THE BEST OF PROCOL HARUM [A&M]

My first introduction to Procol Harum and not a good one. This focuses mainly on singles and doesn't feature too many great album tracks. Upon first listen a lot of the music here could come off as organ-centred, R&B influenced '60s pop. Two of the songs are pretty much hard rock. Those two show the influence of guitarist Robin Trower. You rarely get a glimpse of Procol Harum: Prog Band. PH were interesting for having both a piano player and an organ player. The lyrics of Keith Reid are some of the best to come from this era.

One of the best songs, "Conquistador", is presented in a live version. The big single "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" rips off Bach and has some wonderful lyrics. Great deadpan delivery of the vocals with such silly lyrics. On "Homburg" you can hear an influence on VDGG and Genesis. "Shine On Brightly" is a great song. You can hear more influence on Genesis here. You can listen to "A Salty Dog" here on PA, and it's one of the best songs on this compilation. Great vocals. "Simple Sister" is another great song, a mix of hard rock and symphonic rock. Love the long instrumental middle section.

If you are really interested in getting into Procol Harum, I would advise you to start off with either their 1968 album Shine On Brightly or their 1973 album Grand Hotel. These guys too often get forgotten about, and compilations like this don't help. This is only for those who only want to have the more popular songs here. The best songs here are found on the early albums anyway. 2 stars.