Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Procol Harum) [Vinyl] (1967)

Year: 1967 (LP April 1972)
Label: Fly Records (UK), TOOFA 7
Style: Art Rock, Rock
Country: Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
Time: 39:44
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 215 Mb

Обложка альбома представляет из себя альбом. В одной половине диск "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" (это первый альбом группы, вышедший в 67-м под названием "Procol Harum", но с добавлением одной песни, первая дорожка, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale"). Во второй подловине диск "A Salty Dog". Пока выкладываю только "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", он же "Procol Harum" 1967 год.

"Whiter Shade Of Pale" был выпущен в то время, когда прог-рок еще не был нормой, но некоторые композиторы и музыканты, утомленные стилями тех лет, уже начали активно внедрять блюзовую музыку и различные психоделические творения. Альбом представляет собой смесь двух жанров: блюз таких гигантов, как Jimi Hendrix, смешиваемый с мелодическими тенденциями в стиле Pink Floyd, и небольшое влияние эффекта барокко. Последний предоставлен Мэтью Фишером, чье исполнение на органе является одним из самых потрясающих в рок-музыке – его Hammond(электронный клавишный инструмент фирмы The Hammond Instrument Company – прим. переводчика) чудесно отыгрывает все, от джазовых соло до вдохновленных Бахом мелодий, и это звучит удивительно естественно среди блюзового фона.
(rock-musicland.ru/procol-harum/1967-uk.html)

Band History eng:

From Cube Records DOUBLE BACK series, this has two studio albums packaged as one double.
Procol Harum was released in September 1967 in the US, and in December 1967 in the UK. Though the album was recorded on multitrack, it was issued as mono-only in the UK, and in mono and rechannelled stereo in the US. Despite extensive searching, the original multitrack tapes have not been located and thus a stereo mix of the original ten tracks may never be possible. Several alternate takes, however, have been mixed into stereo and are available on CD. As recently as 2004, the original single, mixed to stereo, has appeared on a "Dick Bartley Presents: Classic Oldies" compilation on Eric Records.
The original North American release included a poster of the album cover. The artwork by Dickinson, the then-girlfriend, and subsequently wife of Keith Reid was heavily influenced by the style of the late-Victorian illustrator Aubrey Beardsley.
The album has been repackaged and reissued many times. Two of the significant reissues are Procol Harum...Plus!, a 1998 CD compilation on the Westside label including all the songs from both the Deram and Regal Zonophone release, plus "Homburg" (the group's second single) and nine additional tracks from the period; and a monaural audiophile vinyl LP edition released in 2003 by Classic Records, with yet a different track order, including "Homburg" as the opening track and without "A Whiter Shade of Pale" or "Good Captain Clack". The set includes bonus singles of the original monaural and alternate stereo versions of "A Whiter Shade of Pale". A 2009 remaster by Salvo Records, using the original mono masters, was released, with bonus tracks including the singles "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Homburg", B-sides and alternate stereo takes. However, many of the tracks are played at a higher speed. A 2015 remaster by Cherry Red Records expands the album into a 2-CD set.
A live version of the track "Conquistador", from the album Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, was released as a single in 1972 and charted to #16 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 after 10 weeks on the chart.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procol_Harum_(album))

01. A1 A Whiter Shade Of Pale (04:13)
02. A2 Conquistador (02:46)
03. A3 She Wandered Through The Garden Fence (03:30)
04. A4 Something Following Me (03:44)
05. A5 Mabel (01:58)
06. A6 Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of) (05:05)
07. B1 A Christmas Camel (04:56)
08. B2 Kaleidoscope (03:00)
09. B3 Salad Days (Are Here Again) (03:45)
10. B4 Good Captain Clack (01:36)
11. B5 Repent Walpurgis (05:07)