Procol Harlum

In 1969, after finishing A Salty Dog, organist Matthew Fisher and bassist Dave Knights decided to exit the lineup of Procol Harum. The remaining members – Gary Brooker, Robin Trower, and B.J. Wilson, in the course of reshaping the band – added Chris Copping, who played both bass and keyboards had been part of the original lineup of the Paramounts, whence the rest of Procol Harum had come. The new version of the band was still working out their sound with neophyte producer Chris Thomas and in mid-January of 1970 decided to head to Abbey Road Studios for a series of informal demo sessions, devoted to straight-ahead rock & roll of the kind that they'd played as the Paramounts.

A New 4 CD Remastered Clamshell Various Artists Boxed Set Celebrating The Finest Sounds Of The So-Called "Underground" And Progressive Rock Music Of 1972. Five Hours Of Music Featuring Tracks By Atomic Rooster, Barclay James Harvest, Edgar Broughton Band, Caravan, Curved Air, Emerson Lake And Palmer, Family, Free, Gentle Giant, Hawkwind, Help Yourself, Khan, Lindisfarne, Man, Matching Mole, Nektar, Pretty Things, Procol Harum, Nektar, Rare Bird, Al Stewart, Ten Years After, Thin Lizzy, Uriah Heep, Van Der Graaf Generator, Vinegar Joe, Wishbone Ash, Yes And Many More.

A spin-off of Procol Harum, Freedom was formed by guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison. Both of them were in Procol Harum's lineup at the outset for their debut "A Whiter Shade of Pale" single, but were ousted almost immediately when Procol singer, Gary Brooker, enlisted his former bandmates from the Paramounts, Robin Trower and Barry Wilson, as replacements.
Freedom's final outing in 1972, Is More Than a Word, is a study in contrasts. It still rocks hard as all get out, á la Humble Pie, but it also points in an interesting direction in places: toward more textured and acoustic-flavored material that echoes country music, thanks to an electric violin - uncredited - on the opening track "Together." Elsewhere, there is scathing blues-rock in the funky, raucous, rave-up vein on cuts…