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What was new at 'Beyond the Pale'

August 2004

August 31: We are getting reports that Amazon Germany has started to ship the new DVD; we expect that Amazon UK has done the same, but won't get confirmation until tomorrow's statistics reach us ...

Added a first review – which raises a serious question – of the new Procol Harum DVD, which was released yesterday (thanks, Cathy; thanks, Amadeus)

Great to hear so much Procol Harum on John Rose's 'Hidden Treasures' show from UIC Internet Radio ... specially the personal dedications!

August 30:

' ... the worst time to be a prominent 70s art-rock band was the very early 1990s ... '

Added a scathing review of the eleventh Procol Harum album, The Prodigal Stranger (thanks, John)

Remember BtP's page about the mysterious people credited in the small print of the above album?

August 29: Happy Birthdays to Chris Copping (1945) and Geoff Whitehorn (1951)

Added an appreciative 40-snapshot survey of From Shadow to Shadow (thanks, George)

Added a French ticket here (thanks, François)

August 28:

Added a very nice, short article that appeared in a theatre publication shortly after Procol Harum's first British gig last year (thanks, Diane): it would be nice to have another PH gig in a London theatre before too long ...

Enjoy revisiting some shots of the after-show party mentioned in the above article.

August 27:

'... speculate on how Procol Harum got so far without any dazzling personality for the press and populace to grasp ...'

Added the fifth in our sequence of pages, in which you may read 'Procol's Progress to Grand Hotel' from the concert programme for Procol Harum's recital at the Hollywood Bowl in September 1973 (thanks, Roxie; thanks, Jill)

In which connection, have a look at BtP's verbal variants page, and let us have more

August 26: The Procol 'Union Chapel' DVD is now available in HMV Chelmsford (UK), we understand ...

' ... there's none of the usual genius to be found here ... it just presents the band as a lame, mannerist parody of itself ... '

Added an unsentimental review of the tenth Procol Harum album, Something Magic (thanks, John)

You probably remember our page about the songs missing from that album ... one or two of which have now surfaced, of course.

August 25:

Added some nice, rare Procol performance photographs taken exactly thirty years ago, at the 14th Reading Festival (thanks, Vin)

August 24:

Added a brief and complimentary review of From Shadow to Shadow (thanks, Alan)

We're still hoping to get some clarification from readers about the precise details of the concerts fuzzily recalled here

August 23: Happy birthday Darci (2004)

Gary Brooker sometimes refers to Procol's last album of the Old Testament as 'Something Tragic': here's a 1977 review that may well have coined that unfortunate soubriquet (thanks, Marvin)

Have another read about The Worm and the Tree in our Stealing Notes and Taking Quotes feature

And listen to an excerpt from the only cover-version of it that we are aware of ...

August 22:

BtP's summer competition invited Procol fans to win the new Procol Harum DVD, or the latest Palers' Project album, by identifying songs from From Shadow to Shadow according to some nice, straightforward clues. Many thanks to everyone who took part, and we hope you enjoyed it! You can find out who the fab winners were ... and marvel at a thoughtful gesture ... by clicking here.

You may have missed these 1974 Trower performance photographs first time around?

August 21:

BtP's summer competition: to win the new Procol Harum DVD, or the latest Palers' Project album, just identify this song, from From Shadow to Shadow, and make a note of it (all you need is BtP's search page, the song pages and the stories of the players):

Step 39: on this Palers' Project track - the song originally closed a famous Procol album - you hear a painter from Leeds, not playing an instrument or singing ... that should clinch your final track and resolve an earlier ambiguity.

Great! Now go to this Competition Instructions page, and we'll let you know exactly what to do to claim your prize.

Added the fourth in our series of pages, in which you may read the various pieces from the concert programme for Procol Harum's recital at the Hollywood Bowl in September 1973 (thanks, Roxie; thanks, Jill)

In which connection, you might care to re-read the Procol Harum's Millennium Concert programme?

August 20:

Step 38: the name of the singer of this Palers' Project track - the song originally appeared on Procol Harum's 1973 album - is an anagram of 'Lazy ribbon sheet'

Added a final page of super performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Tony)

So ... what is the real relationship between Procol Harum and The Band?

August 19:

Step 37: the two players on this Palers' Project track - a Brooker solo piece - were born hemispheres apart: Nottingham and Sydney

Added another excellent review of From Shadow to Shadow (thanks, John)

Rarer even than the above recording is the Procol Box from 1971

August 18:

Step 36: this is a Palers' Project track - the song closes one side of Procol Harum's 1974 album - recorded by three musicians whose forenames all start with the letter 'A'

Added a third page of striking performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Tony)

Time to re-explore a fan's photo-scrapbook, starting in a suitably random place

August 17:

Step 35: this Palers' Project track - the waltz in question originally opened the second side of one of Procol Harum's earliest albums - was recorded in Sao Paolo

Added another Procol ticket to this page and to this page (thanks, Hans)

Remind yourself of how the band looked at the same gig in those final days of the Old Testament.

Remind yourself of how the band looked at the same town in early days of the New Testament

August 16:

Step 34: this Palers' Project track - the song originally appeared on a Gary Brooker 'B' side and was played by his band in Hamburg in 1983 - quotes the theme music from a famous and appropriate TV comedy series

Added a second page of fine performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Tony)

Time to re-read an early call for the Procol musical

August 15:

Step 33: this Palers' Project track - the song originally opened the second side of one of Procol Harum's best-selling albums - was recorded in the rain outside a Gaolhouse.

' ... an extremely bland collection of R&B-based pop songs ...'

Added a frank review of the ninth Procol Harum album, Procol's Ninth - hence the name (thanks, John)

How many songs from the above album would feature on a fan's ideal set list?

August 14:

Step 32: on this Palers' Project track - the song originates on Procol's 1975 album - you hear a Hammond dated c. 1915 (this is not a typo: you may have to read a song page quite carefully, or check all the pictures)

Added a page of excellent performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Tony)

Why not re-read this excellently lively concert report from earlier in the millennium?

August 13:

Step 31: this Palers' Project track - from Robin Trower's solo work, though the words have been mostly recorded by Procol Harum on a 1990s single - was apparently recorded in 40 minutes flat

Added some nice after-show party shots from the occasion of the Brooker / Fisher AWSoP on German television earlier this year (thanks, Wolfgang)

In which connection, this AWSoP interview page is an interesting re-read!

August 12:

Step 30: this Palers' Project track is sung by a female vocalist; the same title was sung by a female vocalist on the first Palers' Project album too: both songs originate on Procol Harum's 1969 album.

Added the dozenth and last of a sequence of superb performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Daniela)

Remember when Procol Harum played their song, Bank Villain?

August 11:

Step 29: the singer on this Palers' Project piece - the song is part of a famous 1968 suite - goes on to deliver an unexpected spoken recital on another track - also part of a famous 1968 suite.

Added the third of our series of pages, in which you may read the various pieces from the concert programme for Procol Harum's recital at the Hollywood Bowl in September 1973 (thanks, Roxie; thanks, Jill)

In which connection, you might care to re-read the Sounds interview published here?

August 10:

Step 28: this Palers' Project track is sung by an academic currently at Bournemouth University in the UK; you may find that there are two possible answers to this question, so let's hope a later clue will resolve the ambiguity.

Added the eleventh and penultimate page of a sequence of excellent performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Daniela)

To keep yourself abreast of Procol Harum activity, please be aware that 'Beyond the Pale' runs an occasional newsletter that is sent out to subscribers; the way it's arranged, only you can add your name to this list ... if you would like to receive this, please find all the details here.

August 9:

Step 27: four people sing on this Palers' Project track - the song originally closed a famous Procol album - all with the same surname

Added another striking review of From Shadow to Shadow (thanks, Geoff)

It would be good if someone would give Gary Brooker, or some of the other Procolers, another chance to play some of their favourite records ... as was done here

August 8:

Step 26: on this Palers' Project track - the song originally closed a famous Procol album - the piano is a Story & Clark and the organ is a B4

Added the tenth of a series of superb performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Daniela)

Remember this Swedish-oriented article?

August 7:

Step 25: the band track on this Palers' Project recording - the song originates from Procol's 1968 album - consists of four nylon-string guitars

'a three-minute pop song with more ideas than most bands could hope to come with for thirty ...'

Added an approving and thorough review of the eighth Procol Harum album, Exotic Birds and Fruit (thanks, John)

Monsieur R Monde, from Exotic Birds, is of course a recycled song. Why not re-read this piece about PH songs that have been dumped from albums?

August 6:

Step 24: the main artist on this Palers' Project track - the song is covered twice on the 2CD - recorded A Christmas Camel and Shine on Brightly on the previous Palers' Project album

Added the ninth of a sequence of excellent performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Daniela)

Here's an enigmatic old Procol photo that you may not have looked at for while

August 5:

Step 23: this Palers' Project track - the song originates from Procol's 1969 album - quotes Popeye the Sailor Man

... if AWSoP is a mysterious night-sea- journey, Croydon is more a seasick graduation march ...

Added a note about a song with some worthy Procol tangents (thanks, Ross)

Croydon is where Matthew Fisher grew up, and where BtP fans gathered for Procol Harum's gig in 2002

It's a good moment to re-read our review of the (very interesting) Croydon Rock book

August 4:

Step 22: this Palers' Project track - the song originates from Procol's 1973 album - features two brothers and no-one else

Added the eighth of a series of striking performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Daniela)

By way of a contrast to these up-to-the-minute pictures, have a look at something ancient from a Paramounts scrapbook

August 3:

Step 21: this Palers' Project track - the song originates from the first side of Procol's 1968 album - is presented in an arrangement based on something played by the Palers' Band in Manchester

Added another couple of tickets ... from 1973 in Hamburg and from 1971 in Munich (thanks, Rolf) - also added dates to the BtP Procol early tours page

Re-view some interesting Procol pictures from Munich, a year later

August 2:

Step 20: the name of the duo playing this Palers' Project track - the song originates from Procol's 1969 album - is adapted from the words of Monsieur R Monde

Added the seventh of a sequence of superb performance pictures: Procol Harum in Vienna (thanks, Daniela)

If Gary is resurrecting his compositions from between incarnations of the band, we may wonder if we'll ever hear Procol Harum play Heartbreaker: account of a performance here

August 1:

Step 19: this Palers' Project track - the song originates from Procol's neglected 1975 album - was recorded at Clearcut Studios

Added a page showing the Procol-by-Proxy concert that took place in Budapest on the occasion of Procol Harum's cancelled Hungarian gig last month.

Remind yourself of the last time fans gathered for a Procol gig that fell through ...

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