On April 13th, Britain's Salvo label will release expanded editions of Procol Harum's self-titled debut album and their second album "Shine On Brightly". Though the discs will be packed to capacity with music, we will be getting only 4 unreleased tracks; an unreleased song called "Understandably Blue", a backing track for a 1967 version of "A Robe of Silk"(re-recorded almost 4 decades later for the album "The Well's On Fire"), and backing track versions of "Monseur Armand" & "In The Wee Small Hours of Sixpence". My contact at Fly Records says that "Alpha" & "McGreggor" will be newly remixed for these releases(Westside's mixes were mono rechanneled for fake stereo)

[bigred]Procol Harum[/bigred]
[lilred]April 13, 2009[/lilred]

Cover image not available yet ...

Their music was a particularly majestic hybrid. Keith Reid's expansive, highly cinematic lyrics crowned an instantly identifiable sound. Strong R'n'B influences were integrated with classical themes. Gary Brooker's blue-eyed soul vocals were accompanied by a hallmark dual keyboard sound (a Steinway grand piano and a Hammond organ), bluesy guitar playing, rock-inspired percussion and melodic bass lines, forming the essence of a uniquely British ensemble. Salvo, in association with Fly Records, have enlisted the assistance of songwriters and band mainstays Gary Brooker and Keith Reid in presenting the Procol Harum's early albums as a part of their meticulously produced 40th Anniversary Series. Procol's classic recordings are to be collated chronologically for the first time accompanied by copious bonus tracks - including previously unreleased masters - and generous, highly detailed booklets. A wonderful album that built on the lavish promise of their first two singles, which weren't originally included, and proved very influential in its own right, Procol Harum's eponymous long-playing debut is here augmented by the inclusion of the timeless A Whiter Shade of Pale, the follow-up smash Homburg and a variety of rare and previously unreleased cuts selected by Gary Brooker. If any song can be said to encapsulate an era - to immediately conjure up the sights, sounds and smells of a particular time - then A Whiter Shade Of Pale is surely that song. For a whole generation A WHITER SHADE OF PALE remains the emblematic anthem of that Summer of Love. And even now, 40 years on, the song remains a haunting tale of mystery and imagination. Thanks to the extraordinary success of A WHITER SHADE OF PALE, the recording of the album had to be staggered, slotted in between a hectic round of one-nighters all over the UK. And when it hit No.5 in the US during the summer of 1967, transatlantic travel had to be factored in too. After such an interrupted gestation it would not have been at all surprising if the LP had lacked continuity, but in fact Procol Harum is a remarkably cohesive record. The foundations for a whole school of specifically English rock music were laid by A WHITER SHADE OF PALE and by the tracks on this album. Even the album's cover managed to capture the spirit of the times. Drawn in the style of Aubrey Beardsley, the illustration was perfectly in keeping with the faux-Victorian flavour established by Sgt Pepper and here we have used the rare pink Italian version.

1. Conquistador
2. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence
3. Something Following Me
4. Mabel
5. Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of)
6. A Christmas Camel
7. Kaleidoscope
8. Salad Days (Are Here Again)
9. Good Captain Clack
10. Repent Walpurgis
11. A Whiter Shade Of Pale
12. Lime Street Blues
13. Homburg (Single Version)
14. Good Captain Clack (Single Version)
15. Il Tuo Diamante (Italian Single Promo Version)
16. Understandably Blue (Stereo)
17. Pandora's Box (Version 1: Backing Track) (Stereo)
18. Alpha (Stereo)
19. Conquistador (Stereo)
20. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence (Stereo)
21. Homburg (Album Version) (Stereo)

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V6PSSG/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001V6PSSG/?tag=imwan-21

[bigred]Shine On Brightly[/bigred]
[lilred]April 13, 2009[/lilred]

Cover image not available yet ...

In 1968, with their reputation in the ascendant, and having just signed to Herb Alpert s A&M label in the USA, it was decided that the band's second album should be released in the States a good six months before the UK. It proved a good decision - and by the end of 1968, Shine On Brightly had reached No.24 on the US album charts. This would be the album that cemented Procol Harum's position as one of the most imaginative and forward-looking groups of the era - a band more than capable of emerging from the shadow of their debut single, A Whiter Shade Of Pale. With the success of Shine On Brightly, musical comparisons were being drawn between Procol Harum and The Band. Both groups relied on the same line-up of organ, piano, guitar, bass and drums. And with the release of their own Music From Big Pink in the summer of 1968, The Band were finally being recognised as more than just Bob Dylan's backing group. Some perceptive critics noted the influence of Procol Harum on Big Pink; while Shine On Brightly - a far more assured and confident sounding album than their debut - confirmed how much further Procol themselves had developed. Opening with Quite Rightly So (Procol's third single), Shine On Brightly displayed a band at the top of their game and determined to stay there. Keith Reid's lyrics, as inscrutable as ever, were particularly impressive on the title track, Skip Softly (My Moonbeams), and Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone). But in hindsight, it was the 17 minute In Held Twas In I which would prove the album's most influential track. Divided into five movements, the song starts with Glimpses Of Nirvana, a wry spiritual quest; continues with the sprightly Twas Teatime At The Circus, which is at direct odds with the sombre In The Autumn Of My Madness, which in turn flows into Look To Your Soul before concluding with the triumphant Grand Finale. In later years Pete Townshend would cite In Held Twas In I as one of the building blocks which helped fashion Tommy; while Brian May maintained that the Procol suite had played a formative role in the Queen sound - indeed, there are distinct echoes of In Held Twas In I in the scene-shifting Bohemian Rhapsody.

1. Quite Rightly So
2. Shine On Brightly
3. Skip Softly (My Moonbeams)
4. Wish Me Well
5. Rambling On
6. Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)
7. In Held Twas In I (Glimpses Of Nirvana)
8. In Held Twas In I ( Twas Teatime At The Circus)
9. In Held Twas In I (In The Autumn Of My Madness)
10. In Held Twas In I (Look To Your Soul)
11. In Held Twas In I (Grande Finale)
12. Quite Rightly So (Single Version)
13. In The Wee Small Hours Of Sixpence (Single Mix)
14. Monsieur Armand
15. Seem To Have The Blues (Most All The Time)
16. McGreggor
17. The Gospel According To...
18. Shine On Brightly (Early Version)
19. Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone) (Early Version)
20. A Robe Of Silk (Backing Track)
21. Monsieur Armand (Backing Track)
22. In The Wee Small Hours Of Sixpence (Backing Track)

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V6PSSQ/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001V6PSSQ/?tag=imwan-21

As an update to my original post, while Westside's mix of "Alpha" was indeed fake stereo, Westside's mix of McGreggor was true stereo. Anyhow, I'm a bit puzzled by what Gary Brooker would or wouldn't permit on the forthcoming Salvo CD's. He's willing to permit the release of several unfinished backing tracks, but prohibits the release of new stereo remixes of previously mono-only polished recordings. Salvo is prohibited from reissuing the alternate (Advision Studios) version of "Conquistador" heard on the "Pandora's Box" CD & the re-makes of "Homburg"(with B.J. Wilson) & "A Whiter Shade of Pale"(with Bobby Harrison) both previously released on the "30th Anniversary Anthology". Brooker won't permit the release of certain things in Fly Records archives, including early(Ray Royer/Bobby Harrison) renditions of "Cerdes" & "Something Following Me" and a stereo version of "Lime Street Blues"(which Fly Records could create, because they've found the multitracks)......so we are destined to never hear them.

For people who missed the Westside "30th Anniversary Anthology" & Westside's expanded reissues of "Procol Harum","Shine On Brightly", "A Salty Dog" & "Home", these two forthcoming Salvo CD's will undoubtedly be satisfying and packed to capacity with music, but the avid fans know that enough material exists(unreleased performances & stereo remixes of previously mono tracks) to have created a 2-CD edition of the debut.

I'm hoping that eventually Gary Brooker will become less restrictive, and, at the very least, most of the unreleased versions and mixes from the Westside discs will be reissued. For "A Salty Dog", there's little additional music from that period which can be added(aside from the B-side "Long Gone Geek") .This would be a good place to dish up more 1967-68 outtake material.

Only the two weakest tracks from "Pandora's Box" get reissued(the backing track for the 1967 version of "Pandora's Box", and "The Gospel According To", which is a barely different remix of "Wish Me Well"), and so the price of the deleted "Pandora's Box" CD is now climbing.

I just grabbed a copy of Pandora's Box thanks to your review "elsewhere" Phil.
Thanks for the heads-up on that one, my Westside set is now complete.

Smart move, since only 2 of the selections from "Pandora's Box" will appear on the Fly/Salvo discs. While the upcoming Fly/Salvo discs will be useful for their 4 previously unreleased tracks, Fly/Salvo's editions could have been so much better had Gary Brooker not been so restrictive. There was enough material relating to the debut album to have easily created a Deluxe 2-CD set, with the original UK song line-up in both mono & remixed stereo, plus alternate takes, early Ray Royer/Bobby Harrison versions etc.

Don't forget to buy "30th Anniversary Anthology" on Westside, because it's got the "A Whiter Shade of Pale" backing track, and a previously unreleased re-make of "Homburg"

I alredy have the Anniversary set. With the Westsides, MOfi's and my "Friday" discs I am all set

I actually don't care at all for the alternate and early versions, demos and whatnot, and I don't care for 2CD remasters for the most part, but I do agree there was enough to make "Procol Harum" a double disc. I'm sort of looking forward to all these, but the Castle remasters I had were pretty good, so I'm hoping these will be worthwhile.
Also, how far are they going here? Will they include the post 1977 albums? And, what company is Salvo? I've never even heard of them-why isn't Procol being handled by any of the big labels (they used to be on both A&M and Chrysalis), did the rights expire on those labels?

Salvo is a relatively new UK reissue label. The first four Procol Harum albums(& singles and outtakes from that period) are owned by "Bucks Music", a company formed by Simon Platz(Son of original Essex Music/Cube Records owner David Platz). After David Platz's death, his recordings were split into two companies. One company got the Joe Cocker & Tyrannasaurus Rex recordings, and subsequently sold them to Universal Music. Simon Platz got the recordings by The Move, Procol Harum, and all other essex-owned recordings, except Joe Cocker & Tyrannasaurus Rex). The Procol Harum recordings from "Broken Barricades" onwards are owned by Gary Brooker & Keith Reid via their "Strongman Productions". What I'm getting at , is that the labels who originally released the recordings(EMI/Regal Zonophone, Chrysalis, Deram,A&M etc.) were only licensees. The labels didn't own the recordings.

Now that I have time to really sit down and get into it, I'm going to explain in great detail why there were legitimate reasons to do the Procol Harum debut album as a 2-disc deluxe edition, and why the material that could have been included was important to telling the group's story. This was not just worthless filler.
As you know, the original UK edition of the debut album did not include "A Whiter Shade of Pale". While it is unlikely that the multitrack needed to create a true stereo version of the hit take of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" will ever be found, in all likelyhood, it would be possible to create an all-stereo version of the Uk song line-up of the debut album. If you know where to look(on "30th Anniversary Anthology" & "Pandora's Box", both on the Westside label), you can find stereo mixes(either from the 1960's or 1990's) of many of the first album songs, there are still no stereo mixes of "A Christmas Camel","Salad Days(are Here Again) & "Good Captain Clack", and Fly Records(A.K.A. "Bucks Music") probably has the multitracks to create these mixes. I know for a fact that they found a multitrack for the non-L.P. B-side "Lime Street Blues" and could have created a stereo mix, if Gary Brooker hadn't said "No".

Trivia note if you are collecting stereo mixes of debut album songs. The stereo mix of "Conquistador" on "30th Anniversary Anthology"(and soon to re-appear as a bonus track on Salvo's CD of the debut album) is the Olympic Studios take as on the debut album). The version on the CD "Pandora's Box" is a previously unreleased re-make with superior sound quality from Advision Studios.

There is also great fans curiosity about early recordings made with original guitarist Ray Royer & original drummer Bobby Harrison.(though Harrison joined the night of the session for the hit take of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was not rehearsed or ready to play, so sessionman John Eyden played instead). Some days later, the group attempted another version of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" with Harrison but without Royer(this take has no guitar and has been heard on "Pandora's Box" & "30th Anniversary Anthology". The Royer /Harrison line-up also appeared on "Lime Street Blues", "Alpha" & the stereo "Homburg"(heard on disc 3/track 13 on "30th Anniversary Anthology"),the undubbed "Mabel"(on "First Album Plus" on Westside), the early fast version of "Salad Days(Are Here Again)"(included on "First Album Plus") and the actual UK single version of "In The Wee Small Hours of Sixpence"(heard on CD only twice and dubbed from vinyl, since the tape was misplaced, and a later take with B.J. wilson replaced it on all subsequent releases). The best place to hear the rare original version is as on Disc One/Track 11 on Repertoire's 3-CD set "Procol Harum-A & B:The Singles". The version with Bobby Harrison was(according to Matthew Fisher) recorded at Lansdowne Studios. The version B.J. Wilson was recorded at Advision.

Trivia note with respect to "Homburg":there are 3 released versions: the stereo mix of the Royer/Harrson take(Disc 3/Track 13 on "30th Anniversary Anthology"), a previously unreleased total re-make with B.J. Wilson(& no guitar) which debuted on Disc 3/track 14 on "30th Anniversary Anthology") & the mono single version(the original Royer/Harrison take plus a live-during-mono-mix drum overdub by B.J. Wilson)

Apparently, versions of most of the debut album songs were attempted with Royer & Harrison. It is known that takes exist(which Fly Records recently located) of "Something Following Me" & "Cerdes(Outside The Gates of)". These were supposed to appear amongst the bonus tracks on Westside's "First Album Plus", but due to a miscommunication between a compiler & an engineer, they didn't appear. The situation was this: a mono mixdown reel had the Royer/Harrison versions of the songs, but also alternate mixes of the Robin Trower/B.J. Wilson familiar versions. Unfortunately, the mastering engineer for Westside's "First Album Plus" took the wrong versions from this reel(the tracks labeled as the Royer Harrison versions amongst the bonus tracks on "First Album Plus" AREN'T, and instead they are barely different mixes of the familiar released versions). Westside never corrected the CD.

Maybe those of you who think that the idea that a 2-CD edition would be extravagant or loaded with filler are starting to get my point. And Fly Records located other unreleased tracks(some with vocals and some without) that have never been heard.....and probably never will.

I deleted this post.

Got a look at these at AmazonUK.com and Tower.com and they look really nice. I'll definitely be getting them. Looks like the first two came out in April and the next two "A Salty Dog" (1969) and "Home" (1970) are slated for May 19. The latter two ate without a doubt two of my favorites by Procol Harum.

"A Salty Dog":

DISC 1 for Salty Dog, A (CD) Album By Procol Harum
1 Salty Dog, A
2 Milk Of Human Kindness, The
3 Too Much Between Us
4 Devil Came From Kansas
5 Boredom
6 Juicy John Pink
7 Wreck The Hesperus
8 All This And More
9 Crucifiction Lane
10 Pilgrim's Progress
11 Long Gone Geek

12 Goin' Down Slow (bonus track)
13 Juicy John Pink (live in the USA April 1969/bonus track)
14 Crucifiction Lane (live in the USA April 1969/bonus track)
15 Skip Softly (My Moonbeams)/Also Sprach Zarathustra (live in the USA April 1969/bonus track)
16 Milk Of Human Kindness, The (take 1/raw track/bonus track)

"Home":

DISC 1 for Home (CD) Album By Procol Harum
1 Whisky Train
2 Dead Man's Dream, The
3 Still There'll Be More
4 Nothing That I Didn't Know
5 About To Die
6 Barnyard Story
7 Piggy Pig Pig
8 Whaling Stories

9 Your Own Choice
10 Still There'll Be More (take 3/raw track/bonus track)
11 Whaling Stories (raw track/bonus track)

The Procol Harum website is already listing the bonus tracks for "Broken Barricades", "Live With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra" & "Grand Hotel". No release date though.

Phil:
Have you purchased any of these yet, and what do you think?

I've only purchased "Procol Harum"(debut album) & "Shine On Brightly". I'm expecting "A Salty Dog" & "Home" to arrive later this month.
As for "Procol Harum" & "Shine On Brightly", if you've never before owned these albums, never before owned them on CD or only owned CD editions with few or no bonus tracks, they're a good purchase, but if you own the CD editions on the "Westside" label(the first CD releases to offer unreleased material amongst their bonus tracks), then whether you'll want the new Salvo label releases depends on to what extent you are a Procol Harum completist.
There have been questions raised concerning tape speed and running time on the main album tracks(but not the bonus tracks) on "Shine On Brightly" & (to a lesser extent) on "Procol Harum". Certainly the "Shine On Brightly" album sounds the best-ever, though an analysis by the Procol Harum website suggests that the main album tracks may be a quarter-tone sharp/fast. I posed the question concerning tape speed to Tony Visconti, uncredited co-producer of the "Shine On Brightly" album, but his reply is that, though he received the CD's, he has yet to play them. As for "Procol Harum"(debut album), the speed/pitch differences between this release and previous ones is (on most tracks) very subtle, and no cause for alarm. However, this release of "Procol Harum" debut opens with a slightly different take/mix of "Conquistador" than that heard on any previous CD of the album. The liner notes claim that this was the actual take heard on the original January 1968 EMI/Regal Zonophone L.P. .This mix has the alternate organ solo, as on the 1971 stereo remix(which appears amongst the bonus tracks.(as for which version appears on the original August 1967 U.S.A. DERAM L.P., I can no longer say, because the L.P. is long gone from my collection.)
The truly complete Procol Harum collector should own(or hold onto) the CD's released by the "Westside" label, but also buy the new Salvo CD's.
As far as the "Procol Harum" debut album, my view is that, for the 10 main album tracks, that the Westside sounds better.

I have almost everything released by Procol Harum (Westside, MFSL, Repertoire) and I am really enjoying the Salvo discs. (Actually have their first on as I write this) Beautiful packaging and enjoying the remastering.

Salvo's work on the Move box set was exceptional and with these reissues I feel they have continued their streak. IP's note about the next two released will be on my radar screen for next month.

Rick A.

Rick:
Just checked Tower.com and all 4 remasters are $12.98-$13.99-very good prices. Tower's prices change like the stock market each day, so it might be wise to scoop these up now at those prices. Not sure what Amazon.com has them at.
I really look forward to hearing all of these.

Thanks IP, need to order the next two ASAP. Enjoyed the first two very much last night.

Rick A.

Due from Salvo on 2/15/2011-

Then & Now: The Best Of Procol Harum

17 track remastered collection featuring material from all of their 12 albums, spanning 1967 to the present day, and contains all of their hit singles. Includes 2 live tracks on CD for first time, remastered from the original master tapes by Nick Robbins at Sound Mastering. Tracks include: A Whiter Shade of Pale (mono), Homburg, A Salty Dog, Wizard Man, Wall Street Blue (live 2009), Conquistador (live '72), Grand Hotel, Kaleidoscope.

I have not seen the full tracklist yet, but the 2 Live tracks may appeal to my fellow completists.

Found the cover art and track listing:

http://www.procolharum.com/phcomp57.htm