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Procol Harum - A Salty Dog CD (album) cover

A SALTY DOG

Procol Harum

 

Crossover Prog

3.59 | 289 ratings

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Rune2000
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars I didn't really start to appreciate Procol Harum until I heard their sophomore release Shine On Brightly which in my opinion is a great piece of symphonic rock. A Salty Dog seemed like the next logical purchase for me since it featured the magnificent title-track implying that the rest of the album was bound to follow that same direction... right? This assumption proved to be completely incorrect and just like Blue Öyster Cult's Agents Of Fortune turned out to be somewhat of a misstep of an album. More so here since I actually bought this particular release!

A brief summery of A Salty Dog would suggest that the band tried a new approach which in this case meant that they went in many completely different directions. Everything from symphonic rock, straight rock, pop to blues can be traced on this release. It seems to me that the band has got a case of the Barclay James Harvest-disease (or maybe it's the other way around?), since just like that band Procol Harum had two great first releases followed by an album where they tried to go into a new direction.

Although most fans seem to consider it a good idea I personally disagree since I mostly enjoy the symphonic part of Procol Harum's sound and the title-track is the only brief reminder of that glorious past. A few other nice moments can be traced here and there but overall I'd say that this album is solely recommended for the already established fan-base.

Eventually, just like Barclay James Harvest, the band would regroup for another round of great releases in the early '70s. Still it's sad that the magnificent music year of 1969 had such a polar opposite effect on the early prog bands like Procol Harum and The Moody Blues.

***** star songs: A Salty Dog (4:41)

**** star songs: The Milk Of Human Kindness (3:47) Wreck Of The Hesperus (3:49) All This And More (3:52) Pilgrims Progress (4:32)

*** star songs: Too Much Between Us (3:45) The Devil Came From Kansas (4:38) Crucifiction Lane (5:03)

** star songs: Boredom (4:34) Juicy John Pink (2:08)

Rune2000 | 2/5 |

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