Procol Harum Whiter Shade Of Pale CD - Import

A Whiter Shade of Pale is the 2001 collection of Procol Harem's best-known songs. Not to be confused with their 1972 album of the same name, the album features 15 tracks that show one of the first bands to move in the direction of progressive rock. The track selection on the album is actually quite good, giving a nice representation of their best material. The title track is the shining standout, a classic pop song that has aged marvelously. The same cannot be said for all the material, as some of the music here is obviously stuck in the '70s. But those are only a few tracks, and the good songs here are really good. This is a great place to begin exploring Procol Harem's music; their brand of poppy progressive rock is not only appealing, but very important to rock's history. ~ Bradley Torreano
Procol Harum's debut album is amazingly engaging, considering that it was rushed out to capitalize on the hit title track. The material was all already written (before the hit, in fact), but the group recorded the LP in just two days, simply to get a long-player out, and came up with one of the more pleasingly straightforward releases in their history. The range of sounds here is the widest ever heard on one of the group's albums -- "A Christmas Camel" isn't that far from the old Paramounts, the group tackling a sound inspired by Bob Dylan (and derived specifically from his "Ballad of a Thin Man"), while "Salad Days" and "Kaleidoscope" are hard-driven psychedelic rockers, stripped down to the basics, with no pretensions. "Conquistador" was the "lost" single off the album, finally released years later in its live orchestrated version, but much more intense in this original version, which has never gotten the respect it deserves. In between those are pub songs, novelty tunes, and one Matthew Fisher instrumental excursion, "Repent Walpurgis," that became the finale for the group's shows for years to come. Originally released under the title "Procol Harum," the British version of the LP didn't contain the hit. In 1997, Repertoire Records reissued this album -- retitled A Whiter Shade of Pale -- in remastered state of the art sound, with four bonus tracks, including a pair of harder blues-based numbers by the band from 1967. ~ Bruce Eder
Procol Harum's first album was originally released without the inclusion of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," a song that had been a monumental hit just before the LP appeared. In subsequent releases, the running order of the album was slightly changed and "Good Captain Clack" was omitted to make room for the hit that the public expected. What further confused matters was the fact that the debut was available variously as a self-titled release and as A WHITER SHADE OF PALE, both of which featured the new track ordering.
In any event, Procol Harum's debut is a formidable and ambitious effort. The band combined seemingly disparate strains of R&B, classical, and rock & roll to great success, becoming a progressive band before the term was even being used. The band's songs are superbly crafted, arranged, and performed. Standout performances abound from singer Gary Brooker, unheralded drummer B.J. Wilson, and organist Matthew Fisher. Keith Reid's poetic lyrics are a perfect match for the unique sonic world the rest of the band assembles.

German digipak reissue of 1967 album includes four bonus tracks, 'Lime Street Blues', 'Homburg', 'Monsieur Armand' & 'Seem To Have The Blues All The Time'. All tracks on this CD are in Mono as originally released in 1967. Repertoire.