PROCOL HARUM: Novum (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

After the band split in 1977, the releases of "The Prodigal Stranger" in 1991 and then "The Well's On Fire" in 2004 were good surprises. It seems that the gestation of an album with Procol Harum lasts thirteen years since a new resurrection called "Novum" is coming in this year 2017.

The album was released to celebrate the group's fiftieth anniversary. The cover, which features a slender young woman with her mane in the wind, is a version of the one that adorned the cover of the first album, "Procol Harum (A Whiter Shade of Pale)" in 1967, on a black background. While the tradition seems to be visually respected, some major upheavals have taken place. Matthew Fischer, whose Hammond organ will remain forever linked to 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' and Keith Reid, the faithful lyricist of all time, have been replaced by Josh Phillips and Pete Brown. Even more surprisingly, Gary Brooker, who had been the band's main songwriter until then, decided that this new album would be written in a collegial way, Josh Phillips' contribution proving to be the most important.

Not only does this decision not affect the band's sound, but the record sounds more Procol Harum than the two previous albums. From the introductory title, the listener finds himself in a familiar country and the impression will not let up until the end. Of course, Gary Brooker's characteristic voice contributes greatly to this feeling, a voice which, unlike many of his colleagues, seems insensitive to the passage of time. Probably this is due to his original timbre, both deep and nasal, but the voice is intact, deep, warm, powerful.

But the compositions themselves bear the markers of the Procol Harum sound: swaying mid-tempo rocks, an alliance of the delicate volutes of the piano and the riffs and solos of a guitar in verve, the whole supported by an impeccable rhythm and enhanced by the illuminations of the Hammond organ. If most of the tracks are divided between square Rocks ('I Told On You', 'Image of the Beast', 'Businessman'), bluesy ballads ('Last Chance Motel') and country melodies ('Soldier'), the band doesn't forget the classical part by revisiting in its own way Pachelbel's Canon ('Sunday Morning'), A Whiter Shade of Pale', 'A Salty Dog' or 'Grand Hotel', nor to diversify the atmosphere with the amusing 'Neighbour', its circus organ and its mischievous choirs.

The album ends in a climax with the contrasting juxtaposition of the excellent hard rock 'Can't Say That', reminiscent of the best of Deep Purple, and the melancholy ballad 'The Only One', which alone justifies the listening of this record. 'Somewhen', a piano/voice with an almost religious intonation, concludes an album full of energy with a note of sweetness.

If the two previous opuses had a few tracks reminding of the great Procol Harum in the middle of ordinary tracks, "Novum" sounds like a great vintage where only rare mediocre compositions get lost. Now, see you in 2030! - Official website

PROCOL HARUM

NOVUM

EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT

ROCK