SOMETHING MAGIC

This is one of Procol Harum's most progressive and interesting albums, and likely to please most fans of symphonic progressive rock. The overall mood is a sort of a wintery melancholy. accentuated by baroque organ and romantic piano parts. The songs are well- constructed and arranged with tasteful orchestration. There are outstanding guitar and moog solos on the majestic 17-minute suite "Worm", and the tongue-in-cheek narration works really well, giving the suite a fairy-take quality. The moog solos are also unusual for Procol Harum, I don't believe thaat they have used it before or after this album. The album also contains somewhat punchier material than their usual languid style, making it fit the "progressive" label somewhat better. The melodies are memorable and the songwriting is in top form, the only weak spot being the R&B influenced song, Wizard Man. The rest of the album is wonderful. This is not your typical progressive rock, but it has enough bombast, pomp and instrumental sophistication to come pretty close to that ideal.