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Procol put a neighbour's pacemaker to the test

Vigand Rasmussen in Aarhus Stiftstidende, 6 May 2019


Procol put a neighbour's pacemaker to the test

******  (6 stars of 6)

En gang procoholiker, altid procoholiker. Vigand Rasmussen, Vejle, var med, da et af rockhistoriens store bands, Procol Harum, lørdag aften gav koncert på Mols. Det blev en smuk oplevelse, der satte naboens pacemaker på overarbejde.

Once a Procoholic, always a Procoholic. Vigand Rasmussen, Vejle was present when one of rock history's great bands, Procol Harum gave a concert at Mols. This was a beautiful experience that had his neighbour's pacemaker working time.

Lørdag aften var koncertsalen på Fuglsøcentret i Mols Bjerge fyldt af forventningsfulde procoholikere, som man kalder fans af den engelske supergruppe.

On Saturday 4 May the concert hall at Fuglsøcenteret in Mols Bjerge was filled by expectant Procoholics, as fans of the English supergroup are called.

Og de blev ikke skuffede.

And they were not disappointed.

Præcis klokken 20 kom Procol Harums fem mand ind på scenen anført af gruppens nestor, pianisten Gary Brooker, der som den eneste har været med hele vejen fra slutningen af 1960'erne.

At exactly 8 pm Procol Harum's five members entered, stage led by the Nestor of the band, pianist Gary Brooker, who is the only one to have been with the band ever since the late sixties.

Den nuværende besætning har været med i mange år, og det kan mærkes i det perfekte sammenspil. De fire er alle yderst kompetente musikere, og guitaristen Geoff Whitehorn er på niveau med de største som Alvin Lee fra Ten Years After og Dave Edmunds fra Rockpile.

The current line-up has been involved for many years, which shows in the perfect interaction. The four of them are very capable musicians and the guitarist Geoff Whitehorn is on a par with the greatest, like Alvin Lee from Ten Years After and Dave Edmonds from Rockpile.

Whitehorns soloindslag var sublime, og hvor mange kan få en guitar til at lyde som en skrigende måge? Whitehorn kan.

Whitehorn's solos were sublime – and how many can make a guitar sound like a shrieking seagull? Whitehorn can.

På bas huserer Matt Pegg, der leverer en bundsolid basis, og han suppleres fremragende af gruppens nyeste, trommeslageren Geoff Dunn, der med sit trommespil har givet gruppen lidt mere rå lyd, og det klæder faktisk de gamle klassikere, at der er lidt mere drøn på fra manden bagest på scenen.

Matt Pegg creates a rock solid foundation and he is superbly complemented by the band's newest member, drummer Geoff Dunn – his drumming giving the band a little more raw sound, and it actually fits the old classics well that there is a little more power from the man at the back.

På det livsvigtige Hammond-orgel er Johs [sic] Philips så god, at man slet ikke savner gruppens oprindelige organist, Matthew Fisher. Endelig er Gary Brooker eminent som altid på klaver og sang. Det er flot, at han stadig kan synge de noget krævende sange, som er på gruppens repertoire.

On the indispensible Hammond organ Josh Phillips is so good that you even don't miss the bands original organist, Matthew Fisher. Finally Gary Brooker is eminent as always on piano and vocal. It is great that he can still sing the somewhat demanding songs in the group's repertoire.

Procol Harum anno 2019 er ren vellyd, og det er fantastisk, at kun fem musikere kan levere så fyldigt et lydbillede. Man tror, at der er mindst tre gange så mange på scenen.

Procol Harum anno 2019 is pureeuphony, and it is fantastic that only five musicians can deliver this rich soundscape. You could easily believe there were three times as many on stage.

En overraskelse fra Aarhus

A surprise from Aarhus

Fra første tone kunne man se, at de fem virkelig nød at stå på scenen på Fuglsøcentret, og det smittede af på musikken, der blev leveret med en spilleglæde, som fik publikum med lige med det samme.

From the very first note you could tell that the five men really enjoyed being on stage at  Fuglsøcenteret and that impacted the music – delivered with a joy of playing that got the audience engaged from the beginning.

Sætlisten omfattede både de gamle klassikere og numre fra gruppens nyeste cd, Novum, fra 2017. Og fremførelsen af klassikere som A Salty Dog (den med mågen), Grand Hotel og Conquistador blev givet med ekstra twist, som gjorde dem endnu bedre.

The setlist included both the old classics and songs from the group's newest CD, Novum from 2017. And the performance of classics like A Salty Dog (the one with the seagull), Grand Hotel and Conquistador was given an extra twist, making them even better.

Fra den nye cd hørte vi blandt andet det lidt atypiske nummer Neighbour, der bestemt kan klare sig i konkurrencen med klassikerne. Balladerne blev skønsomt blandet med de mere hårde rocknumre, hvor en forrygende version af Simple Sister virkelig gav musikerne mulighed for at boltre sig til publikums store fryd.

From the new CD we heard, among others, the fairly uncharacteristic track Neighbour – definitely capable of competing with the classics. The ballads were gently mixed with the harder rock songs, among which a furious version of Simple Sister really gave the musicians the opportunity to excel … to the audience's huge delight.

I nummeret Fires havde Procol Harum en overraskelse til publikum, for gruppen fik hjælp af sangerinden Mette Moskjær fra Aarhus, som gik ind og sang den del, der på den oprindelige plade blev klaret af Christiane Legrand. Det var bare lige så smukt, som det var overraskende.

In the song Fires (which Burnt Brightly) Procol Harum had a surprise for the audience as the band was supported by singer Matilde Arenholt Mosekjaer from Aarhys,  who enhtered and sang the part taken on the original album by Christiane Legrand. This was just as beautiful as it was surprising.

Han ventede på tyskernes nederlag

He awaited the German defeat

Inden Gary Brooker sang den vidunderlige ballade The Only One fra Novum-cd'en, gjorde han lige opmærksom på, at han ikke ville lade sig føde, før tyskerne ikke længere kunne sende deres V2-raketter ind over London. Så han kom til verden sidst i maj 1945, og 74 år efter benyttede han anledningen til lige at minde om, at det var en særlig aften i Danmark, og at vi markerede befrielsen ved at sætte levende lys i vinduerne. Det fandt Brooker var en smuk tradition.

Before Gary Brooker sang the wonderful ballad, The Only One from the Novum CD he mentioned that he had wanted to postpone his birth until the Germans could no longer attack London with their V2-Missiles. So he came into the world in late May 1945, and 74 years later he took the opportunity of reminding that it was a special evening for Denmark, and that we marked the liberation by putting candles in the windows. Brooker found this a beautiful tradition. 

Det var en prægtig koncert, der gik lige i hjertekulen hos det medlevende publikum, ja, endda i den grad, at damen ved siden af mig pludselig sagde: "Hvis det her fortsætter, skal jeg lige en tur udenfor for at berolige min pacemaker."

It was a magnificent concert that went right into the heart of the sympathetic audience – even to the extent that the lady beside me suddenly said: "If it goes on like this I’ll be nipping out to calm down my pacemaker."

Hun blev dog siddende og nød musikken, som traditionen tro endte med megahittet A Whiter Shade of Pale fra 1967. Og smukkere kan en koncert med et af rockmusikkens helt store bands ikke slutte.

However she remained seated and enjoyed the music – as per tradition finishing with the megahit A Whiter Shade of Pale from 1967. And a concert with one of rock music's great bands cannot conclude morre beautiful that that. 

Procol Harum
Hotel Fuglsøcentret, Mols, lørdag aften

Procol Harum
Hotel Fuglsøcentrer, Mols, Saturday night


Procol dates in 2019 | Booking

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