Grand Hotel (album)

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Grand Hotel
Procol Harum Grand.jpg
Studio album by
Procol Harum
ReleasedMarch 1973
Genre Progressive rock, symphonic rock
Length41:01
Label Chrysalis,
Esoteric Recordings (2021 remaster),
Repertoire (2000 German reissue)
Producer Chris Thomas
Procol Harum chronology
Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
(1972)		Grand Hotel
(1973)		 Exotic Birds and Fruit
(1974)

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.

Contents

The album reached No. 21 on the Billboard album charts. It peaked at #4 in Denmark, [1] where the group was always well received.

Although Grand Hotel appears on the surface to be a concept album, the "concept", according to lyricist Keith Reid, doesn't extend beyond the title tune. [2]

The single "A Souvenir of London" was banned by the BBC for the reference to venereal disease in its lyrics. Reid claimed that the song was really inspired (regardless of how it turned out and was interpreted) by a visit to a souvenir shop near George Martin's Air Studios. "Almost every album has had at least one comic song...and this one was a bit tongue in cheek" Reid stated as part of an interview for the 2009 CD reissue. [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Christgau's Record Guide C [4]

Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 1973, Bud Scoppa called Grand Hotel a "confused and uneven transitional album" and "a collection of overblown production jobs that, at their worst, approach self-parody, and simpler, less grandiose tracks that suggest Procol Harum may yet find a way out of the corner they have worked themselves into." [5] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau similarly noted the split in musical identity: "For years, these guys have vacillated between a menu of grits that certainly ain't groceries and larks' tongues in aspic. Despite their current white-tie conceit, they still haven't decided." [6]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic's James A. Gardner gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars and said the replacement of the band's original guitarist Robin Trower with the "capable, even powerful, but not nearly as distinctive" Mick Grabham resulted in a greater reliance on "ornate arrangements than guitar riffs, making this somewhat more dignified than either of their previous studio albums, Home and Broken Barricades." [7]

2009 Salvo reissue

In 2009 Salvo reissued the CD remastered by Nick Robbins. Vocalist/keyboardist/composer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid supplemented the original CD with two bonus tracks. Both were "raw" tracks; i.e., they did not feature overdubs. One of the bonus tracks, "Bringing Home the Bacon", is the only one to feature former guitarist Dave Ball. The 2009 reissue also featured an essay by Patrick Humphries and was reissued in a cardboard sleeve.

Record Store Day UK 2021 release

A newly remastered limited edition vinyl LP of Grand Hotel was released on Record Store Day UK, 12 June 2021 on the Esoteric Recordings label. This release was limited to 1000 copies in 180g white vinyl. Newly remastered from the original master tapes and cut at Abbey Road Studios, it has a gatefold sleeve and facsimile of the original lyric book. [8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Grand Hotel"6:08
2."Toujours L'amour"3:32
3."A Rum Tale"3:21
4."T.V. Caesar"5:54
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."A Souvenir of London"3:21
2."Bringing Home the Bacon"4:18
3."For Liquorice John"4:26
4."Fires (Which Burnt Brightly)"5:08
5."Robert's Box"4:49
Bonus tracks (2009 Salvo Records reissue)
No.TitleLength
1."Grand Hotel" (raw track without orchestral)6:09
2."Bringing Home the Bacon" (raw track featuring Dave Ball)6:06
2018 remastered edition – disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Grand Hotel" (raw track without orchestra)6:09
2."Bringing Home the Bacon" (Dave Ball-era recording)6:06
3."Toujours L'amour" (early take)3:40
4."Fires (Which Burn Brightly)" (early take)5:04
5."Robert's Box" (early take)4:39
2018 remastered edition – disc two : Live on RTBF TV, Belgium 1973 (DVD)
No.TitleLength
1."Bringing Home the Bacon" 
2."Grand Hotel" 
3."Fires (Which Burnt Brightly)" 
4."A Salty Dog" 
5."A Rum Tale" 
6."Conquistador" 
7."For Liquorice John" 
8."Power Failure" 
9."A Souvenir of London" 

Charts

Chart (1973)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [9] 28
Canada (RPM (magazine) [10] 18
United States (Billboard Top LPs)21

Certifications

Certifications for Grand Hotel
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [11] Silver60,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Procol Harum

with:

Technical

Certifications

United Kingdom-Silver [12]

Legacy

Douglas Adams claimed that the idea for The Restaurant at the End of the Universe was inspired by the title track, "which he wanted to run throughout the whole Milliways section" (of the original BBC Radio series of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy ). However, according to the show's producer, Geoffrey Perkins, "Douglas was unable to explain clearly what connection it actually had" with the concept and so the idea was abandoned. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Danskehitlister.dk
  2. ↑ Keith Reid Interview by Patrick Humphries for 2009 reissue booklet
  3. ↑ Keith Reid interview by Patrick Humphries for 2009 reissue booklet
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved 10 March 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ↑ Scoppa, Bud (10 May 1973). "Procol Harum: Grand Hotel". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert (August 1973). "The Christgau Consumer Guide". Creem . Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Grand Hotel – Procol Harum". AllMusic.
  8. ↑ "Procol Harum". Record Store Day. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  9. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 241. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  10. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums - May 26, 1973" (PDF).
  11. ↑ "British album certifications – Procul Harum – Grand Hotel". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  12. ↑ BPI Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Adams, Douglas (1985). The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - The Original Radio Scripts. London: Pan Books Ltd. p. 107. ISBN   0-330-29288-9.
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