Newly remastered and expanded editions of four classic Procol Harum albums
Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1968 self-titled debut album by PROCOL HARUM. Released in January 1968, the record followed on from the huge international success of the band’s debut single “A Whiter Shade of Pale” and the follow up single “Homburg”. One of the finest releases of the era “Procol Harum” captured the exquisite song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid and the excellence of the musicians in the group, namely Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Robin Trower (lead guitar), David Knights (bass guitar), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ). The overall result was a collection of songs that would prove to be truly ground breaking, despite only having being released in Mono at the insistence of producer Denny Cordell.
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”.
Released in June 1969, A Salty Dog followed on from the superb albums PROCOL HARUM and SHINE ON BRIGHTLY. One of the finest releases of the era “A Salty Dog” saw the exquisite song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid honed to perfection on highlights such as the album’s title track, “The Devil Came From Kansas”, “Wreck of the Hesperus”, “The Milk of Human Kindness” and more. Recorded at Abbey Road studios, the album captured the excellence of the musicians in the group, namely Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Robin Trower (lead guitar), David Knights (bass guitar), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ).
Released in June 1970 and 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).
Source: Esoteric Recordings
Image credit: Creative Content
