When
the Procol Harum stick to their own 'thing' on Shine on Brightly (A&M
Records), the results are pleasing, but too much of the album is devoted to an
effort to mirror the pseudo symphonic sound of some other pop groups.The Harum have been around long enough to prove themselves popular with their own style of music, and it is a bit disappointing to witness their effort to bridge the gap into another area.
Possessors of a musical spectrum which varies from [illegible] blues to intriguing rock, they have won popularity with the younger generation with such selections as Whiter Shade of Pale.
When Shine on Brightly moves into the blues area with numbers like Quite Rightly So and Wish Me Well, the results are good. Even their somewhat country sound as epitomised by Skip Softly, and Magdalene is strong with appeal.
But for 18 minutes on the new release the Harum attempts a collage entitled In Held 'Twas In I. Designed to combine a variety of ideas in musical form, the piece suffers from lack of a single, unifying thread to relate the separate thoughts.
Consequently, the effort winds up nowhere.
The Procol Harum are capable of much more and possibly will learn from this experience to stick to their own 'thing.'