Procol Harlum

As an album, "Shine on Brightly" is somewhat of a concept piece. It seems to chronicle the fall and subsequent rise of an ordinary individual as he/she progresses through paranoia and insanity to self actualization and nirvanic bliss. This journey is summarized in the epic eighteen minute "In Held 'Twas In I." But, more on that masterpiece in a moment…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a remastered and expanded edition of the classic album Live in Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra by Procol Harum.
Recorded on 18th November 1971 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Canada, the album captured a truly magical performance by Gary Brooker (vocals, piano), B.J. Wilson (drums), Chris Copping (organ and harpsichord), Alan Cartwright (bass) and Dave Ball (guitar), the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Da Camera Singers. Classic Procol Harum material such as ‘Conquistador’, ‘Whaling Stories’, ‘A Salty Dog’ and the epic ‘In Held ‘Twas in I’ were beautifully arranged by Gary Brooker and the resulting album was one of Procol’s most successful and spawned a hit single in ‘Conquistador’…

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)…

Gary Brooker wrote music and lyrics for all the songs on his second album and acted as his own producer, resulting in perhaps his most personal statement as an artist. Unlike No More Fear Of Flying, on which he sometimes just seemed to be the singer on his own record, here Brooker delivered his songs with feeling, enabling him to overcome the star power of his backup musicians, who included Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Phil Collins. This was partly because Brooker no longer felt the need to separate himself from The Procol Harum sound that was so much a part of his natural musical identity. Brooker's lyrics weren't as philosophical as longtime writing partner Keith Reid's, but they could be just as intriguingly oblique.

Since 2001 the band has made several tours of mostly Europe, but also Japan and the US. This DVD captures the band performing many of their most popular tracks in Copenhagen, Denmark on 15th December 2001…

Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1968 album by Procol Harum. Released in the UK in December 1968, "Shine on Brightly" followed on from the huge international success in 1967 of the band's debut single 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' and the follow up single 'Homburg' and built on the creative path begun on Procol Harum's self-titled debut album issued in January 1968. Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Robin Trower (lead guitar), David Knights (bass guitar), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ) took the music of the band to new heights with this, their second album. Dominated by the 17-minute epic suite 'In Held 'Twas in I', Procol Harum re-wrote the rule book of popular music with the material written and recorded for "Shine On Brightly"…

Procol Harum is a band that is (these days anyway) rather obscure, but has had a definite influence on rock music, in general, and progressive rock, in particular. "Best Of" albums seldom are that, and whether or not this one is certainly falls under the area of debate. However, the album is a good introduction to the many sides of this complex and intriguing band. For those who only know of the group's two hits, "Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Conquistador," the disc provides both of them. However, for the more knowledgeable fans, it has a purpose, too. Fans of progressive rock will certainly find a lot of the material here of interest. Besides the aforementioned "Whiter Shade of Pale," which some consider the first progressive rock song, there are other showings of early prog here. "A Salty Dog" is certainly one of these. The song "Simple Sister" is both a solid rocker and, seemingly, a big influence on Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4." "Shine On Brightly" showcases the group's psychedelic tendencies and Beatles influences.