THE WELL'S ON FIRE

Not content with making one ill-advised reunion album (1991's The Prodigal Stranger), Brooker, Reid and Fisher decided to take a second walk down this path. This time Robin Trower stayed away, but I'm not sure it would have made a jot of difference. The band is rounded out by guitarist Geoff Whitehorn, latter-day Jethro Tull/Fairport Convention bassist Matthew Pegg and returning drummer Mark Brzezicki, whose staid playing on The Prodigal Stranger was one of the reaons I didn't quite like that album.

I'll have to say, that while this is far from classic Procol Harum, our boys have been more adventurous on this album than they were on its predecessor. On their best moments on this album, like An Old English Dream, A Robe Of Silk, the Handel-inspired organ-driven Baroque-pop (sound familiar?) of Fellow Travellers, not to mention the much-appreciated venom of This World Is Rich (For Stephen Maboe) and the light-hearted Every Dog Will Have His Day, they can even roll back the years.

But despite the great lyrics, fantastic voice and the sultry, sensitive organ, the overall feeling I get when I listen to this album is that it's all too little, too late. As with The Prodigal Stranger, the value of the album is more sentimental than innate. There's certainly precious little progressive rock to get excited about, although my favourite piece, Matthew Fisher's Weisselklenzenacht (The Signature) is a very nice way to conclude what is probably Procol Harum's last album. ... 41% on the MPV scale