Shine On Brightly (Deluxe

The first four Procol Harum albums have, like the Move's, been remastered and released by the Salvo label. "Shine on Brighly" was Procol Harum's second album, and it is often regarded as perhaps their finest. With the new remastering the music has never sounded better, and another interesting feature is that it is now possible to play the songs from the long suite "In Held Twas In I" separately - an option I have often wished for.The bonus-tracks are great too, some of them as good as the album-tracks. Especially the great B-side "In the Wee Small Hours of Sixpence" - a song I remember them playing in Denmark on their 1970 tour."Monsieur Armand" and "Seem to Have the Blues" are bluesy out-takes which have been released several times before, but I have never heard the sounding so great as on this release. "McGreggor" is another fine song, which probably never reached a finished stage - but a great recording anyway. "The Gospel According to" is actually an alternate version of "Wish Me Well" - and not very different from the album version.The alternative version of "Magdalene" has been released before - but sounding pretty poor. The sound has been restored markedly for this release - but the chorus still sound pretty weird."A Robe of Silk" is a fine melodic instrumental, which the group decided to re-record for their "The Well's on Fire" album. Interesting too, to hear the acoustic guitar on the backing track of "In the Wee Small Hours of Sixpence".Like the rest of the Salvo-releases this album has fine informative liner-notes.

This album from 1968 is, quite simply, a masterpiece; the gorgeous chords emanating from Matthew Fisher's organ at the start of the superb 'Quite Rightly So' sets the scene for a wonderfully varied collection of psychedelic rock with the main players (Fisher, the wonderful pianist/vocalist Gary Brooker, powerhouse guitarist Robin Trower, drummer B.J Wilson and bassist David Knights) all making significant contributions throughout. The title track ('Shine On Brightly') is classic Procol - Keith Reid's lyrics are totally weird, but, frankly, who cares when the music is this good! Of the other shorter tracks, 'Rambling On' is a superbly crafted ballad whilst 'Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone) is another lovely song. The 17-minute 'In Held 'Twas In I' which closes the album is impossible to describe ~ think the Moody Blues at their weirdest and you're getting warm! Certainly this is Progressive rock at its most esoteric so just lie back and let Brooker & Co take you on a magical journey. Definitely an LP to buy if you love early Procol Harum.

Gasping in disbelief at their failure to achieve album success, Brooker and Co set themselves the target of creating the psychedelic album to end all psychedelic albums - rush recorded, appalling sound levels, strategic intercontinental release dates that would have fans losing interest in their droves....after their debut single, nothing they produced would ever seem more than a hastily recorded B-side. And the short tracks on this album adequately fit that bill, bitsy bits of nothingness with added chorus and the occasional Whirlitzer-style ballroom organ solo. Then we come to the Magnum Opus, In Held Twas In I. Apart from the Moody Blues no one else in the late 60s would have dared such a venture, and the Moodies were looking after the 3-minute-attention-span audience, so Procol had the initiative all to themselves. The epic full-album-side rock track, emulated by many great bands to follow! The remastering is flawless, and those out there who perpetually fret that the level clipping in the Grand Finale will never be remedied are in for a surprise - it's gone! No nasty crackling as the choir hits the crescendo notes.Those new to Procol Harum should listen carefully to this album, as it will seem very familiar - many of today's new retro-sounding bands pinch bits and pieces (er, Mr Jones). A lavish LP-style gatefold cover and notes booklet accompany this release, and if you seem to remember it had a different cover once....well the buxom model leaning over the grand paino somewhere in the nevada desert and all tinted metallic green is shown somewhere inside.

The second of the 40th anniversary PH cds. Again the sound is faultless, the extras interesting. Unlike the Westwood box set the album is complete in order and sounding great.If the cds had sounded like this when they first came out I think Procol Harum would have been up there with the other Proggers of the time. As regards speeding up, if this is sped up then I don't want to hear it slowed down. The originals were maybe toooo slooooow. Thess sound crisp and just right

Their best. Best white soul voice out there.

Wonderful mastering and excellent music

This is a great album to listen to when stoned off my tree in America.

Thank you very much, I am very pleased with your service, great

Alles ok. Danke.

Un disque que je ne connaissais pas, de Procol Harum je ne connaissais que 4 ou 5 disques, je suis en train de compléter ma collection. Belle surprise avec cette album, on y retrouve tous les ingrédients du premier opus du groupe, avec plus de maîtrise et d'assurance. Un très bon album qui tourne en boucle depuis plusieurs jours.

Inutile sprecare parole sulle opere dei procol harum . Qui L arte inizia dalla copertina piena di simbologie . Suoni senza tempo ... colonna sonora da godere in vinile .

ピアノが踊り出しそう。

UPDATE: I have since obtained the Music On Vinyl 180-gram LP release, which replicates the UK cover and record from 1968 - no bonus tracks. For whatever reason, A&M (their US and Canada label in 1968) felt that the market wasn't ready for this bizarre cover (sometimes known as the Harpsichord from Hell - although the instrument is actually a pianoforte). This revives the UK cover - there is another new vinyl edition with the familiar US cover which IMO is not as good - the pressing I heard was severely flawed, and it's not known which master was used. This one is superb in every way - a flawless Dutch (I think) pressing coupled with a very good master which appears to be from the below-reviewed Esoteric CD release. This vinyl release of what is IMO Procol Harum's best album is highly recommended.+++++++++++++This review covers the single-disc version of the new Esoteric 2015 release. First things first. Speed issue? Solved – easily audible. After “A-B”-ing the Esoteric vs. the Salvo release of a few years ago, it was noticeable right away, especially in the opening bars of the first three songs. Frankly, the Salvo release had been fine for me, which I’ve had since its release, until I realized the speed was about 2% fast. It may still be fine for those of you who have the Salvo; its bonus tracks are unaffected and numerous.The single disc version matches Disc 1 of the new 3-disc edition, in which the 3rd disc will give you many bonus tracks, but there are still some on the Salvo that weren’t included on the Esoteric-3 (Oh, and the Salvo’s worth it for Henry Scott-Irvine’s excellent liner notes. He also wrote new notes for Esoteric-3. Also, Disc 2 of Esoteric-3 is the long-lost mono mix of the main album – only released in the UK, apparently. I’ve not (yet) heard it, but some reports talk of distant, thin sound, etc. Possibly it’s not the true mono mix – perhaps a “fold-down” from the stereo mix, but not likely. More probably, because people are so … unused to hearing true mono sound for music like this, it does sound “thin” and such – has a different soundstage.Speaking of which, this is where the stereo Esoteric truly “shines brightly.” Better than the Salvo, to these old ears anyway; more transparency, instruments more distinct. The legendary Glyn Johns was part of the original engineering team at Olympic, so assuming the original master tapes (which this release purportedly used) were in good shape, this good result is not surprising.The single disc comes in a traditional jewel box with booklet insert, not a digipak or a cardboard album-sleeve-style like the Salvo. Mixed feelings: jewel boxes are fragile when dropped (fortunately replacements are cheap) but are durable for storage, while the other formats get mixed reviews.This album, from 1968, was proof that Procol Harum weren’t just a one-hit wonder (and there were plenty of those then – Hot Smoke And Sassafras by Bubble Puppy, anyone?). I was struck immediately by the tight structure and instrumentation of this album. This was rarely heard (and mostly unheard of) in rock music.Shine On Brightly is probably Procol’s best album – it has the elements we want and expect: Matthew Fisher's Hammond organ is everywhere, the R&B stylings of Gary Brooker's piano and Robin Trower's guitar, the perfect rhythm section of David Knights' bass and the late great BJ Wilson on drums. The band's style is consolidated here, after an impressive debut which was still a bit all over the place, and although (my personal favourite) is A Salty Dog, their third album which came a year or so later, and was more eclectic (adding folk and hard-rock styling to the existing style), Shine On truly shines on brightly.All in all, the Esoteric release is the winner. I will probably get the 3-disc version, eventually (if the price comes down!). The single disc is the no-frills version, and perfectly adequate for those who may have previous releases (like me). Crucially, it has the correct speed, and a very good mastering. I’m an unabashed fan of good remastering; much has been learned since the 80s, and we’re the richer for it. The Esoteric might just be the best (but keep your Salvo if you have one!). “Life [really] is like a beanstalk, isn't it?”