Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

One Eye to the Future

Procol Harum live album • Recorded in Italy 2007 • No longer available

This was the first-ever download-only album from Procol Harum.

Tracks available through 'Beyond the Pale' were encoded at 320 mbps; this is twice the bitrate of standard iTunes downloads.
Artwork and tracklisting etc were not part of the download: take what you need from this page.
There was no physical CD of this live set: the download was the only version.

One Eye to the Future
17 tracks recorded in Italy by the fortieth anniversary line–up
Mixed by Graham Ewins
Produced by Graham Ewins / Gary Brooker for Strongman Productions
Executive producer – Chris Cooke

Keyboards and Vocals – Gary Brooker
Drums – Geoff Dunn
Bass and Backing Vocals – Matt Pegg
Hammond Organ and Synthesiser – Josh Phillips
Guitar and Backing Vocals – Geoff Whitehorn

Bringing Home the Bacon Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

Shine on Brightly Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

The VIP Room Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

Pandora's Box Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

Learn to Fly Brooker / Fisher / Reid (recorded at Schio)

(You Can't) Turn Back the Page Brooker / Noble / Reid

Homburg Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

Simple Sister Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

A Rum Tale Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

Grand Hotel Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

One Eye on the Future Brooker / Reid (recorded at Schio)

Worried Life Blues Merriweather (recorded at Schio)

Conquistador Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

An Old English Dream Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

A Whiter Shade of Pale Brooker / Fisher / Reid (recorded at Turin)

Whisky Train Trower / Reid (recorded at Schio)

A Salty Dog Brooker / Reid (recorded at Turin)

Liner note
Procol Harum is a band that means many things, and even different things, to different people. It’s a band that writes innovative and emotional compositions, recorded beautifully on their studio albums. And it’s a band that performs this music with much power and brilliance in their concerts: a strong and rare combination. One Eye to the Future gives us this: fantastic songs with the added variation and energy only a first–class live band can give.

This album was recorded in Italy at the end of Procol’s fortieth anniversary tour. The selected seventeen songs span their whole career, from their début single and its follow–up, Homburg, through nine of their eleven studio albums and on into One Eye on the Future, an unrecorded song only heard live in concerts.

One Eye to the Future is not only an excellent live compilation of some of the band’s best music. It is also the first recording of the current line–up of musicians and, as with every version of the band, each player brings new life to the music, although it still has the perfect Procol Harum signature all over it. As such this album makes a good choice for both the occasional listener looking for a ‘best of’ compilation from the band, and also for the hard–core fan who will pore over the fine details and musical variants added by each musician.

Listen to the unrehearsed jam of Worried Life Blues to hear the quality of musicianship and rapport the band members possess, and to Geoff Dunn’s excellent drum solo in Whisky Train – a solo that was extended because Gary Brooker, who often takes a break during drum solos, was late returning to the stage. You can just hear Geoff Whitehorn shouting “He’s not back yet!”

Procol Harum have always been a superb live act, and One Eye to the Future sees the band in top form. Add this to a great selection of songs, and you may well be holding their best live recording on offer.

This also marks Procol Harum’s first release of a ‘download only’ album, an indication that the band may well keep one eye on the past, but they are also looking excitingly to the future.

Jens Anders Ravnaas, Kristiansand, Norway: September 2008

The tracklisting (including two hitherto-unrecorded songs) will delight the committed fan and offer a great 'best-of' taster for the non-specialist listener: whoever you are, you'll be hearing a world-class rock band at the top of its game.

Most Procol fans downloaded the entire album, of course. For those who chose to download only particular tracks, the proportions (at the end of March) were: Grand Hotel, 1.25%; Conquistador, 2.5%; Whisky Train, 2.5%; A Salty Dog, 3.75%; The VIP Room, 5%; Learn to Fly, 5%; An Old English Dream, 5%; A Whiter Shade of Pale, 5%; Shine on Brightly, 6.25%; Pandora's Box, 6.25%; (You Can't) Turn Back the Page, 6.25%; Simple Sister, 7.5%; Worried Life Blues, 7.5%; Bringing Home the Bacon, 8.75%; Homburg, 8.75%; A Rum Tale, 8.75%; One Eye on the Future, 10%.

More Procol Harum albums