SHINE ON BRIGHTLY

For those of you who lived during the glory days of rock music at late 60s or early seventies it's very hard to deny the existence of Procol Harum which successfully composed successful hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale" which reached the UK #1 slot (10/6/67). That happened with weeks of forming Procol Harum where Gary Brooker and Keith Reid first recorded that composition. The song remained at #1 for six weeks before becoming a global hit of incredible magnitude, allegedly selling in excess of ten million copies! I remember how this song was around my childhood with the Beatles "Sgt Pepper's" and Percy Sledge "Love and Tender Love" (Oops! It's a pop song, not prog one at all! Btw, at the time we did not care the kind of music the musician played, really. I also liked James Brown, Joe Tex, The Animals, etc.).

"Shine on Brightly" is Procol Harum's second album and was recorded over many sessions between the autumn of 1967 and the autumn of 1968. Musically, this is an excellent album as is the case with its debut. The key theme of this album is definitely its last track "In Held Twas In I" that has also been played by supergroup Transatlantic in their debut album. But it does not mean other tracks are not good ones. The opening track "Quite Rightly So", for example, resembles the band's musical characteristic with its bluesy based music combined with Mathew Fisher's wonderful Hammond organ. He himself was nicknamed as "Mathew Celestial Smith" as a tribute to his electric influences. The blues-drenched guitar work characterizes all songs featured in this album. I also like the floating "Rambling On" song which has powerful piano work. "In Held Twas In I" is definitely a masterpiece track of Procol Harum! I like the narration at the start of the song and its sitar work combined with piano that follow. Great!

If you are a classic rock fan, you should not miss this album. It's now a legendary album. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW.