A Salty Dog

Infobox Album |
Name = A Salty Dog
Type = Studio Album
Artist = Procol Harum


Released = June 1969
Recorded = March 1969
Genre = Progressive rock
Length = 40:18
Label = Regal Zonophone (UK); A&M (US)
Producer = Matthew Fisher
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4mzyxdjbjola link]
*"Rolling Stone" (not rated) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/procolharum/albums/album/301223/review/5944342/a_salty_dog link]
Last album = "Shine on Brightly" (1968)
This album = "A Salty Dog" (1969)
Next album = "Home" (1970)

"A Salty Dog", by Procol Harum, was released in June 1969. Having an ostensibly nautical theme, as indicated by its cover, (a pastiche of the famous Player's Navy Cut cigarette pack) interspersed with straight rock, blues and pop items "A Salty Dog" showed a slight change of direction from its predecessors, being thematically less obscure. The title track itself was the first Procol track to use sound effects and an orchestra, as would be referred to in the live album performance some three years later. The musical tensions between the group and Robin Trower were beginning to show in this album, and although his guitar sound remains integral to most of the tracks, "Crucifiction Lane", in retrospect, shows that Trower was already moving in a different direction from the rest of the band. The title track, backed with "Long Gone Geek", reached number 44 in the UK singles chart in 1969 and the album itself number 27 in the album chart. [UKChartHits|1940]

Track listing

#"A Salty Dog" - 4:41 (Gary Brooker/Keith Reid)
#"The Milk of Human Kindness" - 3:47 (Gary Brooker/Keith Reid)
#"Too Much Between Us" - 3:45 (Gary Brooker/Robin Trower/Keith Reid)
#"The Devil Came From Kansas" - 4:38 (Gary Brooker/Keith Reid)
#"Boredom" - 4:34 (Gary Brooker/Matthew Fisher/Keith Reid)
#"Juicy John Pink" - 2:08 (Robin Trower/Keith Reid)
#"Wreck of the Hesperus" - 3:49 (Matthew Fisher/Keith Reid)
#"All This and More" - 3:52 (Gary Brooker/Keith Reid)
#"Crucifiction Lane" - 5:03 (Robin Trower/Keith Reid)
#"Pilgrim's Progress" - 4:32 (Matthew Fisher/Keith Reid)

The following bonus tracks were included on a 1999 reissue by Westside (cat# WESM 534):
#"Long Gone Geek" - B-Side of the single release of "A Salty Dog" [This was listed as an album main track on the re-release despite not having appeared on the original album]
#"All This And More"
#"The Milk Of Human Kindness" (instrumental version)
#"Pilgrim's Progress" (instrumental version)
#"McGreggor" - previously unreleased track, originally intended for "Shine On Brightly" [A story of a soldier who was hanged for shooting a senior officer; provenance of this story is unknown [http://www.procolharum.com/young_cat-claude1.htm Procol Harum site] ]
#"Still There'll Be More"

Personnel

* Matthew Fisher - organ, rhythm guitar, piano and vocals; producer
* Dave Knights - bass guitar
* B.J. Wilson - drums
* Robin Trower - guitar and vocals
* Gary Brooker - piano and vocals
* Keith Reid - lyrics

References

External links

* [http://www.procolharum.com/phalbum3.htm ProcolHarum.com] – ProcolHarum.com's page on this album
* [http://www.procolharum.com/xphalbum3_plus.htm] - Extra tracks on reissue
* [http://www.procolharum.com/99/asd_rev_rs.htm Review of this album ] in Rolling Stone magazine.