Record Reviews

	PROCOL HARUM ~ SHINE ON BRIGHTLY REPERTOIRE 4667 ~ UK ~ Classic Rock 2nd album from 1968. Basically a continuation of the same style and sound as the first one with all the same elements and more great compositions. Remastered with bonus tracks.
	CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

PROCOL HARUM ~ SHINE ON BRIGHTLY (DELUXE EXPANDED EDITION) ESOTERIC 2500 (Barcode: 5013929460041) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1967 - 1968 Released: 2015 This is a reissue of the second 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 the five founding members: vocalist / pianist Gary BrookerFind albums by this artist, Hammond organist Matthew FisherFind albums by this artist, guitarist Robin TrowerFind albums by this artist, bassist David KnightsFind albums by this artist and drummer B. J. WilsonFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven songs, one of which is a five-part suite, five composed by Brooker and two co-composed by him and Fisher (including the suite), all with lyrics by poet Keith ReidFind albums by this artist. This remastered and expanded edition adds three bonus tracks (Italian version of the title tracks and A & B sides of a single), a bonus CD with mono mix of the album, which was previously unreleased on CD, and a second bonus CD with seventeen tracks, nine of which ale alternate versions and outtakes and eight are BBC recordings, those last eight being the only previously unreleased tracks. The musical direction of this album solidifies and perfects the innovative and brilliant achievement of the debut album with the double keyboards dominating sound and the bombastic Blues based, Gothic and Psychedelic soundscapes present again, now brought to an epic climax, illuminating Procol Harum at their absolute best. The suite was one of the first attempts to present such complex and eloquent musical piece within the Rock idiom. In retrospect this album shows that the group was in a constant state of development, as all great Artists are. This album was also to be the most impressive of the trilogy consisting of the first three epic albums by the group recorded in the 1960s, which started with the formative "A Whiter Shade Of Pale". It is important to understand that this album is a milestone in music history, breaking the accepted prevailing sentiment about (not-serious) popular music. It proves that popular music is capable of being as sophisticated, innovative and groundbreaking as Classical Music, which was considered up to that point as the only "serious" and artistically / aesthetically valid form of music. 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 most of what Rock had to say was more or less already articulated by the end of the 1960s. To the many fans of the group this is of course a must have item in their collections. An evergreen by all means and en essential Classic Rock / early Prog milestone!

Updated: 09/04/2022Posted: 01/02/2019

CD 3 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Oversampling Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend