Brooker, Dunn, Pegg, Phillips, Whitehorn
If you were able to be at this show, please send photos, and souvenirs to
webmaster@procolharum.com for
sharing with the wider world
I Told on You
Homburg [a familiar tune to remind you who we are, said GB,
or words to that effect]
The Image of the Beast *
Don't Get Caught * [Phew, I'll be glad when we get to the
second half, said GB]
Neighbour [lacking 'Considerably richer than you', but with a
pointed spoken introduction from GB]
Last Chance Motel * [variant first line of chorus, passim]
Sunday Morning
Can't Say That * [rhythm section! Outstanding!]
A Salty Dog
Wall Street Blues
Pandora's Box
An Old English Dream
Grand Hotel [We're staying at the Kirkcaldy Seamen's Mission
... in bunks]
As Strong as Samson
Cerdes (Outside the Gates of) [great guitar solos, and a
brilliant short cadenza]
Whisky Train [Striking mid-audience dancing from Mr and Mrs
Leslie]
Conquistador
The Only One * [terrific work]
A Whiter Shade of Pale (three verses; piano solo, then guitar solo)
Songs marked thus * heard in public for the first-ever time
| 19 | songs altogether: | 2 | From Procol Harum | 0 | from Shine on Brightly |
| 1 | From A Salty Dog | 1 | From Home | 0 | from Broken Barricades |
| 1 | From Grand Hotel | 1 | From Exotic Birds and Fruit | 1 | from Procol's Ninth |
| 0 | From Something Magic | 0 | From The Prodigal Stranger | 2 | from The Well's on Fire |
| 8 | From Novum | 2 | non-album tracks | A sold-out house responded with great enthusiasm to new and non-new music alike | |
|
Performing beneath a huge 'Novum' artwork backdrop, Procol Harum aired their new material for the first time in a band-only concert, and earnt a warm standing ovation by the end of the show. It was a great relief to hear Gary Brooker playing exciting and detailed piano (as well as being in excellent voice) following the dramatic episode at the Royal Festival Hall. The band sounded confident and highly energetic on the new material, and some of the older songs had been overhauled to good effect (new beat, and variations of texture, for Samson [though still very much the Exotic Birds arrangement]; an arresting 'General Cancel' before verse three of Cerdes, after which the Commander delivered several lines in Sprechstimme, to intriguing effect; Whisky Train featured a different, and extended, Hey Bartender opening and a blistering drum solo including thorough cowbell workout and savage conclusion). Plenty of lively banter between Gary and Geoff W (who called the Commander your 'Understudy Duke of Edinburgh'), and some amusing asides from the piano ('We're going to play some Deep Purple numbers' went down particularlry well). Really nice sound in quite a difficult hall (horseshoe-shaped auditorium) thanks to Bunny Warren ... so we were able to hear both the highest echelons of the Hammond and the lowest depths of the bass with great clarity. It will be fascinating indeed to hear how the new songs develop as the tour unfolds, and whether the remaining Novum songs (Somewhen, Soldier and Businessman ... maybe even Honour ... will get an airing. Thanks, Jim, for the graphic |
|||||