On Track…Procol Harum

On Track…Procol Harum by Scott Meze

Scott Meze distils the breadth and invention of this classic band, showing them to be far more than just a well-loved hit single and a surprise live orchestral album, and finding extraordinary music in every phase of their long career.

EVERY ALBUM, EVERY SONG

Few artists have had as great an impact with their debut single as Procol Harum. Mesmerizing and perplexing in equal measure, ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ remains the perfect distillation of the possibilities of psychedelia in that brief period when British pop seemed to promise a summer of love that would last forever.

But as this book reveals, from the start Procol Harum envisioned a post-psychedelic landscape of the heartsick and bewildered. Through Gary Brooker’s classically inspired melodies and soaring, soulful vocals, lyricist Keith Reid told harrowing stories of voyages into the darkness of the soul, through graveyards of the damned, and to the depths of madness, via classic albums like A Salty Dog and Grand Hotel.

Aided by musicians of the caliber of organist Matthew Fisher and guitarist Robin Trower, Procol Harum invented and mapped out the interplay of those two instruments, soon to explode into prog rock’s epic structures, and pioneered the integration of band and orchestra that helped break the boundaries separating young musicians and the establishment. It’s all here in Scott Meze’s guide, from the first note to the last of a legacy that cries out to be heard.