Grand Hotel (Procol Harum, 1973)

I confess I'm always been partial to the majestic melody of this Procol Harum's song and to its classically-sounding arrangements. It opens the 1973 album bearing the same name and it's difficult to imagine a best way to start a collection of good songs. IMHO, this is an underrated and influential song: not only it inspired (as they say) Douglas Adams's SF novel The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, but it opened the decadent and magniloquent way the likes of Queen and Supertramp will soon follow.

Welcome to the Grand Hotel, my friends!

Everything is in tune here, from the brilliant grand piano to the chamber orchestra interlude and from the lyrics about dinners at Hotel Ritz and Hotel Grande to the posh cover art, featuring the band in their most elegant tail-coats in front of a sumptuous building. Aristocratic, that's the word.

Rambling on (Procol Harum, 1969)

Taken from their "Shine on Brightly" album, this is one of the best melodies by Procol Harum, very representative of their style and their composition habits. The sung part isn't too different from their previous and following hits, but it has a wider breath and a richer texture, while the instrumental passage and the final solo add some rock elements into the song.

Procol Harum and the piano: true love...

There are, as usual, several interesting tricks, like the false final fading out or the original empowered piano intro. The piano itself is the leading instrument, but the rythmic guitar and the diversified drums are essential to the song mood. Some say Procol's main virtue is their composition skills. Well, I think this song proves how right they are, and also illustrates the taste for eclectic arrangements and keen musical research the band had. A prog taste, if you allow me to say so.

Repent Walpurgis (Procol Harum, 1967)

This is probably my favourite Procol Harum's track, an instrumental piece dominated by Matthew Fisher's Hammond and Robin Trower's electric guitar. The delicious central piano interlude is also an excellent idea an the majestic pace of the song is simply stunning. No other tracks in 1967 were as prog as this one, no other tracks anticipated so many features of our genre, and after all just a few other bands played such an important role in building up a musical era.

Procol Harum released this 7" single for the Italian market,

including "Il tuo diamante" (an Italian version of "Shine on Brightly")

and - as a B side - "Repent Walpurgis" renamed "Fortuna".

Gary Brooker & friends succeeded in mixing up classical themes, pop-rock riffs and a pinch of folk. This track is still fresh today, but we should never forget how new and bold it was in 1967 and I'll never forget to thank Procol Harum for this. Ah, by the way, Walpurgis was a VIIIth Century British female missionary whose celebration day once coincided with the Witches' annual rendezvous with the devil.

A Salty Dog (Procol Harum, 1969)

A plain song, yes, but what a song! This Procol Harum's third album title track has always been special to me, a real musical treat for my ears. All is perfect: the sea effects, the pop arrangements, the classic taste, the tragic lyrics about a sinking ship. And the vocals, of course, tight and wide as only the sea can be.

The "A Salty Dog" album also features this famous cover.

The magic of adventure fills the song, while the seamen dream a harbour and the captain cries. Here the band didn't try to remake their first and greatest hit, they found another effective way to communicate emotions and images. Last but not least, the melody of the song  is very, very good and well developed. The suspended verse and the airy, mighty chorus shape a catchy crescendo in both musical and emotional fields. Well, maybe they're not fields. They're seas.

In Held Twas in I (Procol Harum, 1968)

Two unavoidable questions are strictly linked to this Procol Harum's 1968 suite, the first being "Is this prog?" and the second "If it is, is it the first progressive suite ever?". It was my duty to report them here, but luckily I'm not obliged to answer. Of course, if I put the song here you may imagine my answer to the first question... and after all, a long composition like this one, with strong rock roots and tons of changes in mood, tempo and genre, with guitar and keyboard solos can't really be too far from what we call progressive rock! Now, for the track itself, taken from the second album of the band, titled "Shine on Brightly" and lasting 17'31".

The American (left) and European (right) covers of "Shine on Brightly".

It's an eclectic one, divided in five parts being kind of separate songs (Glimpses of Nirvana, Twas Teatime at The Circus, In The Autumn of My Madness, Look to Your Soul and Grande Finale) with no recurring themes, many effects and some recited bridges. After an oriental first part, the piano dominates the second and the third brings back the band' signature Hammond organ, while the fourth segment is guitar and harpsichord driven and finally here's the classical and choral finale. So, you'll find enough reasons to listen or re-listen to this,  but let me say that in spite of all the special effects and fireworks, what I really love here are the beautiful melodies spread all along the track. And after such a musical trip, if you think you can answer my second question above, well, let me know.

A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum, 1967)

This is not just a song, this is a myth and a gateway open to the prog rock era by one of the most underrated bands ever. It is diffucult to say how much this track influenced the end of sixties music world, but any time I listen to it, I can't help getting more and more convinced this was a real turning point in rock history. I know, other artists tried a successful combination of pop-rock and classical patterns ("Eleanor Rigby" is there to prove what I'm saying), but here the fusion is perfect and you can't tell what's rock and what's not: it's a seamless single piece of art, not a pop song with orchestral arrangements.

Soberly dessed Procol Harum.

Furthermore, this blending contains traces of r'n'b and psychedelia, so that one could say this was the mirror of its season and its worldwide huge success certainly inspired many artits to follow this path and to build up a new, hybrid idea of rock'n'roll. In short, progressive rock was born. Even the metaphysical lyrics announce a new trend others will make the most of, but Procol Harum were there first... and that's saying something.