Search - Procol Harum :: Procol's Ninth

Sounds Better Today Than When First Released

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 02/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Note: The following refers to the Friday Music remaster of Procol's Ninth. For some reason, amazon has chosen to put my review with the Salvo edition as well. Notes on the Salvo edition follow this review.

For most of those who were fans of Procol Harum from the beginning, Procol's Ninth seemed to inaugurate a downhill slide that bottomed out with the widely reviled Something Magic. Many fans at the time could not believe that the famed but smarmy pop producers Lieber and Stoller had been chosen to produce this. Nor could they believe that the boys would stoop to covering the lightweight Beatles hit Eight Days A Week and the Lieber-Stoller penned ditty, I Keep Forgetting. Though the original release of Procol's Ninth contained a couple of very good songs, many could not help but shake the feeling that Procol's Ninth sounded the band's death knell.

Lately, Friday Music has been remastering and re-releasing old Procol Harum recordings both great and not so great. Since I am a loyal fan of the band and rarely play my vinyl anymore, I finally caved in and bought this.

Believe me, remastering made a world of difference. Procol's Ninth sounds much better today than when it was first issued. Even the band's rendition of the Lieber-Stoller composition sounds fresh. Though the Keith Reid/Gary Brooker song machine had lost a little luster by the time this came out, listening with fresh ears brought new enjoyment. I best like Pandora's Box, Fool's Gold, the great "never say die" (and might I add, very English) song The Final Thrust, Without A Doubt, Piper's Tune, and a couple of instrumental add-ons that are a real treat, Adagio di Albinoni and Blue Danube.

If you are one of those who just hated this album on its original release, I urge you to listen again. This is one that stands the test of time AND the two bonus cuts make it worthwhile even if you come to the conclusion that you still hate the rest of it.



June 15, 2010

The first thing potential buyers of the Salvo reissue should know is that the bonus tracks differ from those on the Friday Music remaster. Salvo gives you not the Adagio di Albinoni shown in the product listing, but rather three raw tracks of songs from the main body of the album: The Unquiet Zone, Taking the Time, and Fool's Gold. Overall, I like Friday's extras better, but Salvo puts those on their reissue of Exotic Birds and Fruit. The most interesting aspect of the Salvo extras is the opening to Taking the Time.

So you might ask what else is different? Sound quality is about the same on both:excellent! The main difference besides the songs offered as bonus tracks is the packaging; Salvo's six-panel digipak vs. Friday Music's conventional jewel case AND the booklet. Salvo's booklet is meatier than Friday's with more pictures and interesting commentary by Roland Clare. But Friday's booklet contains the lyrics. So it looks like die-hard fans will have to own both..."

A Few Errors Concerning PROCOL'S NINTH

A. Long | USA | 02/08/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Hello.



Mind you, any complaints I have with this CD, PROCOL's NINTH, are NOT the fault of Procol Harum, whose work I've cherished since I was too young to drink. My complaint with this remastered CD involves the bonus tracks on PROCOL'S NINTH. Each sample featured on Amazon, and I checked quite a number of different sellers' samples, lists the bonus tracks just as they are listed on the actual CD, once it is inserted in your player, PC, etc. Again: SAMPLES of these different bonus tracks play when you listen to the sample CD excerpts via Amazon. And again: I checked ths samples of numerous sellers. All were the same. These same tracks are LISTED on the actual CD. But the CD does not contain these tracks.



I did notice that the CD's cover makes no mention of the specific bonus tracks I was seeking, one of which is Procol's version of "Blue Danube." This track is NOT on the PROCOL'S NINTH CD, even though the CD's track listing includes it, as does each sample I listened to. Redundancy, I believe, is necessary to emphasize my points: the CD's listings and samples versus its contents.



My opinion is that an "electronic error," if you will, was made by Salvo, the UK company who is creating the remastered CD recordings. I would appreciate it if someone could look into this for me.



Another Salvo remastered release, one of an earlier Procol Harum album entitled EXOTIC BIRDS AND FRUIT, lists and samples what is supposed to be a long studio version of "Blue Danube." However, I am concerned that the listing and samples do not reflect this actual CD's contents accurately. Ergo, I fear purchansing Salvo's EXOTIC BIRDS AND FRUIT unless I can see the CD cover and read it closely.



I would suggest that any sellers of Salvo remastered CD releases read the CD covers carefully, then doublecheck the contents of the CD, REGARDLESS of what the CD tells you it contains. I intend to contact Salvo as well, but any feedback from sellers and/or Amazon will be appreciated.



Thank you."