30th Anniversary Anthology

Reviewed in 'The Times', 11 December 1997

In Metro, the magazine section of London's The Times, a series of boxed sets was given marks out of 10: Procol Harum earned 8 points, and the following (unsigned) review, kindly sent in by Sam Cameron:

Poor old Procol Harum, the rock'n'roll equivalent of Orson Welles. They began at the top with Whiter Shade of Pale in 1967 and then worked their way downwards – except that Procol continued to make great music for a further decade. The hit wasn't on the eponymous début album, neither was Homburg , the follow-up, and arguably the better single. After the sweeping Shine On Brightly in 1968, Procol delivered A Salty Dog in 1969, one of the best British rock albums of the decade.

The first four albums are all boxed up here, along with a third disc full of rarities, B-sides and demos which, while adding little to our appreciation of this most cherished of bands, helps to paste over the cracks. The four-verse Whiter Shade is out there somewhere, but even without it, this box set makes you want to skip the light fandango one more time.