Procol Harum Home CD

The fourth album by Procol Harum was released as the band was in the midst of a significant shift. With the departure of organist Matthew Fisher, guitarist Robin Trower stepped more to the fore. The two-keyboard approach was still being utilized, with singer Gary Brooker's piano being joined on some selections by the organ playing of multi-instrumentalist Chris Copping. However, the stately grandeur that had been previously applied with grace and subtlety gave way to a band that rocked much harder.

HOME is the work of a changed but still very compelling Procol Harum. Just compare this album's opening track, "Whiskey Train," to title-track opener on the band's previous album, A SALTY DOG. Orchestral epics largely give way to bluesy riffing, but as the album rolls along the familiar characteristic strains, both sonic and lyrical, offer a full dose of Procol Harum's dark and symphonic sensibilities.

The group's hardest-rocking classic album is, beyond some superb vocalizing by Gary Brooker, principally a showcase for Robin Trower's high-powered guitar and a rock-hard rhythm section, with B.J. Wilson only a little less animated than Ginger Baker on some of the music. Procol Harum had a split personality by this time, the band juxtaposing straight-ahead rock & roll numbers like "Still There'll Be More" and the Elvis Presley-influenced "Whisky Train" with darker, more dramatic pieces like "Nothing That I Didn't Know" and "Barnyard Story." Chris Copping doubles on organ, replacing Matthew Fisher, but the overall sound is that of a leaner Procol Harum, all except for the ambitious "Whaling Stories" -- even it was a compromise that nearly worked, showcasing Trower's larger-than-life guitar sound (coming off here like King Crimson's Robert Fripp in one of his heavier moments) within a somewhat pretentious art rock concept. It shows the strains within their lineup that the producers chose the lighter, more obviously accessible "Your Own Choice" -- on which Gary Brooker's piano is the lead instrument -- to end the album after "Whaling Stories"' pyrotechnic finish. [Salvo reissued the album in 2009.] ~ Bruce Eder

Remastered with 2 bonus tracks and new packaging overseen by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid

Includes 9 bonus tracks.

Lyricist: Keith Reid.

Personnel: Gary Brooker (vocals, piano); Robin Trower (guitar); Chris Copping (organ, bass guitar); B.J. Wilson (drums).

Audio Mixer: Nick Watson.

Liner Note Authors: Henry Scott-Irvine; Henry Scott-Irvine.

Authors: Elton John; John Kalinowski; Jimmy Page; Bernie Taupin; Chris Copping.

Photographers: David Bailey; David Bailey.

Procol Harum: Gary Brooker (vocals, piano), Robin Trower (guitar), Chris Cooping (bass, organ), B.J. Wilson (drums).

Rolling Stone (9/3/70, p.42) - "...Trower has stepped in and is truly playing lead guitar...an atmospheric, Hendrix-style wailing, screeching assault...Gary Brooker hasn't lost any of his vocal charisma..."
Rolling Stone (9/3/70, p.42) - "...Highlights here include the violent 'Still There'll Be More'...down to the expansive, image-taut 'Whaling Stories' that culminates wondrously in the last four lines, as the song shalimars onto a whole different level of meaning..."