Procol Harum: Pandora’s Box

Saturday is lost classics day. Continuing my focus on the music of 1975, today’s selection is from the ninth album by Procol Harum, appropriately titled Procol’s Ninth. Most people know Procol Harum for one reason – the song “Whiter Shade of Pale” from their debut album in 1967. I only learned of their 1970s work about ten years ago when I discovered the album Grand Hotel in a used record store. By the time that album was released in 1973, original guitarist Robin Trower had left for a solo career filled with guitar-god theatrics and the band had evolved their sound into a more progressive style. I’ve listened to all of the group’s albums, and I find their three releases from 1973-1975 to be my favorites. Except for the vocals of Gary Brooker, you wouldn’t recognize these albums as the same band who recorded “Whiter Shade of Pale.” For their 1975 album, they attempted to return to a more basic rock structure, and employed rock and roll songwriting legends Leiber and Stoller to serve as producers and collaborators. The end result is a lost classic of prog-pop based in R&B backbeats and simple melodies. This is an album that deserves to be heard by more than the few remaining Procol Harum fans who have stumbled across it over the years.

If you are interested in other years, check out my Year in Review series.

To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.

• Best of 1975