| A Salty Dog | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1969 (US) June 1969 (UK) [1] | |||
| Recorded | January – March 1969 | |||
| Studio | EMI Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 40:18 | |||
| Label | Regal Zonophone, A&M | |||
| Producer | Matthew Fisher | |||
| Procol Harum chronology | ||||
| ||||
A Salty Dog is the third studio album by English rock band Procol Harum, released in 1969 by record labels Regal Zonophone and A&M.
A Salty Dog has an ostensibly nautical theme, as indicated by its cover (a pastiche of the famous Player's Navy Cut cigarette pack). Interspersed with straight rock, blues and pop items, A Salty Dog showed a slight change of direction from its predecessors, being thematically less obscure. The title track itself was the first Procol track to use an orchestra, as would be referred to in the live album performance released some three years later.
The album was the first record produced by Matthew Fisher, who quit the band soon after its release. This was also the last Procol Harum album to feature bass guitarist Dave Knights.
A Salty Dog was recorded in March 1969. The musical tensions between Robin Trower and the rest of the group were beginning to show in this album, and although his guitar sound remains integral to most of the tracks, "Crucifiction Lane" (featuring a rare Trower vocal), in retrospect, shows that Trower was already moving in a different direction from the rest of the band. Still, this album is much more musically varied than the two previous albums, with three Fisher vocals and one by Trower. Many of the instruments the band used on A Salty Dog had been previously used on albums by the Beatles and the Shadows. [2]
When Gary Brooker first performed "A Salty Dog" on piano with Keith Reid's lyrics for drummer B. J. Wilson, the room was filled with sunlight shining through the windows. Wilson, with a sunbeam on his face, told Brooker he thought "it was the most beautiful song he had ever heard." [3] The piano intro riff of the title track is inspired by a train whistle that Brooker heard in Switzerland. [4]
A Salty Dog was released in the US in April 1969 by the record label A&M, and June 1969 in the UK by record label Regal Zonophone. The title track, backed with "Long Gone Geek", reached number 44 in the UK Singles Chart in 1969 and the album itself number 27 in the Albums Chart. [5] In Canada, the album reached number 25. [6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
John Mendelson, writing for Rolling Stone , called it "a confusing album. At its best it represents the group's greatest success to date with the brand of rock for which the group is known; at its worst it is both surprisingly mediocre and trivial". [8] Robert Christgau was more enthusiastic in The Village Voice , giving it an "A+" in the first installment of his "Consumer Guide" column, [9] although he later said the printed grade was "a mistake" and should have probably been a "B+". [10]
In a retrospective review, Bruce Eder of AllMusic wrote, "This album, the group's third, was where they showed just how far their talents extended across the musical landscape, from blues to R&B to classical rock. In contrast to their hastily recorded debut, or its successor, done to stretch their performance and composition range", calling the title track "one of the finest songs ever to come from Procol Harum and one of the best pieces of progressive rock ever heard". [11]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Salty Dog" | Gary Brooker, Keith Reid | 4:41 |
| 2. | "The Milk of Human Kindness" | Brooker, Reid | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Too Much Between Us" | Brooker, Robin Trower, Reid | 3:45 |
| 4. | "The Devil Came from Kansas" | Brooker, Reid | 4:38 |
| 5. | "Boredom" | Matthew Fisher, Brooker, Reid | 4:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Juicy John Pink" | Robin Trower, Reid | 2:08 |
| 2. | "Wreck of the Hesperus" | Fisher, Reid | 3:49 |
| 3. | "All This and More" | Brooker, Reid | 3:52 |
| 4. | "Crucifiction Lane" | Robin Trower, Reid | 5:03 |
| 5. | "Pilgrim's Progress" | Fisher, Reid | 4:32 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Long Gone Geek" (B-side of the single release of "A Salty Dog" [12] ) | |
| 12. | "All This And More" | |
| 13. | "The Milk of Human Kindness" (Instrumental Version) | |
| 14. | "Pilgrim's Progress" (Instrumental Version) | |
| 15. | "McGreggor" (previously unreleased track, originally intended for Shine On Brightly [13] ) | |
| 16. | "Still There'll Be More" |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Long Gone Geek" | Reid, Brooker, Fisher | 3:20 |
| 12. | "Goin' Down Slow" (Live in the USA, April 1969) | James B. Oden | 7:56 |
| 13. | "Juicy John Pink" (Live in the USA, April 1969) | Robin Trower, Reid | 2:37 |
| 14. | "Crucifiction Lane" (Live in the USA, April 1969) | Trower, Reid | 4:34 |
| 15. | "Skip Softly (My Moonbeams) / Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Live in the USA, April 1969) | Brooker, Reid, Richard Strauss | 5:26 |
| 16. | "The Milk of Human Kindness" (Take 1; Raw Track) | Brooker, Reid | 3:51 |
Procol Harum
Technical
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [14] | 25 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] | 8 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [16] | 19 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [17] | 27 |
| US Billboard 200 [18] | 32 |
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) [19] | 47 |
Procol Harum were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than 10 million copies. Although noted for their baroque and classical influence, Procol Harum's music is described as psychedelic rock and proto-prog with hints of the blues, R&B, and soul.
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100. One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. In the years since, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has become an enduring classic, with more than 1,000 known cover versions by other artists.
Robin Leonard Trower is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band.
Procol Harum is the debut studio album by English rock band Procol Harum. It was released in September 1967 by record label Deram in the US, following their breakthrough and immensely popular single "A Whiter Shade of Pale". The track does not appear on the UK version of the album, but was included on the US issue. The UK version of the album was released in December 1967 by record label Regal Zonophone.
The Prodigal Stranger is the tenth studio album by Procol Harum, released in 1991. Recorded after a 14-year break, it met with an underwhelming response from listeners but served to kick off a largely successful reunion for the band.
Shine On Brightly is the second studio album by English rock band Procol Harum, released in 1968 by record labels Regal Zonophone and A&M.
Home is Procol Harum's fourth album, released in 1970. With the departure of organist Matthew Fisher and bassist David Knights, and the addition of bassist/organist Chris Copping to the remaining core roster of players, Procol Harum became, to all intents and purposes, the Paramounts again in all but name. The purpose of bringing in Copping was to return some of the R&B sound to the band that they had had with their previous incarnation.
Broken Barricades is the fifth studio album by English rock band Procol Harum, released the same week they began their U.S. tour, on 3 April 1971. The UK release was on 11 June 1971. It was guitarist Robin Trower's last recording with the group until The Prodigal Stranger (1991).
Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, by the English band Procol Harum together with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, was released in 1972; it was recorded at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 18 November 1971. The album reached No. 7 in Canada and was very successful on the Billboard Top 200, peaking at No. 5. It is the band's best-selling album, certified Gold by the RIAA. The live version of "Conquistador" from this album became a popular hit on both pop and progressive radio in the United States and reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, and the top 10 in several other countries.
Grand Hotel is the sixth studio album by Procol Harum. Released in 1973, it signalled a change of direction for the band. Guitarist Dave Ball, who had joined the band for their live album the previous year, left shortly after the photo shoot for the proposed album's cover, to be replaced by Mick Grabham. Grabham's head was superimposed on the front and back cover of the album on Ball's body. Although the band had gone through significant personnel changes in previous years, the band would enter its most stable phase with this lineup.
Something Magic is the ninth studio album by Procol Harum, and was released in 1977.
The Long Goodbye is an orchestral album of Procol Harum music that was released in 1995. The album was produced by longtime Procol Harum vocalist/pianist/songwriter Gary Brooker, and among the various musicians who contributed to the album are Procol Harum members Robin Trower and Matthew Fisher. The main performers on the album are the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with one track performed by Sinfonia of London.
Matthew Charles Fisher is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his longtime association with the rock band Procol Harum, which included playing the Hammond organ on the 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", for which he subsequently won a songwriting credit. In his later life he became a computer programmer, having qualified from Cambridge University.
"Conquistador" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it originally appeared on the band's 1967 self-titled debut album. It was later released as a single from the band's 1972 live album Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. It is one of the band's most famous and popular songs and their third Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 16.
The Paramounts were an English beat group based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. They had one hit single with their cover version of "Poison Ivy", which reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964, but are primarily known as the precursor to Procol Harum.
In Concert with the Danish National Concert Orchestra and Choir, by Procol Harum, is a live album released 2009. It was recorded in Ledreborg Castle in Denmark.
"A Salty Dog" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it was released as the lead single off the band's 1969 album A Salty Dog. It was also included on the 1972 album Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Live at the Union Chapel is the second live album by Procol Harum, released in 2004.
Some Long Road, by Procol Harum, is a live album released on May 5, 2014 by Union Square Records. It was a 10 track album, and consists of performances recorded during Procol Harum's 2012 and 2013 tours of Europe and the United States.
