GRAND HOTEL

As the title and the snooty cover art imply, Procol Harum find themselves far away from the psychedelic scents of their early years on Grand Hotel. Instead, the band try their hand at symphonic flavoured prog-pop of the sort which, to be honest, Supertramp would pull off rather better in subsequent years, but it's still an interesting listen which will tickle the fancy of those prog fans who like a little pompous, stately elegance to their prog - particularly if you don't insist on prog bands striving for complexity above all else.

Although they were prog pioneers back in the 1960s who blazed a trail for subsequent acts, by 1973 Procol Harum were far from the cutting edge, with even major commercial acts like Yes and Genesis being substantially more experimental at that point in time, but wisely Procol here stick to what they know and offer a refinement of their early proto-prog style which clearly evolves their music whilst at the same time sticking to their strengths. For some listeners, this will be too little too late, and certainly whilst they are just about treading water they aren't really breaking new ground here.