Procol Harum Album: “Whiter Shade of Pale [A&M]”

PH's debut album was supposedly rather hastily cut, but you would never know it by listening (mono recording notwithstanding); aside from the Title track (which wasn't even actually on the original Deram label PH debut LP), there are moments on this album that hold up so well today that they really make you wonder why this group never achieved the kind of stature their talent obviously merited. Give a listen to (Outside the Gates of) Cerdes (arguably the finest cut on the disc) and you'll hear it all: top-of-the-line vocals and piano work by Brooker; the haunting Hammond organ of Matthew Fisher; the emerging brilliance of Robin Tower on guitar; the trademark mythological-lyrical poetry of wordsmith Keith Reid. This cut alone is worth the price of the disc and tells much of the PH story in a remarkably succinct manner. Then there is "A Christmas Camel"; the original (and much more interesting) version of "Conquistador" and, among others, the wonderful! concluding instrumental, "Repent Walpurgis" (I heard PH perform this live in Columbus, Ohio back in '70; the episode still lingers as one of the strangest and most chilling musical moments I have ever known). If you are at all interested in PH's music, this disc is the place to start and one should plan to tarry here for quite a while. Put it in your basket.

John Lennon's favorite album to get high to features two truly great church-organ-rock-style songs, the title track and "Homburg." They just don't make 'em like this anymore, with such attempts at sophistication. Many of the other tracks are worthwhile too.

This album is a blast back to the ever-changing soundtrack of my youth. Of course, I had this on 8-track, and that, coupled with the poor mono mix of the time, made a somewhat muddy listening experience, but the great music came shining brightly through. This is a great piece of work...

This ia a great album that deserved to be put on CD a lot sooner. The original album artwork is a plus. Any fan of Procol Harum needs to have this in their collection.

Good music but I didn't understand the lyrics. I bought this for the song "A Whiter Shade of Pale", but I found that there were many more songs that caught my ear. The only thing that could have made it better is if it had been stereo. It stillsounded good though.