hammering the nail in somewhat: Language Of The Heart is very, very interesting even if you don't like it -- Brian hasn't done a whole lot of recorded music outside of his 70's output as leader of The Oblivion Express. Yet here, he combines his songwriting and Hammond expertise with the jazzy, club-friendly production style of electronic duo Tea to fashion his virtuosity into something that can only be described as House-Prog, with small doses of 60's psychedelic pop and contemporary smooth jazz elements thrown in for good measure. I mean, who else is currently even attempting to do something like that these days?

The answer, obviously, is no one. It boggles the mind that there hasn't even been one iota of an FM radio station (not even the bland jazzy ones) who has picked up tracks as catchy as the propulsive "Autoroute', the melancholic 'Seasons' or the groovy title cut and served 'em to an audience that love stuff like this to sink their teeth into. Sure, Brian Auger isn't at the same level as a vocalist as he is as a Hammond player and keyboardist, but when he harmonizes with his daughter on background vox, you almost get chills. That's right, friggin' chills!

The 1960's are getting further and further behind us, but its a helluva breath of fresh air to see one of the kings of the latter part of that era produce an independent collection of songs that manages to stand right up there in substance with the best albums from other genres this year. It probably won't make too many other folks' lists, but it most definitely made mine.

P.S. All of the YouTube videos have been taken down from the album, but the album is fully streamable in the below link:

STREAM HERE

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