Procol Harum Album: “First Four”

If I had to rate the music alone, I'd give this set 5 stars. As so many British rock groups did, Procol Harum brought a unique sound to the early flowerings of English Psychedelia. "Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Shine on Brighty" are excellant albums containing lyrics that are both surreal and pychological as well as wonderful musicianship. The "feel" of these albums are very different than the more whimsical groups like "Tomorrow", Kaliedescope", and early "Pink Floyd". "Salty Dog", their 3rd album is nothing short of a masterpiece.

As I mentioned, the music gets 5 stars. This release however, has many serious flaws even though it is inexpensive. The mastered sound is terrible. The music lacks any real dymanic range. The seperation, lateral and depth, is hollow. The sound robs this great music of life. There is also the absence of the singles "Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Homberg".

I purchased this set a few weeks ago. After listening to just the first disc, I ordered and received the 30th Anniversary set (three discs). The remastering on this set is terrific and there are all the singles and many rarities included.

This bare-bones 'boxed-set' of Procol Harum's first four albums, collected by the Metro label, is just about the least satisfying way to hear the supeb music contained within. Both Westside (who issued the first four albums and the "30th Anniversary" box) and Repertoire have issued this material in far classier editions; Repetoire, and now Friday Music (which has more recently issued the later albums with the full participation of Procol Harum) have reissued the post-1972 catalog. All three labels did a superior job in terms of content, graphics, and remastering to Metro's lifeless, grey transfers.

Westside (the UK label) gets kudos for discovering the most bonus material, and their "Procol Harum", "Shine On Brightly", "A Salty Dog" and "Home" remain definitive to these ears, though Repertoire's are solid as well. Friday Music's additions to the later albums are also more interesting (supplied in some cases directly by Gary Brooker), though Repertoire's tres sexy digipak repros of "Broken Barricades" and "Grand Hotel" sure do evoke the original album covers. I haven't A/B'd all the Friday/Repertoire CDs yet to compare remastering. However, any of these options beats this cheesy set put out by Metro.

This is a terrific CD set. It does however have a major flaw. It lacks two tracks from the A Salty Dog CD, the title track and Long Gone Geek. This being the case the statement on the cover that it contains the first four albums is incorrect. It also adheres to the British album format and thus lacks A Whiter Shade Of Pale from their eponymous debut.