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Procol Harum

 
Album Review: Procol Harum
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Procol Harum

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  • Artist: Procol Harum
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1967
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Procol Harum's self-titled, debut album bombed in England, appearing six months after "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Homburg" with neither hit song on it. The LP was successful in America, where albums sold more easily, but especially since it did include "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and was reissued with a sticker emphasizing the presence of the original "Conquistador," a re-recording which became a hit in 1972. The music is an engaging meld of psychedelic rock, blues, and classical influences, filled with phantasmagorical lyrics, bold (but not flashy) organ by Matthew Fisher, and Robin Trower's most tasteful and restrained guitar. "Conquistador," "Kaleidoscope," "A Christmas Camel," and the Bach-influenced "Repent Walpurgis" are superb tracks, and "Good Captain Clack" is great, almost Kinks-like fun. Not everything here works, but it holds up better than most psychedelic or progressive rock. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
A Whiter Shade of Pale Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
She Wandered Through the Garden Fence Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
Something Following Me Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
Mabel Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of) Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
Christmas Camel Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
Conquistador Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
Kaleidoscope Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
Salad Days (Are Here Again) Gary Brooker, Keith Reid Procol Harum
Repent Walpurgis Matthew Fisher Procol Harum

Credits

Procol Harum (Main Performer), Robin Trower (Guitar), Gary Brooker (Harmonica), Gary Brooker (Piano), Gary Brooker (Keyboards), Gary Brooker (Vocals), Matthew Fisher (Guitar), Matthew Fisher (Keyboards), Matthew Fisher (Organ (Hammond)), David Knights (Bass), David Knights (Guitar (Bass)), Keith Reid (?), B.J. Wilson (Percussion), B.J. Wilson (Drums)
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Wikipedia: Procol Harum (album)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Procol Harum
Studio album by Procol Harum
Released June 1967
Recorded 1967
Genre Progressive Rock
Psychedelic Rock
Baroque Pop
Blues Rock
Label UK Regal Zonophone
USA A&M, Deram
Producer Denny Cordell
Professional reviews
Procol Harum chronology
Procol Harum
(1967)		 Shine on Brightly
(1968)

Procol Harum is the self-titled first album by Procol Harum, released in June 1967.

Contents

Track listing

All songs written by Gary Brooker (music) and Keith Reid (lyrics), except "Repent Walpurgis" written by Matthew Fisher, after works by French organist Charles-Marie Widor and German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. In 2005, Matthew Fisher filed suit [1] in the Royal Courts of Justice against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that Fisher co-wrote the music for "A Whiter Shade of Pale". According to cnn.com, on July 30, 2009 the House of Lords issued a final verdict on the case. A lower court had ruled in Fisher's favor in 2006, granting him co-writing credits and a share of the royalties. A higher court partly overturned the ruling in 2008, giving Fisher co-writing credit but no money. The Court of Appeal had previously held that Fisher had waited too long to bring his claim to court. The House of Lords disagreed, stating there was no time limitation for such claims. Lord David Neuberger of Abbotsbury's opinion stated: "Fisher's subsequent contribution was significant, and, especially the introductory eight bars, an important factor in the work's success...". [2]


Original UK release

Side one

  1. "Conquistador" +
  2. "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence" +
  3. "Something Following Me" +
  4. "Mabel"
  5. "Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of)" +

Side two

  1. "A Christmas Camel"
  2. "Kaleidoscope" +
  3. "Salad Days (Are Here Again)"
  4. "Good Captain Clack"
  5. "Repent Walpurgis" +

(+ alternates takes exist in stereo)

Original U.S. release

  1. "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
  2. "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence"
  3. "Something Following Me"
  4. "Mabel"
  5. "Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of)"
  6. "A Christmas Camel"
  7. "Conquistador"
  8. "Kaleidoscope"
  9. "Salad Days (Are Here Again)"
  10. "Repent Walpurgis"

German LP release (Polydor 184 115)

Side one

  1. "Homburg"
  2. "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence"
  3. "Something Following Me"
  4. "Mabel"
  5. "Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of)"

Side two

  1. "A Christmas Camel"
  2. "Kaleidoscope"
  3. "Salad Days (Are Here Again)"*
  4. "Conquistator"
  5. "Repent Walpurgis"

*From The Film, "Separation"

CD Release

  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"

Bonus tracks

  1. "Lime Street Blues"
  2. "Homburg"
  3. "Monseigneur Armand"
  4. "Seem to Have the Blues All the Time"

Personnel

On "A Whiter Shade of Pale" only:

Notes

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (August 2008)
  • For some strange reason, this album was recorded on multi-track, but was issued in mono only in the UK and mono and rechanneled stereo in the US. Despite extensive searching, the original multi-track tapes have not been located and thus a stereo mix of the original 10 tracks probably will never be possible. Several alternate takes (marked + above), however, have been mixed into stereo and are available on CD.
  • "Salad Days (Are Here Again)" is credited as being from the film Separation[4].
  • The original Deram release of the LP included a large poster of the album cover artwork by Dickinson.
  • Procol Harum has been repackaged and reissued many times. Two of the significant reissues are:
    • Procol Harum...Plus!, a 1998 CD compilation on the Westside label including all the songs from both the Deram and Regal Zonophone releases, plus "Homburg" (The group's second single) and nine additional tracks from the period.
    • A monaural, audiophile vinyl LP edition released in 2003 by Classic Records, with yet a different track order, including "Homburg" as the opening track, and without "A Whiter Shade of Pale" or "Good Captain Clack." The set includes bonus singles of the original monaural and alternate stereo versions of "A Whiter Shade of Pale."
    • Procol Harum's lyricist Keith Reid told Songfacts that the music for "Conquistador" was written before the lyrics. He added that this was unusual as "99 out of 100" of the Procol Harum songs back then, "were written the words first, and then were set to music." [5] The live version from the album Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra charted as a US single in 1972.

References

  1. ^ 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' : authorship lawsuit reported in 'Mail on Sunday'
  2. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/30/procol.harum.royalties/index.html
  3. ^ Bill Eyden, the AWSoP drummer
  4. ^ Separation at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ^ "Conquistador". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=15264. Retrieved 2009-05-23. 

External links

v • d • e
Procol Harum
Gary Brooker · Geoff Dunn · Matt Pegg · Josh Phillips · Geoff Whitehorn · Keith Reid
Dave Ball · Graham Broad · Dave Bronze · Mark Brzezicki · Alan Cartwright · Chris Copping · Matthew Fisher · Mick Grabham · Bobby Harrison · David Knights · Dee Murray · Tim Renwick · Ray Royer · Don Snow · Pete Solley · Henry Spinetti · Jerry Stevenson · Robin Trower · Ian Wallace · B.J. Wilson
Guy Stevens · Bill Eyden
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Other albums

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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