Procol Harum 1967

Procol Harum's debut album is amazingly engaging, considering that it was rushed out to capitalize on the hit title track. The material was all already written (before the hit, in fact), but the group recorded the LP in just two days, simply to get a long-player out, and came up with one of the more pleasingly straightforward releases in their history…

Procol Harum's debut album is amazingly engaging, considering that it was rushed out to capitalize on the hit title track. The material was all already written (before the hit, in fact), but the group recorded the LP in just two days, simply to get a long-player out, and came up with one of the more pleasingly straightforward releases in their history. The range of sounds here is the widest ever heard on one of the group's albums – "A Christmas Camel" isn't that far from the old Paramounts, the group tackling a sound inspired by Bob Dylan (and derived specifically from his "Ballad of a Thin Man"), while "Salad Days" and "Kaleidoscope" are hard-driven psychedelic rockers, stripped down to the basics, with no pretensions.

The fourth album by Procol Harum was released as the band was in the midst of a significant shift. With the departure of organist Matthew Fisher, guitarist Robin Trower stepped more to the fore. The two-keyboard approach was still being utilized, with singer Gary Brooker's piano being joined on some selections by the organ playing of multi-instrumentalist Chris Copping. However, the stately grandeur that had been previously applied with grace and subtlety gave way to a band that rocked much harder…

Despite the departure of organist Matthew Fisher, Procol Harum survived, and this album is ample proof. Fisher was one of the prime architects of the Harum sound, and his work on such classics as "Shine on Brightly" and, of course, "Whiter Shade of Pale" underline that. Procol continued as a four-piece, and it was indeed a good thing that they decided not to replace Fisher…

Shine on Brightly was influential in the development of progressive rock by breaking all pop and rock music standards with the 17-minute epic "In Held Twas In I", which marked the beginning of the lengthy progressive rock suites that would occur later in the 1970s…

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"…

British rock group Procol Harum began life as a psychedelic band and evolved into one of the leading acts in art rock and prog rock, all without changing much about their essential approach. Lead singer and pianist Gary Brooker gave the group their trademark sound with his downbeat vocals and lush melodies, while primary lyricist Keith Reid added words that often pondered the unpredictability of fate in songs like "A Whiter Shade of Pale," "A Salty Dog," and "Conquistador." Their music was executed with keen skill and passion, and the band was also one of the first to experiment with large-scale orchestration, as well as performing on-stage with a full symphony ensemble.

It makes no bones about it in the packaging so it would be churlish to get upset, but this collection of first album-era stereo mixes and alternate versions is strictly for Procol Harum collectors only. The ten-track CD has previously unissued stereo mixes of five songs from the Procol Harum album; an instrumental version of "Pandora's Box," date of original recording not given (good distorted guitar and organ dueling, though); "previously unissued alternate stereo mixes" of "Wish Me Well," a song from the Shine on Brightly album, and the single "In the Wee Small Hours of Sixpence"; a long version of "Repent Walpurgis," another song that appeared on Procol Harum; and the alternate stereo version of "A Whiter Shade of Pale."