PROCOL HARUM Whiter Shade Of Pale ORIG US 1st LP DERAM PROG PSYCH ROBIN TROWER

	£		27
	$		36

US 1967 ORIGINAL PRESSING OF:
PROCOL HARUM ~ Whiter Shade Of Pale
USA - DERAM RECORDS - DES 18008
SLEEVE IS IN VG+ CONDITION AND THE RECORD IS IN EX+ TO NM CONDITION.
Featuring the timeless classic "A Whiter Shade Of Pale"Procol Harum's self-titled, first album was very successful in America, where albums sold easily, since it did include "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (unlike the original British issue,so the US copy is the right issue) and highlighted by the just as great & timeless "Conquistador." The music is an engaging meld of psychedelic rock, blues, and classical influences, filled with phantasmagorical lyrics, bold (but not flashy) organ by Matthew Fisher, and Robin Trower's most tasteful and restrained guitar. "Conquistador," "Kaleidoscope," "A Christmas Camel," and the Bach-influenced "Repent Walpurgis" are superb tracks, and "Good Captain Clack" is great, almost Kinks-like groove. The album still holds up better than most psychedelic or progressive rock of the era, though too many fairweather fans of the genre forget, or never heard it. Easily their best album, and a nice collectible 1967 original.
    

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" "She Wandered Through the Garden Fence" "Something Following Me" "Mabel" "Cerdes (Outside the Gates Of)" "A Christmas Camel" "Conquistador" "Kaleidoscope" "Salad Days (Are Here Again)" "Repent Walpurgis"
Procol Harum's self-titled, debut album bombed in England, appearing six months after "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Homburg" with neither hit song on it. The LP was successful in America, where albums sold more easily, but especially since it did include "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and was reissued with a sticker emphasizing the presence of the original "Conquistador," a re-recording which became a hit in 1972. The music is an engaging meld of psychedelic rock, blues, and classical influences, filled with phantasmagorical lyrics, bold (but not flashy) organ by Matthew Fisher, and Robin Trower's most tasteful and restrained guitar. "Conquistador," "Kaleidoscope," "A Christmas Camel," and the Bach-influenced "Repent Walpurgis" are superb tracks, and "Good Captain Clack" is great, almost Kinks-like fun. Not everything here works, but it holds up better than most psychedelic or progressive rock.  (REVIEW BY  BRUCE EDER, ALLMUSIC.COM)
The debut album from Procol Harum was released in 1967 and is rightly praised as one of the most important proto prog albums. The inclusion of both a piano ( Gary Brooker) and an organ player ( Matthew Fisher) were something totally new at the time. The music is as a consequence dominated by piano and especially the omnipresent organ. The distorted guitars from Robin Trower is also a great addition to Procol Harum´s sound. The vocals from Gary Brooker are really strong. He has a beautiful and powerful voice. This is not music with much challenging instrumentation, but the strong and memorable vocal lines really keeps me interested throughout the whole album. Songs like Kaleidoscope, the instrumental Repent Walpurgis and the pop/ rock evergreen A Whiter Shade of Pale all has lots of progressive promise ( I think I hear a couple of hints towards Genesis), but there´s generally a will here to make original music that is really honourable when viewed in retrospect. Note that A Whiter Shade of Pale wasn´t on the original European version of the LP which is such a shame. The musicianship is great. Such passion is always impressive. The organ playing from Matthew Fisher is hard not to notice but I really enjoy some of the piano parts from Gary Brooker as well. This is not the tightest interplay between musicians I have heard, but they probably didn´t have much time in the studio in those days.
NOTE! Postage indicated in the auction is not the actual postage as ebay doesn't allow a higher postage then 7 GBP in this category. Postage for this item is 8 GBP to most countries within Europe and 16 GBP for the rest of the world. This is up to 2kg, so you can add up to 6 more LP's for the same postage. Postage for 7 LP´s is the same as for 1 LP, so buy more to save on postage!
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