Record Reviews

PROCOL HARUM ~ LIVE: IN CONCERT WITH THE EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (EXPANDED EDITION) ESOTERIC 2650 (Barcode: 5013929475045) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1971 Released: 2018 This is a reissue of the first live album by the seminal British Classic Rock group Procol HarumFind albums by this artist, one of the last active representatives of the great music wave that started over five decades ago. This album´s lineup includes two founding members: vocalist / pianist Gary BrookerFind albums by this artist and drummer B. J. WilsonFind albums by this artist with Hammond organist Chris CoppingFind albums by this artist, guitarist Dave BallFind albums by this artist and bassist Alan CartwrightFind albums by this artist. The group is accompanied by the Edmonton Symphony OrchestraFind albums by this artist and the Da Camera SingersFind albums by this artist choir. The album presents five songs, one of which is the five-part suite originating from their second studio album "Shine On BrightlyFind albums with this title", two originate from their third studio album "A Salty DogFind albums with this title" and one each originates from their eponymous debut album and their fourth studio album "HomeFind albums with this title", all composed by Brooker or co-composed with Matthew FisherFind albums by this artist with lyrics by poet Keith ReidFind albums by this artist. All these songs have been re-arranged to include the orchestral and choral parts. The album was produced by the celebrated producer Chris ThomasFind albums by this artist. This remastered and expanded edition adds five bonus tracks (B-side of a single and four tracks taken from the concert rehearsals), two of which are previously unreleased. Although by far not the first attempt to combine Rock with Symphonic music, this is definitely one of the most successful attempts to do so, mostly due to the very nature of the early Procol Harum music, which was to some extent based on Classical Music themes and influences, making such amalgamation natural and logical. Brooker manages to balance the group´s parts and the orchestral / choral parts into a non-conflicting tapestry of sound, which achieves a striking result. It is quite difficult to imagine today (2019) how pioneering and forward thinking this album really was at the time, when idioms like cross-genre / multi-cultural / multilateral were not even invented. The music was neatly sub-divided into serious (i.e. Classical Music) and popular (i.e. Pop / Rock) with Jazz being a strange fruit and World Music still being largely undiscovered. Any attempts to create something which defied these "norms" were usually met with suspicion and often outright animosity. But of course these were also the years of great musical discovery (The Golden Decade 1965-1975), as this wonderful album proves. Overall this is definitely an absolutely essential piece of Rock history and a must in any decent record collection, which any true music connoisseur should be proud to own. A timeless gem!

Updated: 09/04/2022Posted: 29/01/2019

CD 1 Digipak Oversampling Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend