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The first Procol Harum album was released in 1967. It is called, variously, either Procol Harum or A Whiter Shade of Pale. It is one of the most assured, innovative, and accomplished debut albums ever released. PH's style emerges fully formed, and it is a powerful and beautiful album.
Standout tracks include the beautiful "A Whiter Shade of Pale", the thundering "Conquistador", and the glorious "Repent Walpurgis". This last song, the album's closer, is an instrumental, written by Matthew Fisher. It combines beautiful organ work, delicate, classical-inspired piano playing, and screaming guitar to create a truly remarkable work. (When I had a radio show in college, the best fade I ever executed was from "Repent Walpurgis" into the live version of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" from "Delicate Sound of Thunder" -- musical ecstasy! But I digress.) A friend of mine who saw Procol Harum on tour in '91 tells me that the live "Repent Walpurgis" ranks as one of his top concert experiences ever -- in fact, he ranks it as one of his top experiences, period. I'm still jealous.
Elsewhere on the album, "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence" is a remarkable example of words and music working together seamlessly. The melody is deceptively simple, but the words (provided, of course, by Keith Reid) are quite different -- quite an intricate set of lyrics, but the blend so seamlessly with the music that it's easy not to notice how carefully written they are. "Mabel" is simply some oddly inspired lunacy.
It is widely believed that the melody of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was stolen from Bach. This is, apparently, a completely apocryphal story. It is an original melody, which is just so good, people think it's Bach. (plus, there is a certain similarity of style.) For more complete details on the similarities between the song and Bach, click here. However, even though there is no doubt that Bach did not write the melody to the song, the songwriting credit is a matter of some controversy. The official credits for the song go only to Brooker and Reid -- Reid for the lyrics, Brooker for the music. However, it appears that Brooker wrote only the chords and the melody. A hefty chunk of the song, to be sure ( Brooker actually says he was influenced by a good tune in a commercial, not Bach, BTW) -- but that's hardly all there is to "Whiter Shade..." Arguably the most distinctive thing about the song is its haunting organ line. The sole responsibility for this seems to lie with Matthew Fisher (he has said as much in published interviews), and yet Fisher has no writing credit on the song -- and thus receives no royalties. This seems to have been the source of some friction over the years. Finally, "A Whiter Shade...", when performed live, had a couple of extra verses not found on the recorded version. If you'd like to see them, click away!
In addition to different names, there are at least a few different album covers around for this recording. My CD (a French version) has a black cover which is a variation of the picture above (it shows the figure in full, with the text outside of the box which contains the drawing). My LP version has a red cover. One song from the album is from the film "Separation", but my two versions disagree as to which song this is -- but the song from the movie is "Salad Days."
Ratings: Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1983: ***** RSRG, 1992: **** Me: *****
Tracks: 1. A Whiter Shade of Pale 2. Conquistador 3. She Wandered Through the Garden Fence 4. Something Following Me 5. Mabel 6. Cerdes (Outside the Gates of) 7. A Christmas Camel 8. Kaleidoscope 9. Salad Days (Are Here Again) 10. Good Captain Clack 11. Repent Walpurgis
In 1968, Procol Harum released Shine On Brightly. An excellent album, it continues in the style of their debut. "Shine on Brightly" is a brilliant single, and still makes itself heard on radio from time to time. The mixture of inventive organ playing, strong guitar, and brilliant lyrics works wonders. "Rambling On" tells a strange and wonderful little story supported by wonderful rhythm & lead work by Trower.
The centerpiece of the album, however, is the 18-minute opus, "In Held 'Twas In I". This is an ambitious song, which shifts through several distinct movements -- structurally, it's more like Genesis' "Supper's Ready" than Pink Floyd's "Echoes." I often wondered about the title, though -- what did "In Held 'Twas In I" mean? I think I've figured it out -- I think it's simply the first words of the different movements within the song. Also, in the middle of the song, there's a spoken joke about a pilgrim going to see the Dali Lama.
Ratings: RSRG, 1983: **** RSRG, 1992: **** ME: **** All Music Guide: 8 (of 9) [AMG info from CDNow!]
Tracks: 1. Quite Rightly So 2. Shine on Brightly 3. Skip Softly (My Moonbeams) 4. Wish Me Well 5. Rambling On 6. Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone) 7. In Held Twas In I
1969 saw the release of A Salty Dog, the last album with the original, killer lineup. The title track is simply one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. It is a story of a sailing ship on the high seas, set to a hauntingly beautiful melody and a marvelous orchestral arrangement. BJ Wilson's drumming on this song is some of his best work ever, finding just the right way to play in this complicated and subtle arrangement. Stunning. It's just about the only song that, when I listen to it, I often just hit the repeat button on the CD player to listen to it again and again. Am I gushing too much? You probably think so, but only if you haven't heard the song.
The rest of the album ain't half bad either. The sound of the band is somewhat different on this album -- it's considerably lighter, with more acoustic instruments, and some vocals from Matthew Fisher. There are also some more overtly bluesy numbers, such as "The Devil Came From Kansas". It's an interesting and quite fun album, especially as there's no other PH album with this heavy an emphasis on acoustic instrumentation.
Ratings: RSRG 1983: ***** RSRG 1992: **** Me: ****, but then add an extra * for the title track. AMG: 8
Tracks: 1. A Salty Dog 2. The Milk of Human Kindness 3. Too Much Between Us 4. The Devil Came From Kansas 5. Boredom 6. Juicy John Pink 7. Wreck of the Hesperus 8. All This and More 9. Crucifiction Land 10. Pilgrim's Progress
Home (1970) has only sporadically been available on CD in the US -- which just shows that this isn't, by a longshot, a just and fair universe."Home" is one of the very best Procol Harum albums -- and one of the better albums by anyone you're likely to run across. A friend of mine (the one who saw them live) described this as a concept album about death. And so it is -- and it's fantastic. What's remarkable is that it's a fairly chipper album about death -- obvious even from the cover art (visible on the left here), which includes cartoon versions of the band members, saying such things as "come back, you scamp!" Inside, there are songs with lyrics like "Counting houses full of lead, the evil eye on high. The streets awash with blood and pus, the new moon's in the sky" (that from "Piggy Pig Pig"). All in all, more songs about death than you'll find anywhere outside of a Broadside Electric album.
The sound of the album is fairly hard-rocking, with Trower's guitar becoming more prominent (especially on "Whiskey Train."). Chris Copping is able to supply some nice, Fisher-esque organ lines on this, the first Fisherless album (his bass playing is a great improvement over Knights'). There's a lot of stylistic range, from the riff rock of "Whiskey Train" (which also features some absolutely insane cowbell work from Wilson) to a ballad like "Barnyard Story" too the expansive, operatic "Whaling Stories." "Still There'll Be More" is a right peppy little number, whose chorus is "I'll blacken your Christmas, and piss on your door. You'll cry out for mercy, but still there'll be more." (and that's not even the nastiest of it's lyrics.)
Many of these songs would be ideal to play at one's memorial service (if you're inclined to plan things like that.) My first choice would be "Your Own Choice," possibly the best album-closing song I know of. "Barnyard Story" would also be quite effective. And, if you're really pissed with your family and loved ones, you could choose "Still There'll be More."
"Piggy Pig Pig" isn't about pigs at all, but rather it's title onomatapoetically describes the rhythm of the song.
Ratings: RSRG 1983: **** RSRG 1992: ***1/2 Me: ***** AMG: 6
Tracks: 1. Whiskey Train 2. Dead Man's Dream 3. Still There'll be More 4. Nothing That I Didn't Know 5. About to Die 6. Barnyard Story 7. Piggy Pig Pig 8. Whaling Stories 9. Your Own Choice
On this 1971 album, Trower's last with the band, his guitar playing comes even farther into the spotlight. Indeed, Trower wrote the music for three of the songs here. On the whole, this album is solid, well written and well-played -- but not as engrossing as the four which come before it. "Simple Sister" is a heavy, riff-based song showing off Trower's guitar playing -- but also putting Brooker's piano at the center of the song.
On the whole, it's a solid, of not spectacular, album.
RSRG 1983: ** RSRG 1992: ***1/2 Me: ***, maybe ***1/2
Tracks: 1 .Simple Sister 2. Broken Barricades 3. Memorial Drive 4. Luskus Delph 5. Power Failure 6. Song For a Dreamer 7. Playmate of The Mouth 8. Poor Mohammed
( Live In Concert With the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra [1972])
This is the first Procol Harum recording after the departure of Robin Trower -- Dave Ball is the Trower clone du jour. As the title indicates, it is a concert at which the band performed with a live orchestra (according to the liner notes, some 52 musicians and 24 singers). Some of the songs performed, such as "A Salty Dog", were orchestrated in their original incarnation. Others, such as "Conquistador," were not. I think the songs stand up very well to the treatment they receive here -- "Conquistador" especially works very well in its newly orchestrated form. "A Salty Dog" remains "A Salty Dog", which is a very good thing. The last track on the recording is "In Held Twas in I" (labeled "In Held Twas I" on my CD, which also gives names to the sub-sections of the songs: "Glimpses of Nirvana", "'Twas Teatime at the Circus", "In The Autumn of my Madness", "Look to Your Soul", "Grand Finale"), the 18 minute opus from Shine On Brightly.
Ratings: RSRG 1983: ** RSRG 1992: ***1/2 Me: ***1/2
Tracks: 1. Conquistador 2. Whaling Stories 3. A Salty Dog 4. All This and More 5. In Held 'Twas (in) I
For a long time, this 1972 album was just about the only Procol Harum album you could reliably find in CD stores, and thus it annoys me an awful lot, tho I suppose that's not the album's fault. It's really not a bad collection, but it's no substitute for getting the whole albums -- especially the first three. This collection is, however, the only place one can find "Homburg", another 1967 hit and a very good song, Also available exclusively here are other early singles or B-sides "Lime Street Blues", "(In The Wee Small Hours of) Sixpence", and "Long Gone Geek". Also, given the relative unavailability of "Home" and "Broken Barricades", this is effectively the only place to find "Whisky Train" and "Simple Sister". So, it's not really a bad buy.
Ratings: RSRG 1983: **** RSRG 1992: **** Me: ***1/2 AMG: 8
Tracks: 1. A Whiter Shade of Pale 2. Lime Street Blues 3. Homburg 4. (In The Wee Small Hours of) Sixpence 5. Quite Rightly So 6.Shine on Brightly 7.A Salty Dog 8. Long Gone Geek 9. Whisky Train 10. Simple Sister 11. Conquistador
I've recently seen a new "Best of" in stores which has much the same lineup, tho not exactly the same. It claims to be digitally remastered, so may sound better than the older version. But I don't own it, so I can't say a whole lot more.
This 1973 offering was the first studio album without Trower, also the first PH album on their new label, Chrysalis. A solid album, with a rich sound, perhaps less rock-oriented than the Trower years. "Grand Hotel" is a majestically arranged song -- quite impressive. "T.V. Caesar" is another standout track. Strangely, BJ Wilson is credited with playing, along with drums and percussion, 22 (!!) mandolins -- presumably on the title track. Much like songs on "Home", Toujours L'Amour" is a chugging, almost peppy song with rather grim lyrics.
Ratings: RSRG 1983: *** RSRG 1992: **1/2 Me: *** AMG: 4
Tracks: 1. Grand Hotel 2. Toujours L'Amour 3. A Rum Tale 4. T.V. Caesar 5. A Souvenir of London 6. Bringing Home the Bacon 7. For Liquorice John 8. Fires (Which Burn Brightly) 9. Robert's Box
A generally overlooked album, but for my money, one of Procol Harum's best -- certainly the best since Home. The songs are well written, a bit harder rocking, while maintaining the lush arrangements of past albums. As on Home, the lyrics tend to be rather dark, while the music is uplifting. The only track with an orchestra is in the powerful opener "Nothing But the Truth", but the rest of the tracks feel like they are orchestrated, so deft are the arrangements. Famed Brit DJ John Peel described "Nothing But the Truth" as "..all meaty positive stuff with some fine drummery... There's a latent power, too, something like a huge engine cruising... A fine single!" He's right.
However, the rest of the tracks are hardly slouches. "As Strong as Samson" and "New Lamps for Old" are gorgeous, devastatingly cynical ballads, which break your heart with both their lyrics and melodies. "The Idol" is somewhere between a mournful lament for and a bitter attack against fallen heores. And I don't know who "The Butterfly Boys" are, but they have a damn fine song written about them.
"Drunk Again" is actually a CD bonus track; it was originally the B-side of the single of "Nothing But the Truth".
Ratings: RSRG 1983: **** RSRG 1992: *** Me: **** AMG: 6
Tracks: 1. Nothing But the Truth 2. Beyond the Pale 3. As Strong as Samson 4. The Idol 5. The Thin End of the Wedge 6. Monsieur R. Monde 7. Fresh Fruit 8. Butterfly Boys 9. New Lamps for Old 10. Drunk Again
On this 1975 album, PH apparently almost entirely abandon their traditional sound, and are produced by songwriters Leiber & Stoller. Apparently, when they were first approached, Leiber & Stoller were under the misapprehension that the album would be comprised entirely of L&S songs -- this was not the case. In the end, only one L&S song appears. Also included on the album is a cover of the Beatles "Eight Days a Week", which is jaunty enough, but doesn't really do it for me (especially with all that hand clapping...) However, there is some nifty work by a horn section. Standout tracks: "Fool's Gold" and "Taking the Time".
Ratings: RSRG 1983: *** RSRG 1992: ** AMG: 4
Tracks: 1. Pandora's Box 2. Fool's Gold 3. Taking the Time 4. Unquiet Zone 5. Final Thrust 6. I Keep Forgetting 7. Without a Doubt 8. Piper's Tune 9. Typewriter Torment 10. Eight Days A Week
This 1977 album is not as inspired as Exotic Birds and Fruit (though certainly not bad), but returns to a more distinctively PH style. It also includes another side-long suite, this one called "The Worm and the Tree", which, unfortunately, has spoken poetic sections. I think such sections tend to work less well than sung vocals -- but maybe that's just because spoken verse in an orchestral rock context always reminds me of the worst bits of the Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed -- and that's not good. However, the music in between the spoken bits is far superior to anything you could find on most Moody Blues albums (not that the Moody's don't have their moments.) . "Wizard Man" is a nice little rocker, "Strangers in Space" a nice, slow-paced ballad. "Something Magic" has sharp, powerful orchestration.
This album also marks a change in lineup and instrumentation. Chris Copping moved back to playing bass as Alan Cartwright departed, and Pete Solley took over on keyboards. However, instead of the usual Hammond organ, Solley used a Yamaha, and added synthesizers -- whether the addition of synthesizers is entirely successful is a matter of taste. "The Mark of the Claw" had music written by Mick Grabham. Chris Copping quit the band entirely after the Spring '77 UK tour, to be replaced by Dee Murray for the North American tour.
This seemed to be the last Procol Harum album -- until 1991......
Ratings: RSRG 1983: *** RSRG 1992: ** Me: oh, say, **1/2, maybe *** AMG: 4
Tracks: 1. Something Magic 2. Skating on Thin Ice (no, not the Jethro Tull song) 3. Wizard Man* 4. The Mark of the Claw 5. Strangers in Space 6. The Worm and the Tree: Part I: Introduction -- Menace -- Occupation Part II: Enervation -- Expectancy -- Battle Part III: Regeneration -- Epilogue
* -- the CD packaging seems to indicate that this is a CD bonus track, yet the liner notes seem to indicate that it was on the original album. I've been told by someone who has seen the original album that the song was always on it... In any event, it's a good song.
Until late 1996, this was the only place to get any Chrysalis stuff on CD. (Well, apart from Grand Hotel, which has been available for a while.) Now that the albums have been released on CD, it's not as important.
Ratings: RSRG 1992: *** Me: *** AMG: 6
Tracks: 1. Grand Hotel 2. Pandora's Box 3. Fresh Fruit 4. Bringing Home the Bacon 5. Something Magic 6. Fool's Gold 7. Nothing But The Truth 8. Toujour's L'Amour 9. As Strong as Samson 10. T.V. Caesar 11. Wizard Man 12. The Unquiet Zone 13. A souvenir of London 14. The Idol
We all thought the band was long gone, but in 1991, Procol Harum came back strong, releasing "The Prodigal Stranger." For the first time since "A Salty Dog", Brooker, Fisher, and Trower were all back together again. Unfortunately, BJ Wilson died before the album was recorded, and thus it is dedicated to him.
"The Prodigal Stranger" is a damn fine album, probably better than anyone had reason to expect. The arrangements aren't as lush or classically inspired as the older PH work, and the sound is a bit more like 80's rock than 70's -- but it's still undeniably Procol Harum, and it's good. It has solid rockers, such as "The Truth Won't Fade Away" and "Learn to Fly", as well as sensitive ballads, such as "Perpetual Motion" and "The Pursuit of Happiness". The lyrics aren't as inventive or imaginative as earlier Reid lyrics, but they're certainly miles better than the average rock lyrics.Brooker's voice is in amazingly good form, sounding hardly any different than it did in 1967. At any rate, it's a good album, and an awful lot of fun. In his 1995 liner notes to "Something Magic", Henry Scott-Irvine (whoever he is) described "The Prodigal Stranger" as perhaps Procol's best album ever.
Ratings: RSRG 1992: ** [this is just plain lousy reviewing, I believe.] Me: ****
Tracks: 1. The Truth Won't Fade Away 2. Holding On 3. Man with a Mission 4. (You Can't) Turn Back the Page 5. One More Time 6. A Dream in Ev'ry Home 7. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle 8. The King of Hearts 9. All Our Dreams are Sold 10. Perpetual Motion 11. Learn to Fly 12. The Pursuit of Happiness
(The Symphonic Music of Procol Harum: The Long Goodbye [1995])
A couple of years ago, this album popped up. It is an orchestral reworking of various Procol Harum songs, but, unlike most orchestral reworkings of various bands' music, Gary Brooker is responsible for this CD. That doesn't mean that it escaped the problems inherent in most such albums -- gooping up perfectly good songs with lugubrious orchestral arrangements. But, there is some good stuff on here as well. For "Repent Walpurgis", Fisher and Trower re-appear (they are otherwise absent from the album), and Fisher plays a church organ, which has a majestic sound perfectly suited to the song. This re-recording is a winner. "A Salty Dog" stands up well, as it was always orchestrated -- tho the lack of any drums takes a while to get used to. Again, though, Brooker's voice is in fine form. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" isn't really much improved by orchestration -- the orchestration was always implied in the original arrangement. "Grand Hotel" gets badly gooped down (and suffers from a truly awful guest vocalist). Tom Jones takes a vocal turn on "Simple Sister", and is, actually, quite a hoot.
The song "The Long Goodbye" does not appear on any other Procol Harum album -- it is, in fact, apparently from Gary Brooker's solo album Echoes in the Night.
Ratings: Me: ** (though I've been told this may be a tad too generous -- but really, the "Repent..." is awfully nice.)
Tracks: 1. Conquistador 2. Homburg 3. Grand Hotel 4. Simple Sister 5. A Salty Dog 6. Pandora's Box 7. A Whiter Shade of Pale 8. Repent Walpurgis 9. (You Can't) Turn Back the Page 10. Strangers in Space 11. Butterfly Boys 12. The Long Goodbye