Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1968 self-titled debut album by Procol Harum. Released in January 1968, the record followed on from the huge international success of the band's debut single A Whiter Shade of Pale and the follow up single Homburg. One of the finest releases of the era Procol Harum captured the exquisite song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid and the excellence of the musicians in the group, namely Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Robin Trower (lead guitar), David Knights (bass guitar), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ). The overall result was a collection of songs that would prove to be truly ground breaking, despite only having being released in Mono at the insistence of producer Denny Cordell…
The 2005 released "The Inconsolable Secret" wasn't the best, but it was the most ambitious album of the two US-Retroproggers Steve Babb and Fred Schendel. The double CD was a monumental concept album, on which for the first time Fiauch used a real drummer. In the past, the two multi-instrumentalists had "drummed" or programmed corresponding machines themselves. They also put no less than fifteen guest musicians at the service of this epic work, including a four-piece "Girls Choir", a soprano and a tenor as well as various strings. The album was sold out for a long time - and is now coming back on the market in a deluxe edition. But what's special is probably CD 3, which contains "The Morning She Woke" as well as the four longest tracks of the original work in remix versions…
Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1969 album A Salty Dog by Procol Harum. Released in June 1969, the record followed on from the huge international success of the band's debut single A Whiter Shade of Pale and the follow up single Homburg and the superb albums Procol Harum and Shine On Brightly. One of the finest releases of the era A Salty Dog saw the exquisite song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid honed to perfection on highlights such as the album's title track, The Devil Came From Kansas, Wreck of the Hesperus, The Milk of Human Kindness and more. Recorded at Abbey Road studios, the album captured the excellence of the musicians in the group, namely Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Robin Trower (lead guitar), David Knights (bass guitar), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ)…
Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1969 album A Salty Dog by Procol Harum. Released in June 1969, the record followed on from the huge international success of the band's debut single A Whiter Shade of Pale and the follow up single Homburg and the superb albums Procol Harum and Shine On Brightly. One of the finest releases of the era A Salty Dog saw the exquisite song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid honed to perfection on highlights such as the album's title track, The Devil Came From Kansas, Wreck of the Hesperus, The Milk of Human Kindness and more. Recorded at Abbey Road studios, the album captured the excellence of the musicians in the group, namely Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Robin Trower (lead guitar), David Knights (bass guitar), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ)…
Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1970 album Home by Procol Harum. Released in June 1970, the record followed on from the huge international success of the band's debut single A Whiter Shade of Pale and the superb albums Procol Harum, Shine On Brightly and A Salty Dog. Hailed by many fans as one of the finest albums released by the band, Home saw the exquisite song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid reach new heights on pieces such as The Dead Man's Dream, the epic Whaling Stories, About to Die and more. Produced by Chris Thomas, the album captured a new line-up of the band featuring Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Chris Copping (bass guitar, organ), Robin Trower (lead guitar), and B.J. Wilson (drums).
Newly re-mastered from the original tapes, this Deluxe edition of Home has been expanded to include 11 bonus tracks…
When considering the "strict" period of neo-prog (i.e., the 1980s), The Wake is definitely a classic. Together with Marillion's first LPs, it helped define what neo-progressive was and generated dozens of sound-alike albums by as many bands in the U.K. and worldwide. While IQ would top The Wake with the 1997 two-CD set Subterranea (stronger compositions, stronger musicianship), the former remains the band's true classic, a must-have for anyone remotely interested in progressive rock from the 1980s…