Record Reviews

PROCOL HARUM ~ BROKEN BARRICADES (DELUXE EXPANDED EDITION) ESOTERIC 2673 (Barcode: 5013929477346) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1970 - 1971 Released: 2019 This is a reissue of the fifth studio album by the seminal British Classic Rock group Procol HarumFind albums by this artist, one of the last active representatives of the great music wave that started over five decades ago. This album´s lineup, same as on its predecessor "HomeFind albums with this title", includes three founding members: vocalist / pianist Gary BrookerFind albums by this artist, guitarist Robin TrowerFind albums by this artist and drummer B. J. WilsonFind albums by this artist with Hammond organist Chris CoppingFind albums by this artist, who also played the bass. This was the second album by the group that was produced by the celebrated producer Chris ThomasFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight songs, five composed by Brooker and three by Trower, with lyrics by poet Keith ReidFind albums by this artist. This remastered and expanded edition adds nine bonus tracks with alternate tracks and two bonus CDs with live recordings. The first bonus CD presents a US live radio broadcast recorded before the album was released and played by the same four-piece version of the band. It also presents a BBC Radio session recorded six months later by the new five-piece version of the band, put together following Trower´s departure, which also includes guitarist Dave BallFind albums by this artist and bassist Alan CartwrightFind albums by this artist. The second bonus CD presents a live Swedish Radio concert by the same five piece version of the band. The musical direction of this album continues the path set by the group on "Home", being decidedly more Rock oriented, with memorable riffs, orchestral arrangements and the double keyboards still prominently featured. The songs are shorter and more concise, featuring more guitar riffs and up-tempo songs, with shorter instrumental passages, flirting with early Hard Rock. But some of the bombastic Gothic and Psychedelic soundscapes are still present, making it clear that this is still Procol Harum after all. The songwriting is still very strong and these tracks lost nothing of their charm and power over the years. In retrospect this album is a second part of the bridge between the epic first three albums by the group and the rest of their 1970s recordings, which moved beyond the initial concept, which started with the formative "A Whiter Shade Of Pale". The album still sounds great after all those years, and is a refreshing experience for people who have not listened to it for a while. It seems that everything that Rock had to say was more or less already articulated by early 1970s. To the many fans of the group this is of course a must have item in their collections. An evergreen by all means! The live tracks prove that Procol Harum was always a formidable live act and their ability to adopt new players into their lineup as rapidly as they did is still remarkable. Overall this is a brilliant piece of Rock history, which deserves an honorable place in any serious Rock music collection.

Updated: 09/04/2022Posted: 04/10/2019

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PROCOL HARUM ~ EXOTIC BIRDS AND FRUIT (DELUXE EXPANDED EDITION) ESOTERIC 2633 (Barcode: 5013929473348) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1973 - 1974 Released: 2018 This is a reissue of the seventh studio album by the seminal British Classic Rock group Procol HarumFind albums by this artist, one of the last active representatives of the great music wave that started over five decades ago. This album´s lineup includes two founding members: vocalist / pianist Gary BrookerFind albums by this artist and drummer B. J. WilsonFind albums by this artist with Hammond organist Chris CoppingFind albums by this artist, guitarist Mick GrabhamFind albums by this artist and bassist Alan CartwrightFind albums by this artist. Guitarist B. J. ColeFind albums by this artist guests on selected tracks. The album was produced by the celebrated producer Chris ThomasFind albums by this artist, who worked with the group since their fourth studio album "HomeFind albums with this title". The album presents nine songs all composed by Brooker with lyrics by poet Keith ReidFind albums by this artist. This remastered and expanded edition adds two bonus tracks (B-side of a single and an alternate mix), a bonus CD with a BBC "In Concert" recording and another bonus CD with a radio studio performance recorded in the US. Following the recording of two heavily orchestrated albums (the first live album "Live: In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony OrchestraFind albums with this title" from 1972 and the sixth studio album "Grand HotelFind albums with this title" from 1973) this album marks a "return to basics" Rock attitude with the dominating double keyboards sound and the moody, lyrical tunes perfectly crafted by Brooker. The overall sound and musical approach is closest to the early work of the group since a few years. Brooker´s incredible vocals and the group´s instrumental work are superb in every respect and the production manages to emphasize perfectly their unique ambience. They were also incredibly effective when playing live, as evident on the two bonus CDs. Overall this is one of the strongest albums in the Procol Harum impressive legacy, which offers a wonderful example of their unique stylistic idiosyncrasy, which knows no parallels. It lost absolute nothing of its power and elegance over time and sounds every bit as wonderful as it did at the time of its release. It is obviously an essential item in any serious Classic Rock / Prog collection.

Updated: 09/04/2022Posted: 29/01/2019

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PROCOL HARUM ~ GRAND HOTEL (DELUXE EXPANDED EDITION) ESOTERIC 2632 (Barcode: 5013929473249) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1972 - 1973 Released: 2018 This is a reissue of the sixth studio album by the seminal British Classic Rock group Procol HarumFind albums by this artist, one of the last active representatives of the great music wave that started over five decades ago. This album´s lineup includes two founding members: vocalist / pianist Gary BrookerFind albums by this artist and drummer B. J. WilsonFind albums by this artist with Hammond organist Chris CoppingFind albums by this artist, guitarist Mick GrabhamFind albums by this artist (making his first appearance in the group) and bassist Alan CartwrightFind albums by this artist and includes also an orchestra, choir and guests. Brooker scored the orchestral and choir parts. The album was produced by the celebrated producer Chris ThomasFind albums by this artist, who worked with the group since their fourth studio album "HomeFind albums with this title". The album presents nine songs all composed by Brooker with lyrics by poet Keith ReidFind albums by this artist and is the first album that features exclusively songs written by the duo. This remastered and expanded edition adds five bonus tracks: the title track recorded without the orchestra and choir and four earlier versions of the tracks on the album, which include the guitarist Dave BallFind albums by this artist, who was replaced by Grabham and who took part in the recording in the final version of the album. A bonus DVD presents a concert captured by Belgian TV. This album was largely influenced by the recording of the heavily orchestrated first live album "Live: In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony OrchestraFind albums with this title" from 1972, which preceded it, and follows the Symphonic Prog idiom these two albums represent in the extended legacy of the group. Of course this album presents a wonderful set of entirely new compositions perfectly crafted by Brooker, which include some of his best work ever, whereas the live album was mostly a rework of earlier material. Brooker´s incredible vocals and the group´s instrumental work are superb in every respect and the production and orchestration manages to emphasize perfectly their unique ambience. They were also incredibly effective when playing live, as evident on the bonus DVD. Overall this is one of the strongest albums in the Procol Harum impressive legacy, which offers a wonderful example of their unique stylistic idiosyncrasy, which knows no parallels. It lost absolute nothing of its power and elegance over time and sounds every bit as wonderful as it did at the time of its release. It is obviously an essential item in any serious Classic Rock / Prog collection.

Updated: 09/04/2022Posted: 28/02/2019

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PROCOL HARUM ~ HOME (DELUXE EXPANDED EDITION) ESOTERIC 2505 (Barcode: 5013929460546) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1970 Released: 2015 This is a reissue of the fourth studio album by the seminal British Classic Rock group Procol HarumFind albums by this artist, one of the last active representatives of the great music wave that started over five decades ago. This album´s lineup includes three founding members: vocalist / pianist Gary BrookerFind albums by this artist, guitarist Robin TrowerFind albums by this artist and drummer B. J. WilsonFind albums by this artist with Hammond organist Chris CoppingFind albums by this artist, who also played the bass. All four of them were members of the group The ParamountsFind albums by this artist before Procol Harum was formed, and this reunion is celebrated by the album´s title, which was a homecoming of sorts. This was the first album by the group that was produced by the celebrated producer Chris ThomasFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine songs, seven composed by Brooker and two by Trower, with lyrics by poet Keith ReidFind albums by this artist. This remastered and expanded edition adds a CD with eleven bonus tracks; demos, alternate takes and alternate mixes and two tracks from a BBC session, those being the only two tracks that are previously unreleased. The musical direction of this album is somewhat different from the three previous albums, being decidedly more Rock oriented, although the double keyboards dominating sound is still in place. The songs are shorter and more concise, featuring more guitar riffs and up-tempo songs, with shorter instrumental passages, flirting with early Hard Rock. But some of the bombastic Gothic and Psychedelic soundscapes are still present, making it clear that this is still Procol Harum after all. In retrospect this album is a bridge between the epic first three albums by the group and the rest of their 1970s recordings, which moved beyond the initial concept, which started with the formative "A Whiter Shade Of Pale". The album still sounds great after all those years, and is a refreshing experience for people who have not listened to it for a while. It seems that everything that Rock had to say was more or less already articulated by 1970. To the many fans of the group this is of course a must have item in their collections. An evergreen by all means!

Updated: 09/04/2022Posted: 29/01/2019

CD 2 Digipak Oversampling Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

PROCOL HARUM ~ LIVE: IN CONCERT WITH THE EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (EXPANDED EDITION) ESOTERIC 2650 (Barcode: 5013929475045) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1971 Released: 2018 This is a reissue of the first live album by the seminal British Classic Rock group Procol HarumFind albums by this artist, one of the last active representatives of the great music wave that started over five decades ago. This album´s lineup includes two founding members: vocalist / pianist Gary BrookerFind albums by this artist and drummer B. J. WilsonFind albums by this artist with Hammond organist Chris CoppingFind albums by this artist, guitarist Dave BallFind albums by this artist and bassist Alan CartwrightFind albums by this artist. The group is accompanied by the Edmonton Symphony OrchestraFind albums by this artist and the Da Camera SingersFind albums by this artist choir. The album presents five songs, one of which is the five-part suite originating from their second studio album "Shine On BrightlyFind albums with this title", two originate from their third studio album "A Salty DogFind albums with this title" and one each originates from their eponymous debut album and their fourth studio album "HomeFind albums with this title", all composed by Brooker or co-composed with Matthew FisherFind albums by this artist with lyrics by poet Keith ReidFind albums by this artist. All these songs have been re-arranged to include the orchestral and choral parts. The album was produced by the celebrated producer Chris ThomasFind albums by this artist. This remastered and expanded edition adds five bonus tracks (B-side of a single and four tracks taken from the concert rehearsals), two of which are previously unreleased. Although by far not the first attempt to combine Rock with Symphonic music, this is definitely one of the most successful attempts to do so, mostly due to the very nature of the early Procol Harum music, which was to some extent based on Classical Music themes and influences, making such amalgamation natural and logical. Brooker manages to balance the group´s parts and the orchestral / choral parts into a non-conflicting tapestry of sound, which achieves a striking result. It is quite difficult to imagine today (2019) how pioneering and forward thinking this album really was at the time, when idioms like cross-genre / multi-cultural / multilateral were not even invented. The music was neatly sub-divided into serious (i.e. Classical Music) and popular (i.e. Pop / Rock) with Jazz being a strange fruit and World Music still being largely undiscovered. Any attempts to create something which defied these "norms" were usually met with suspicion and often outright animosity. But of course these were also the years of great musical discovery (The Golden Decade 1965-1975), as this wonderful album proves. Overall this is definitely an absolutely essential piece of Rock history and a must in any decent record collection, which any true music connoisseur should be proud to own. A timeless gem!

Updated: 09/04/2022Posted: 29/01/2019

CD 1 Digipak Oversampling Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend