The Ideal Procol Setlist

Twenty-six fans' opinions …

The message went out on the Procol list: would Palers like to suggest "The Ideal Set", of about two hours, for Procol Harum to play live in the year 2000? Fans voted for their top ten PH songs in 1998 (see here) but this is a different question: the Ideal Set wouldn't necessarily be all favourite songs and hits : it could feature neglected masterpieces, dramatic contrasts, instrument-swaps, whatever you think fittest, and most closely corresponding to classic PH gigs in memory (or here).

Here are some of the fans' suggestions, in the order in which they came in: please send more if you wish! Needless to say BtP can send the best of these to GB in the hope of whetting his appetite for the PH gig he's promised to play this year [details here]!

Beverly: Ah ...<drool> <slobber> <drool> excuse me for salivating. Is this one of those, 'so it will be written, so it well be done'?

AW ... what the hey ... play everything! Do it all!

Oo ...for once I think it would be great to hear Wreck of the Hesperus as an encore. Dueling boards ... then, Maf and Gary walk to center stage, wave and bow while we all explode and shower them with everything we've got! Ah, I can taste it! <G>

When and where is what I want to know? Shine On Procol Harum!

Larry Pennisi

Just for the first set ... ... though I know the night has fallen, and I am now quite late. How could I forget Barnyard Story. I have always yearned to hear this live ... I would be plowed under if it happened. I do think Limelight would be splendid as well.

Alick Leslie

Can I put in a request for Maff's Poke Stoges [sic]. It would be good to see how the band coped with it after 30 years.

Have to say, though, that the Redhill set came very close to perfect, I kept on doing a 'they can't be playing this' when the next song rolled along.

It would be great to hear Ghost Train done by a proper Procol line up. It certainly seems (to me) to be more of a PH song, more than much of the Prodigal album.

Dietmar 'Nik' Clever

Unfortunately that's only for about half an hour I think. Long live Rhythm 'n Blues ...

Wendigo

When's the show? Be seeing you …

Patricio

Bye all!

Richard Beck

Assuming that this fictional concert is conducted sans orchestra these are my suggestions. (If an orchestra is used, then they should be banished to the break room for tea and cakes for no less than one hour of the concert.)

Of course, any of the above suggestions would be well served if replaced by an equal number of songs from a new Procol Harum album. Short of that, a couple of juicy versions of Fisher / Brooker solo works would certainly be cool.

And in my opinion, a rousing I'll Be Satisfied would bring the house down. (Poison Ivy will not!)

Tormod Ringvold

My Ideal Set ('A Journey Through The Classics') would include:

And who will play with Gary ? Matthew is a must. What about David Knights on bass ? (By the way: why wasn't he at Redhill ?)

Julius J Saroka

Thank you for your time and attention.

Bert Saraco

The ideal concert set-list? Whew. Whatever we put on the list, there's all of the rest of it that we'd love to hear anyway!! Let's see ... in no particular order, the ones that I'd really love to hear:

I'll take 'em any way we can, but wouldn't it be nice if the ones marked * could have BJ on drums, ** with Mick on guitar, and + with Matthew on Hammond? The unfortunate part is all of the great stuff left off the lists! I suppose I could stand 'losing' Eight Days A Week. Hey ... Strangers In Space! Yeah, that's always good live - nice atmosphere. ... hmm … come to think of it, King Of Hearts is usually really nice in concert ... hmm

Jens Anders Ravnaas

Hi Palers: I have tried to compile my dream setlist, and have to agree with all those of you that have found it difficult because of all the songs I have to leave out. Anyway, I'll try and I figure that two hours will allow for about 20 songs including IHTIA. Here it comes, in the order of album releases:

Shine On

Maleine Lemoine

Bonjour tous, so here's my ideal set list - from someone who hardly knows Procol live :'(

Et voila ... il ne reste plus qu'a trouver des musiciens (please no backing vocals, or 'superflus' synthesizers...)

I'll come to the concert only if they play A Rum Tale >;->

Au travail Monsieur Brooker !

Bises to you all

Joan May

RE the players – Gary and Matthew (the indispensables); Mick on guitar; and a drummer – (Graham Broad or perhaps someone new like Simon Phillips – who's been instructed to study all of BJ's works and emulate his style as much as humanly possible. RE the instrumentation – no orchestra, no synths, no sound effects. And please – a Grand Piano, not that block of cheese-on-legs that Gary played through most of the 90s.

RE the repertoire – I'd love to hear the best tunes from Echoes in the Night

Wendigo's idea of Matthew doing a few solos is an excellent one. I've always longed to hear the Theme From Separation arranged for solo (and very LOUD) Hammond.

Jeremy Gilien

And it should be a 9 foot 6 inch Bosendorfer Imperial Grand with the low C. That's no hunka' cheese!

________________________________________________________________________

John Overall

As I tear up my 345th list (not easy to do when it's on a computer monitor - I'm hopeless at Borgashmorgs (as Mason Reese used to say) too). Until the final choice, I do want to put in a plug for Stoke Poges (I wonder if Toby ever did it at the Church for the Millennium?)
Salad Days (Are here again) (the original 1st LP one, of course): Harlequin I don't think anyone requested this.

Allen

Band: GB, Fisher or Copping, Knights or Cartwright, Whitehorn, Broad or any Kayak or Van der Graaf drummers

PS: Perhaps some of the unfinished or left-out boots sprinkled in as a teaser for things to come!

Mirek Plodzik

My ideal "real" set list of Procol 2000 show is:

Charles Allison

I dream of a Year 2000 concert in three parts.

It would have to be in London I suppose, but perhaps they could they play in each of the four home countries? And what about TV? Or would that be sharing the secret of their genius too widely?

It would be a long night for Gary & the Band - but immortality beckons.

Richard Solly (see here too)

The ultimate Procol set-list? … with one eye on the future and one on the past.

This was a mammoth task ... so much has been left out.

Jim Krapf

There must be a way to lure Robin back for one last time. His playing should inspire everyone. He is the soul of PH. Maf is also essential and it would be nice to have Mr Copping unless he is retired. Need an original sounding drummer, not someone who attempts to imitate certain of BJ's beats without the contextual patterns. Here's a go:

The boys need to rest now.

Mike Lee

Ok so I always had strange taste, but what the hell!

Jimmy Lloyd : see here!

Unsteady Freddie

My ultimate set list for the lads is as follows: (Pomp and Circumstance should be playing over the loudspeaker house system before the band hits the stage; should come out and play into it, become a part of it, etc.)

I omitted The Wreck of the Hesperus ...sorry … someone squeeze it in there for me somewhere?

Jose Rios

See you maybe in the concert !

Evan
Humbly submitted with the hope that it, or some resemblance of it, will soon be played. (I request the right the make final changes)

Of course it remains for the songs to be thoughtfully put into appropriate order. Finally, I am sorry if I have exceeded the 2 hour suggested limit (well ... not really very sorry.)

Ian Hockley
Few idle minutes here to spare, here's my dream set-list;

Line-up: Brooker, Fisher, Trower, Copping, Broad

In this order: