The Westside Liner Notes

Corrections, Comments + Questions : Joan May

Joan May writes (September, 1999): all the liner notes described herein are credited to Henry Scott-Irvine, with the exception of the 'Apology from Westside' that appears on Sob ... Plus!

30th Anniversary Anthology: (3 CD Box)

Disc 3, Track #11
an alternate version of AWSoP, with Harrison on drums, is listed on the back page of the booklet as an 'earlier 1967 take' than the hit single, when it was actually recorded later – as per the recent Harrison interview at BtP.

Disc 3, Track #3
Homburg the single – is attributed to the Royer / Harrison lineup. Actually, BJ Wilson's drums were added and were more prominent than Harrison's, and Royer's guitar was mixed down to inaudibility. Thus the lineup for the Homburg single is in effect the lineup of the first 3 albums, with no guitar, and Harrison in the background on drums.

Disc 3, Track #13
an alternate version of Homburg, is attributed to the lineup of the first 3 albums. Actually this is the Royer / Harrison version of the single with Royer's guitar fills somewhat audible and without BJ's drum overdubs.

Disc 3, Track #14
an alternate version of Homburg, is labeled '..an earlier take with a different ending.' It was actually recorded later than the single, after the ouster of Royer and Harrison, with Wilson.and Trower. Track #13 is the earlier version.

The Long Goodbye is designated a Procol Harum album.

The credits for the Shine On Brightly album list 'Gary Brooker, voice and piano' and 'Matthew Fisher, Hammond organ' – neglecting to mention Fisher's vocal on Autumn or his piano on Grand Finale.

(Also on SoB ... plus! notes): Grand Finale is mistitled as The Grand Finale and is lauded as 'classic Harum,' neglecting to mention that Fisher is its composer (as Reid said on the Repertoire liner notes). Also omitted is that Fisher composed (and played) its piano solo. This information has been missing from all previous liner notes for the Shine On Brightly album, and would have been welcomed here. (see also here)

(Also on A Salty Dog ... plus! notes): Fisher is quoted as describing the title track of the A Salty Dog album was 'Procol's Citizen Kane.' In a 1991 radio interview, Fisher uses that phrase to characterize the entire album, not just that one song.

In describing the A Salty Dog album, the notes state that Fisher worked '... as producer as well as singer / songwriter on 3 tracks. (The Hollies' producer Ron Richards aided Fisher on these compositions but was not credited)....' This is an ambiguous sentence where it's not clear if Richards supposedly assisted with the composing or the producing, and I think most readers would assume the former. It was clarified on the ASD ... plus! liner notes that Richards's name was on the tape box, which could indicate help with the production but not the compositions. However there's no evidence that Richards actually did assist with the production either.

(Also on Procol Harum ... plus! notes): In the description of the formation of Procol Harum and the creation of AWSoP, only Brooker and Reid are mentioned.

Procol Harum ... plus!

The guitar and drums on alternate versions of Cerdes and Something Following Me are attributed to Royer and Harrison when in fact they are by Trower and Wilson.

The drumming on Lime Street Blues is attributed to Bill Eyden, when in fact it's by Bobby Harrison.

On page 6 of the booklet, it states that all songs on the CD were composed by Brooker and Reid except QRS (Brooker / Fisher / Reid) – failing to mention that Repent Walpurgis was composed by Fisher. This information is correct on the back page of the booklet.

(Also on Procol Harum ... plus! notes): In the description of the formation of Procol Harum and the creation of AWSoP, only Brooker and Reid are mentioned.

Shine On Brightly ... plus!

(Also on SoB ... plus! notes): Grand Finale is mistitled as The Grand Finale and is lauded as 'classic Harum,' neglecting to mention that Fisher is its composer (as Reid said on the Repertoire liner notes). Also omitted is that Fisher composed (and played) its piano solo. This information has been missing from all previous liner notes for the Shine On Brightly album, and would have been welcomed here. (see also here)

The notes state that Alpha is so obscure that 'Fisher has forgotten it!' Actually Fisher remembered that song just fine (as per Mike Ober's 1993 interview) but he did say that in the late 60s, he had forgotten about recording Pandora's Box and had to be reminded of that by his mates. Perhaps therein lies the mixup?

At the end of the booklet, Westside printed an apology deeply regretting not releasing a track because they found out it was an alternate version of Wish Me Well rather than a new song. I think of this as a mistake because, based on reports about this track, it's probably one of the better alternates we've yet heard, with more of Trower's great blues guitar in the fadeout.. Their not releasing it just because it was an alternate is difficult to understand, in the face of all the alternates they have released – many of which are inferior to the released versions. I still hope for this track's ultimate release.

A Salty Dog ... plus!

(Also on A Salty Dog ... plus! notes): Fisher is quoted as describing the title track of the A Salty Dog album was 'Procol's Citizen Kane.' In a 1991 radio interview, Fisher uses that phrase to characterize the entire album, not just that one song.

Long Gone Geek is designated as 'Track #11' of the album when it should have been listed as one of the bonus cuts. It never appeared on the original album.

The notes state that Boredom was covered on the Tir Na Nog album produced by Fisher. There are no Procol songs on that Tir Na Nog album, nor on any other non-Procol Fisher-produced album that I'm aware of. Boredom was, however, covered by Tea and Symphony ... maybe therein lies the mix-up?

The notes quote Fisher as saying that Brooker and Trower had composed melodies for Pilgrim's Progress but that Reid rejected both in favor of Fisher's. I know Fisher said something like this about All This and More in Mike Ober's interview, ie that he had submitted a melody for that song but that Brooker's was chosen. Could this be another mixup related to the Ober interview?

(Also on the Home ... Plus! notes): The wrong mailing address was listed for obtaining the Liquorice John Death CD. Here's the correct address: John Grayson, Shine On, 56 Brecknock Road, London N7 0DD, UK

Westside records: a suite of BtP pages