A Salty Dog

Yay, I get to review the album I submitted. First, I'll say that I knew I was going to add a Procol Harum album, because they are one of my all-time favorite bands and I think they have been unfortunately overlooked, often viewed as one-hit wonders with Whiter Shade of Pale being their first release and becoming such a mega-hit. They have so much amazing material though, that I struggled to decide which album of theirs to include. I could have chosen any of their first 7 studio albums, or possibly a good choice would have been their live album with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. This album to be honest is a bit inconsistent, but the songs that are great are really great, so I went with this one. (Yeah, I know the album cover is awful. Procol was not great at album covers.) Let's walk through the tracks: 1. A Salty Dog. The title song is one of the most beautiful songs ever created and recorded by a rock band. The strings are amazing, the melodies beautiful, Gary's voice is perfect, and the lyrics evocative. It's such a mellow song, but the drumming of BJ Wilson (one of the best drummers of all-time who turned down Jimmy Page's offer to be in Led Zeppelin) is just amazing and really completes the song. A masterpiece. 2. The Milk of Human Kindness. A bit of a throwaway. Not a super interesting song, but Robin Trower's guitar playing is nice. 3. Too Much Between Us. Another bit of a throwaway. A different, more mellow, sound for the group, but not their most interesting song. 4. The Devil Came from Kansas. It might sound like another throwaway on first listen, but there's some cool stuff going on here, including some harmonies, which is not typical for Procol Harum. This song reminds me of another of my favorite bands of the time, The Band. 5. Boredom. Another sort of filler song, but still interesting due to the use of some unusual instrumentation. Okay, after a few tracks that are inconsistent let's carefully flip our vinyl over to side 2, where things get really interesting. 6. Juicy John Pink. The purest blues that Procol Harum ever did. Sounds like three or four really talented guys sitting around in a basement jamming. 7. Wreck of the Hesperus. One of Matthew Fisher's best contributions to the band. The piano, the soaring strings and orchestration, the lyrics, it's a great complement to the title song. 8. All This and More. This is Procol at their finest. The song starts sounding beautifully classical, then evolves over the course of the song to reach moods that are both dark and ominous, but also soaring and inspiring, with great guitar and piano throughout. 9. Crucifiction Lane. Another great Robin Trower contribution. He was clearly going in a different direction from the band, but one of the things that makes this album great is the variety. Definitely the most diverse Procol album. 10. Pilgrim's Progress. Another of Matthew Fisher's best and a fitting closing to the album. Another classic Procol track, with classical/churchy sounding organ at the core, some nice piano in the mix, solid drumming by the amazing BJ Wilson, and lyrics that are mysterious and allude to seeking a higher truth and wisdom. The closing bit is just a perfect end. It's not a perfect album, but if you give Procol Harum a chance and check out their first several albums, you might discover some pretty amazing music that has been largely overlooked. Sadly, many of their best albums (namely Shine on Brightly, Home, and Broken Barricades) are still not available on Spotify. I finally got to see them in concert in 2019, more than 50 years after they got their start. Mostly different lineup, but I was shocked that Gary Brooker's voice still sounded largely the same at age 74 as it did in his twenties. Even their final album, 2017's Novum, while not up to the level of their earlier releases, is still excellent. 5 stars, of course.

I don't listen to Procol Harum a lot but when I do I'm always struck by how singular the sound is. Nothing else quite like it. Lyrically very interesting as always.

I know nothing of Procol Harum save Whiter Shade... but this was thoroughly enjoyable. Reminded me of Cat Stevens, early Genesis/Peter Gabriel, Jethro Tull, and, yeah, tbh sometimes it sounded just like Whiter Shade of Pale. Liked it anyway. Lots.

An extremely nautical album, with loads of slightly odd things going on. Amongst the weirdness there are moments of genuine beauty, not least the strings and soaring vocals on the opening track. One can't help but respect the creativity and commitment to the concept. Rating: 3.5 Playlist track: A Salty Dog Date listened: 09/08/24

I’m surprised that Procol Harum did not make an appearance on the original 1001. They feel influential enough to get a nod on the list. I was surprised that A Whiter Shade of Pale made no appearance on this. I really liked the orchestral opening track “A Salty Dog.” On the first listen, I was liking the album fine although a few tracks jumped out at me… it was nice to hear that organ in “Too Much Between Us” and “Pilgrim’s Progress”, and I liked “Wreck of the Hesperus.” I put this on again this afternoon and warmed up to it more. Glad to see this group on here.

Humor as required in a sea album is present, while the record remains generally calm and less than rough. There's much clear energy in the recording - really the recording side of things. Adds up to softly interesting prog, not a singularly arresting record.

Kind of like a more chill Jethro Tull. If you've ever listened to Jethro Tull and thought "these guys need to calm down" then Procol Harum is for you.

It's a breath of fresh air to see a Procol Harum album among indie rarities from the last few years and random albums from the 90s. To be honest, it doesn't feel like a masterpiece, but it's a good genre album from the late sixties, enjoyable and very well done

Never heard of this band, but I enjoyed the combination of Tropicalia meets 60s-esque rock. Didn't drag or overstay its welcome and felt fresh relative to some other contributions from the decade, so a good listen all in all.

What's most suprising about this album is that it isn't actually bad. Late 60's prog rock? It is almost universally dated and is generally pretty uninteresting. All of this is completely fine, rock and blues, without fuzztones, prog rock noodling or anything that really hobbles it. There's nothing award winning here, but the tracks are pretty even and generally enjoyable.

lol ok that is a hilariously shit album cover. I'm guessing HIPSTERS. And why did someone submit an album from 1969? Wasn't 6000 albums from that exact year enough already? Ok it's proggy like early Genesis? Production is surprisingly good for its time. The jokey artwork doesn't really have any relevance beyond some of the lyrics being about the sea. Not too bad overall, could have replaced many other 69 albums here. 4/5.

I'd only ever heard the one song but this was a very good album

Very much enjoyed, seems very ahead of it's time. 4.2

Not familiar with any of these tracks.

This doesn't feel like an untrodden path in this project, but it is one I enjoyed listening to more than some that were in the list. Quite enjoyable.

Not particulary special

Too prog for meeee.

Surprised this wasn't already in the list, but it seems that despite being both popular and lauded in its time, most prog has fallen out of fashion with critics and pop culture in general.

Groovy, baby

That was pretty nice. Great vocalist, and overall good songs.

I actually quite enjoyed this. Enough depth, but also good sounding tunes.

It's pretty interesting and a better Brit 60s LP than a lot of those included in the book.

Good!

Not as fun as the cover

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Pilgrim’s progress

Procol harum is more interesting in name than they are in their sound. I’ve always felt they were the more boring side of prog rock. This album isn’t much different. It’s a softer rock style that seems flat and not too diverse in range. The album blended together and it went through a few times before I realized it’s being repeated. All in all not bad but just way better options in the late 60s. 6.0/10

Not too bad, but after two listens, nothing really stuck with me. It’s a fun nautical themed soft prog album though and that’s quite unique.

Not really sure about this one. He lacked a lot of energy, and the composition was decidedly monochromatic. I'm not sure what the thunder did, but it was there.

This was a nice, entire deep cut of an album. A lot of musical ideas floating around here, but most of them landed well. Really engaging stuff that never wanders too far afield. Thanks for sharing this. Fave Songs: A Salty Dog, The Milk of Human Kindness, Juicy John Pink, Pilgrim's Progress, Wreck of the Hesperus

What an odd album. It’s very hard to describe because it’s a mashup of like 10 disparate genres. Like there’s Tom waits type stuff mixed with hip hop and some psychedelic stuff almost and I don’t even really know what rockabilly is but just hearing the word describes the music tbh. Not something I’d listen to regularly I don’t think but will def remember.

Eh, I'm not sure I understand the unique appeal compared to a few others on the list.

Not much of my taste

y u do dis not bad, but this cover gives me nightmares 2

It was just kinda there. Nothing particularly noteworthy.

Silly precursor to prog-rock. Great musicians, but just not playing great songs here. Reminds me of some of Peter Gabriel's sillier songs.