Music Review : Procol Harum - Reclaiming Their Place In History

Procol Harum have been in the news recently as a result of Matthew Fishers' victory in his court case claiming rights as one of the composers of A White Shade Of Pale. This is all very bizarre as the part he claims authorship to (the organ part) is a blatant rip-off of Bach's Air On A G-String. A somewhat bizarre and dangerous judgement in my opinion.

However, something much more important has been happening in the world of Procol Harum and that is the reissue of their complete back-catalogue by Salvo Records. Salvo are a relatively recent label and have already been responsible for excellent reissue campaigns for Slade and The Move. The latter, in particular, were one of the best of the British bands of the 1970's and Salvo are to be complimented for treating their catalogue with the respect and love it undoubtedly deserves. Next up will be Nazareth.

The first seven of Procol Harum's albums are now available and it is more than fair to say that they've been treated to the same exemplary standards. The huge success of A White Shade Of Pale in 1967 did them no favours as the end result appears that they've become one of the crucial bands that history has forgotten, they are so linked with that debut single.

They did seem to me at the time a little po-faced and serious but listening to the albums now suggest I was mistaking that for style and grandeur. What the albums do contain are a series of consistently excellent songs by pianist/vocalist Gary Brooker and his lyricis Keith Reid. They are all very well played by a superior bunch of musicians covering a wide range of styles and subject matters.

Outside of that song, many people may know Procol Harum as the band that Robin Trower used to play with. Over the first five albums, you can feel Trower's influence growing peaking on the excellent Broken Barricades. With hindsight, it's really no surprise that he chose that time to leave for a solo career. Equally, though, I doubt if the band with Trower could have made the live album with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra or the studio album Grand Hotel which is possibly their masterpiece.

We've still to get the remainder of their Chrysalis years in the 1970's and there's a couple of more recent albums (including a reunion set with Trower) to come as well. In the meantime, you can either bask in the glory of their first seven albums or enjoy the reasonably priced box set that is due out shortly.

And Matthew Fisher has a sole composition credit on the debut album called Repent Walpurgis. It's all classical rip-offs too!

Concert Review : Another Bruce in Glasgow

Last night saw Jack Bruce play a hometown gig in Glasgow in the company of Robin Trower and Gary Husband. Bruce had recorded a couple of albums with Trower in the early 1980's and recently resumed their partnership with the fine album Seven Moons.

Whilst it's easy to suggest that this is simply a rerun of the power trio setup, it does have to be said that Robin Trower does bring something different to the format. In comparison to his more famous compatriot in Bruce's past history there is a funkiness to his playing that Clapton can't match and which helped light up a number of the songs played.

The set was largely based around the Seven Moons album with a couple of tracks from the earlier collaboration. There are some things that can't be avoided and we also got Sunshine Of Your Love, We're Going Wrong, White Room and Politician - the last two as closing number of the main set and encore respectively - from the Cream back catalogue. The different qualities offered by Trower were more evident in these numbers. Although recognisably the classics that they are, there was a sufficient twist to make them more than worthwhile contributions and, as such, made them so much more than just trotting out the hits.

Jack was on strong voice all night, and you really do have to see him perform to appreciate the different approach he has to bass playing to so many of his colleagues. It makes you appreciate just why so many copyists of Cream and the power trio format just can't pull it off - he's a pretty unique player imposing his style on the music played. That's something that's not up for repetition in less skilled hands.

The concert was in the O2 Academy and whilst reasonably busy, there were still tickets at the door. I suspect that a man with Bruce's history really should be better loved by his hometown, but he seemed to be having a good time and seemed genuinely appreciative of the love showed to him from the audience.

I was particularly pleased as I had expected this to be an all-standing show, but the seats were set up in the front area and were available on an unallocated basis (perhaps that was a tactic to "fill out" the hall if ticket sales hadn't met expectations). Consequently I ended up in the third row.

Support was provided by Joanne Shaw Taylor. I had noticed her from an article in last month's Classic Rock - to be more precise, I noticed her picture as she is an extremely attractive woman!! However, she plays a mean blues guitar and has an excellent singing voice as well. Her CD was purchased and autographed and I'm able to confirm that she's just as attractive up close too!! Well worth catching if she's in your area.