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RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERIT: PROCOL HARUM: Exotic Birds and Fruit.
Procol Harum (vocals and instrumentals).
Nothing but the Truth; Beyond the Pale; As Strong as Samson; The Idol; and four others.
CHRYSALIS CHT 1058 $6.98.
Performance: Excellent
Recording: Good
I would have nominated this for a Best of the Month, but on reflection I’ve decided that when I did so with Procol’s last album I somewhat overrated it, and so I’m going to hedge a little on this one. I really like it, you see, but it strikes me as perhaps the least accessible record they’ve made, and if three weeks from now I decide that it isn’t really all that good, I’ll have covered myself.
That bit of critical candor aside, I can report that Exotic Birds and Fruit is probably the most straight-ahead rock-and-roll album they’ve done since their début effort, and in many ways it’s equally impressive. As usual, BJ Wilson’s drumming continues to defy belief, Brooker’s singing is marvelous, and the band overall is very strong. Another plus is the production by Chris Thomas, which is simply splendid, perhaps the best the band has ever been afforded. There’s little of the overripe pomposity that marred Grand Hotel – no orchestras or celestial choirs, just a lot of sizzling playing recorded in such a way as to make the greatest impact.
The songs themselves, however, seem strangely uninvolving (although I felt the same way initially about A Salty Dog), and Keith Reid’s lyrics strike me, for the first time ever, as downright uninspired (notable exception: Fresh Fruit, a hilarious paean to the delights of "the finest food on earth," which should be pulled as a single and quickly). But I’m beginning to get glimmers from things like the luscious fade-out to New Lamps for Old, so like I said, I’m going to hedge. Buy it anyway – Procol Harum is a remarkable band, and even when they’re operating at less than their best, they’re still worth hearing.
(thanks, Jill, for typing)
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