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Deluxe 2009 remaster w/4 BONUS tracks. 1971 classic featuring Robin Trower in fine form!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is the LP that finally put to rest Procol Phase One. Home, their previous effort, still sounded much like the first three LPs, with the "Gothic" organ very much a presence, even without Matthew Fisher at the keyboard.
With Broken Barricades, however, two things became clear: Gary Brooker's voice and piano could easily become the dominant musical force, and Robin Trower's guitar was almost as important; the organ sound now slipped quietly into the background--in fact, the then-new sound of the synthesizer was more important in providing a different sort of keyboard to juxtapose against Brooker's piano--and Brooker now often used an electric piano, sometimes in addition to the standard one.
There isn't a weak song in the program. Simple Sister, the single taken from the LP, is a tour-de-force of almost manic dimensions, the orchestra used sparingly but effectively to propel, rather than just adorn, the quartet. The title song comes as a quiet respite after the gale of the opening track. Song to a Dreamer is one of the last truly psychedelic songs, as Robin pays homage to Jimi Hendrix. Luskus Delph is probably the wittiest song Procol ever created, with the lubricious lyrics in total contradistinction to the elegance of the musical setting.
But it's the rockers that define this disc: the aforementioned Simple Sister sets the pace, but Power Failure pushes it even farther. Originally the lead-off track on side two of the LP, it features one of the only truly interesting drum solos on record (always self-deprecatory, BJ can be heard yelling "Rubbish" as the song resumes). Memorial Drive features a bluesy, sinuous melody that is propelled by Trower's guitar and Brooker's electric piano, one in each speaker; the acoustic piano provides a nice solo. Blues is the inspiration for Playmate of the Mouth, too, but it's a raunchier, earthier blues with very appropriate accompaniment from the brass. Poor Mohammed is the last track on the original LP, and Trower reverts to his own version of the blues shouter, the very un-PC lyric anticipating Salman Rushdie by several decades.
The bonus tracks aren't particularly revelatory on this release--tribute to just how tight the band had become by this stage. It seems typical of the Procol luck that, just as they found their groove, Robin Trower decided to go solo. They wouldn't sound this good again until Exotic Birds and Fruit, over three years later.
With Broken Barricades, however, two things became clear: Gary Brooker's voice and piano could easily become the dominant musical force, and Robin Trower's guitar was almost as important; the organ sound now slipped quietly into the background--in fact, the then-new sound of the synthesizer was more important in providing a different sort of keyboard to juxtapose against Brooker's piano--and Brooker now often used an electric piano, sometimes in addition to the standard one.
There isn't a weak song in the program. Simple Sister, the single taken from the LP, is a tour-de-force of almost manic dimensions, the orchestra used sparingly but effectively to propel, rather than just adorn, the quartet. The title song comes as a quiet respite after the gale of the opening track. Song to a Dreamer is one of the last truly psychedelic songs, as Robin pays homage to Jimi Hendrix. Luskus Delph is probably the wittiest song Procol ever created, with the lubricious lyrics in total contradistinction to the elegance of the musical setting.
But it's the rockers that define this disc: the aforementioned Simple Sister sets the pace, but Power Failure pushes it even farther. Originally the lead-off track on side two of the LP, it features one of the only truly interesting drum solos on record (always self-deprecatory, BJ can be heard yelling "Rubbish" as the song resumes). Memorial Drive features a bluesy, sinuous melody that is propelled by Trower's guitar and Brooker's electric piano, one in each speaker; the acoustic piano provides a nice solo. Blues is the inspiration for Playmate of the Mouth, too, but it's a raunchier, earthier blues with very appropriate accompaniment from the brass. Poor Mohammed is the last track on the original LP, and Trower reverts to his own version of the blues shouter, the very un-PC lyric anticipating Salman Rushdie by several decades.
The bonus tracks aren't particularly revelatory on this release--tribute to just how tight the band had become by this stage. It seems typical of the Procol luck that, just as they found their groove, Robin Trower decided to go solo. They wouldn't sound this good again until Exotic Birds and Fruit, over three years later.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Something of a curiosity album in that it said farewell to the colourful psychedelic influences of 60s pop music and presented the raw rock n roll side of Procol Harum, no doubt losing many fans from the old order but finding fresh interest with a more mature audience. The included booklet attempts to ring the praises for the album but in retrospect it isn't one of their best; the vocal is stylistically stale and all Reid's good lyrics had been used up on their first four albums. Brooker loses his songwriting monopoly allowing Trower to present three soulful power-rock compositions that defined his future musical developement with his own band. This has always been a tough album to get hold of on CD in the past, but is now well worth including in any collection. Oddly, the producers went to a lot of trouble making the fold-out LP-jacket style digipak, but didn't include the original cut-out feature of the original album cover, so something of the original flavour has been lost.
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
By 1971 Procol Harum had changed forever from the band who wrote "Whiter Shade of Pale". The original vinyl release of this album was unusual in that the front cover had cut outs with the 4 playing band members faces showing through. The music inside was equally strange and varied from straight ahead rockers like "Power Failure" and "Poor Mohammed" to the fey "Song For a Dreamer". The words themselves, written, as per usual, by Keith Reid, are astonishing in their depth and sometimes their obscurity. My own personal favourite lyrics come from the deeply troubling track "Luskus Delph". If anyone can decipher it let me know. Maybe it is showing it's age a little, but for me, it remains, one of their most magnificent albums; powerful, lyrical, savage and sweet. As tight and as together as anything around at the time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very Good, but...
These re-releases are of excellent quality. However, they could have been released as single disk with two albums and an occasional bonus track thereby taking up less space and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by John Rempel
Flawed, but still a triumph
Although largely underrated (they've never been inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall Of Fame) and ignored since Whiter Shade slipped down the charts in August 1967, Procol Harum... Read more
Published 3 months ago by christopher grant
"A MEMORIAL DRIVE".
Ah 1971 .... a very good vintage with two superb album releases from two of Britain's top rock bands. They even shared billings on live shows and both recorded on Chrysalis. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Chris Newman
Rocking out Harum
Rather more guitar orientated than organ and piano than perhaps their previous discs have been, or indeed were to become. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2009 by Mr. Stefan M. Jakusz
Felix Wickers, Perthshire
Broken Barricades was a strong memory from my vinyl days of the early 70s. The songs are still brilliant with thought-provoking lyrics and unique musical arrangements. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2009 by I. F. W. Hunt
When The Harums Roar the Earth
This has been, to me, from the very first chance I had to listen to it, Procol Harum's unusual and distinct album. Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2008 by Juan Mobili
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