Procol Harum (album)

Procol Harum
Studio album by Procol Harum
Released	September 1967
Recorded	June 1967 Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock, Blues rock
Label	Regal Zonophone Deram (original release) A&M (reissue) Polydor (original release) Repertoire (reissue) RCA Italiana
Producer	Denny Cordell
Procol Harum chronology
Procol Harum (1967) Shine on Brightly (1968)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Georgiy Starostin	[2]

Procol Harum is the self-titled first album by British rock band Procol Harum, released in September 1967. The original Deram release of the LP included a large poster of the album cover artwork by Dickinson.

Though the album was recorded on multi-track, it was issued in mono-only in the UK, and in mono and rechanneled stereo in the US. Despite extensive searching, the original multi-track tapes have not been located and thus a stereo mix of the original 10 tracks may never be possible. Several alternate takes (marked + in the list, below), however, have been mixed into stereo and are available on CD.

Track listing

Original UK release

All songs written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, except when noted.

Side one

1. "Conquistador" - 2:42 †
2. "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence" (two versions of this song were released--one with a 'firm' ending, not a 'fade-out') - 3:29 †
3. "Something Following Me" - 3:40 †
4. "Mabel" - 1:55
5. "Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of)" - 5:07 †

Side two

1. "A Christmas Camel" - 4:54
2. "Kaleidoscope" - 2:57 †
3. "Salad Days (Are Here Again)" - 3:44 *
4. "Good Captain Clack" - 1:32
5. "Repent Walpurgis" (Matthew Fisher) - 5:05 †

* From The Film, Separation

† alternates takes exist in stereo

Original U.S. release

All songs written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, except when noted.

1. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" - 4:04
2. "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence" - 3:18
3. "Something Following Me" - 3:37
4. "Mabel" - 1:50
5. "Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of)" - 5:04
6. "A Christmas Camel" - 4:48
7. "Conquistador" - 2:38
8. "Kaleidoscope" / "Salad Days (Are Here Again)" - 6:31
9. "Repent Walpurgis" (Matthew Fisher) - 5:05

German LP release (Polydor 184 115)

All songs written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, except when noted.

Side one

1. "Homburg" - 3:55
2. "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence" - 3:29
3. "Something Following Me" - 3:40
4. "Mabel" - 1:55
5. "Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of)" - 5:07

Side two

1. "A Christmas Camel" - 4:54
2. "Kaleidoscope" - 2:57
3. "Salad Days (Are Here Again)" - 3:44
4. "Conquistator" - 1:32
5. "Repent Walpurgis" (Matthew Fisher) - 5:05

CD Release

1. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" - 4:06
2. "Conquistador" - 2:38
3. "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence" - 3:24
4. "Something Following Me" - 3:37
5. "Mabel" - 1:53
6. "Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of)" - 5:03
7. "A Christmas Camel" - 4:49
8. "Kaleidoscope" - 2:53
9. "Salad Days (Are Here Again)" - 3:38
10. "Good Captain Clack" - 1:30
11. "Repent Walpurgis" - 5:02

Bonus tracks

1. "Lime Street Blues" - 2:59
2. "Homburg" - 3:55
3. "Monseigneur Armand" - 2:23
4. "Seem to Have the Blues All the Time" - 2:46

All songs written by Gary Brooker (music) and Keith Reid (lyrics), except "Repent Walpurgis" written by Matthew Fisher, after works by French organist Charles-Marie Widor and German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. In 2005, Matthew Fisher filed suit ^[3] in the Royal Courts of Justice against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that Fisher co-wrote the music for "A Whiter Shade of Pale". According to cnn.com, on July 30, 2009 the House of Lords issued a final verdict on the case. A lower court had ruled in Fisher's favor in 2006, granting him co-writing credits and a share of the royalties. A higher court partly overturned the ruling in 2008, giving Fisher co-writing credit but no money. The Court of Appeal had previously held that Fisher had waited too long to bring his claim to court. The House of Lords disagreed, stating there was no time limitation for such claims. Lord David Neuberger of Abbotsbury's opinion stated: "Fisher's subsequent contribution was significant, and, especially the introductory eight bars, an important factor in the work's success...". ^[4]

The track "Salad Days (Are Here Again)" is credited as being from the film Separation^[5].

The album has been repackaged and reissued many times. Two of the significant reissues are:

• Procol Harum...Plus!, a 1998 CD compilation on the Westside label including all the songs from both the Deram and Regal Zonophone releases, plus "Homburg" (The group's second single) and nine additional tracks from the period.
• A monaural, audiophile vinyl LP edition released in 2003 by Classic Records, with yet a different track order, including "Homburg" as the opening track, and without "A Whiter Shade of Pale" or "Good Captain Clack." The set includes bonus singles of the original monaural and alternate stereo versions of "A Whiter Shade of Pale."
• Procol Harum's lyricist Keith Reid told Songfacts that the music for "Conquistador" was written before the lyrics. He added that this was unusual as "99 out of 100" of the Procol Harum songs back then, "were written the words first, and then were set to music." ^[6] The live version from the album Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra charted as a US single in 1972.

Legacy

The album was named as one of Classic Rock magazine's "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock".^[7]

Personnel

• Matthew Fisher – organ
• Dave Knights – bass guitar
• B.J. Wilson – drums
• Robin Trower – guitar
• Gary Brooker – piano and vocals
• Keith Reid – lyrics

On "A Whiter Shade of Pale" only:

• Ray Royer (in place of Trower) – guitar
• Bill Eyden ^[8] (in place of Wilson) – drums

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Georgiy Starostin review
3. ^ 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' : authorship lawsuit reported in 'Mail on Sunday'
4. ^ "Classic 1960s song's organist wins royalties battle - CNN.com". CNN. July 30, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/30/procol.harum.royalties/index.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
5. ^ Separation at the Internet Movie Database
6. ^ "Conquistador". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=15264. Retrieved 2009-05-23. 
7. ^ Classic Rock magazine, July 2010, Issue 146.
8. ^ Bill Eyden, the AWSoP drummer

External links

• Information on this album from ProcolHarum.com
• Lyrics for the songs on this album