Procol Harum - Procol Harum

Dan:

I used to hear "Whiter Shade of Pale" a lot during the late 1960s. It was released in 1967 as a single. The UK album with the iconic cover art actually omitted the hit single. Fortunately for album buyers, the US version led off with "Whiter Shade." I never really owned the record; it was not a priority because it was played so often on the radio. It's one of those songs that I never tire of hearing, even 50+ years later. It sealed its place in rock history when chosen for The Big Chill's soundtrack in 1983. 

As many critics have said, "Whiter Shade" succeeds because it's not straightforwardly interpretable, and a literal interpretation is bound to be pointless. Like the Grateful Dead's lyricist, Robert Hunter, Keith Reid leaves a certain number of "factual" clues that never seem to cohere into a specific story or scenario. That's a good thing because who wants to have everything spelled out?

Of course, the lyrics are only part of the story. Matthew Fisher's Bach-inspired Hammond organ cinches the deal that makes the four-minute song a timeless classic. 

Of all the members of Procol Harum's original lineup, I feel that guitarist Robin Trower made the biggest impact on rock music. Pictured at the top, "Robbie" is a mere six months younger than me. (I tend to relate to musicians of my own generation.) There is not much space for Trower on many of Procol Harum's songs, except for their second album Shine on Brightly. His featured instrumental, "Repent Walpurgis," closes Procol Harum with as fine a track as the band has ever recorded, IMHO. 

"Homburg," which appears on some versions of the original album and is added as a bonus on CD reissues, also deserves special mention for its cool lyrics. Although the premise of the song is easy to decipher (girl leaving boy), the lyrics remain mysterious. "The mirror, on reflection, has climbed back up on the wall" from the first verse is amazing, as is the whole second verse: 

The town clock in the market square / Stands waiting for the hour  

When its hands they both turn backward / And on meeting will devour  

Both themselves and also any fool / Who dares to tell the time  

And the sun and moon will shadow / And the signpost cease to sign.

In terms of (re-)discovery, son Steve is the one who loaned me his CD reissue of Procol Harum a few years ago. I never owned my own copy, but now I do. 

Steve:

This is indeed a very strong album by one of the finest bands of their time, and yet it struck me that although I listen to Procol Harum frequently, I don't reach for this album very often. More so than their next few albums, Procol Harum emphasizes a cohesive sound, really coloring outside the lines just once, on the music hall goof "Mabel". Future albums would see the band getting a lot heavier and more stylistically eclectic. Since that was the Procol Harum I grew up with (I got this album much later than I did the first few), that's how I identify with them. I see Procol Harum as a direct product of the literate, organ-driven school of rock music influenced by Bob Dylan circa Blonde on Blonde, along with The Band.  

Procol Harum nonetheless has some amazing highlights - "Something Following Me", "A Christmas Camel", "Conquistador" and "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence" are my favorites. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a perfect storm of the Three Ms (mystery, majesty, and melancholy); I have never quite understood why it was such a big hit or why it has endured so long, but it definitely sucks you in, even if I can't make heads or tails of it lyrically.