Gary Brooker in vintage form on his nod to band's 50th anniversary
Since the core Procol line-up splintered in the mid-'70s, Gary Brooker has dusted off the nameplate on four occasions, enlisting fellow veterans to repopulate the piano-organ-guitar frontline.
The latest LP, featuring returning guitarist Geoff Whitehorn, Josh Phillips on Hammond and lyricist Pete Brown (Cream), sounds like the work of an accomplished '70s rock band, not unlike the modern-day Steely Dan, with Brooker's vocal gravitas, elegant piano and baroque-soul melodies connecting to Procol's enchanted cosmology.
Taken on its own terms, Novum is an impressive display of retro firepower, especially on the blistering Image of the Beast, the Band-like panorama, Last Chance Motel, and the piledriving epic, Can't Say That.