A deep-dive into the 70s this weekend with Procol Harum, in concert at West German Radio’s Studio A on January 17, 1976.
One of the bands that signaled the start of what eventually became Progrock but what initially started off variously regarded at Symphonic Rock, Baroque Rock or Classical Rock, Procol Harum were something new at the time. Whiter Shade Of Pale, with its introduction based on Bach was a switch from the steady diet of hard-driving blues-based rock most audiences were hearing via Top-40 radio at the time and putting it in a more cerebral direction.
Thinking what was going on during that period from late 1965 on; The Beatles Rubber Soul; on the American side, The Left Banke and the direction shift towards more complex production, Procol Harum fit right in and continued that direction for a good long time.
This concert from 1976 puts the band during their period of decline and eventual breakup. With personnel changes already taking place and a direction change which proved not to be as successful as was hoped. This concert comes around the time of the release of Procol Nine and ahead of their final album, Something Magic which was issued in February of 1977.
Although not with the spark and vitality of their earlier concerts, this one nonetheless is a record of a band who, despite changes were still memorable and who had made a huge difference during a period of time when Rock music was an open and wildly eclectic playing field.
Procol Harum would eventually regroup in 1991 and go through a continuing set of personnel changes eventually with founding member Gary Brooker being the last one left standing. When Brooker died in 2022 Procol Harum was over.
Enjoy the weekend.
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