Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Procol Harum
Label: Chrysalis Records
Release: 1975
Length: 39:24
Rating: 3/5
»Procol’s Ninth«, the eighth studio album from English progressive rock pioneers Procol Harum, can be seen as the record that signaled the beginning of the end of their most successful creative period. Relations between the band and the people at Chrysalis, who were desperate for a new hit and kept pushing the band through constant producer changes, were nothing to envy. Chris Thomas, producer of most Procol Harum albums since 1970, was replaced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Unlike Thomas, who’d played a major part in the grandiose sound of the band’s classic works, the two fussed over a rawer, more basic sound that on a bunch of tracks stripped away the gorgeous symphonic arrangements of the kind Gary Brooker and his crew had made in the past.
On top of that, against the band’s wishes, they put an uninspiring cover of The Beatles standard »Eight Days a Week« on the album. Along with the totally superfluous »I Keep Forgetting«, which Leiber and Stoller wrote in 1962 for r’n’b singer Chuck Jackson, it was the first cover ever on a Procol Harum album. The sour mood and the not-so-successful move toward more basic song structures, a departure from the band’s usual practice, are also reflected in the worst cover art in the group’s history, with the band members looking not exactly cheerful against a grey background. No wonder Leiber and Stoller left the producer’s chair soon after this album came out.
The opening track, »Pandora’s Box«, with its mysterious, slightly phantasmagorical vibe, is one of the better pieces on the album and also the only »Procol’s Ninth« song that truly deserves the label of classic. It was actually written back in 1967, around the time of the cult Procol Harum debut. The original, noticeably more psychedelic version is clearly the better one, though it took more than three decades to get an official release, finally turning up on a reissue of the Procol Harum debut. »Fool’s Gold« is a prime example of the rawer, more combative sound with slight hard rock undertones, which at this stage of its career makes the band at times sound less like itself and more like Traffic or Family. Adapting to the changed direction and production, Brooker’s vocal approach also takes on more soul elements than usual on most of the songs.
»Taking The Time« leans heavily bluesy, while Brooker and Keith Reid can’t decide whether to give priority to humor or melancholy in the music and lyrics. Even »The Unquiet Zone«, with its galloping rhythm and ‘American’ sound, which makes the whole thing sound less like Procol Harum and more like Chicago or Blood, Sweat & Tears«, minus the superb horn arrangements of course, didn’t manage to write itself into the annals of unforgettable Procol Harum classics. The playful »The Final Thrust«, thanks to its good symphonic arrangements and Brooker’s mournful singing, with Reid’s sarcastic lyrics wafting through it, sits a bit closer to the ‘traditional’ Procol Harum sound, which makes it one of the more interesting pieces on the album.
The aforementioned cover »I Keep Forgetting« is a pure r’n’b affair, American to the core, and a transparent attempt by the label to boost interest in the legendary English group again on the other side of the pond. The far more ‘English’ »Without a Doubt« and »The Pipers Tune« set the impression right again and even briefly recall the best Procol Harum days, while »Typewriter Torment«, with its rhythmic variety, Brooker at the peak of his vocal ‘play’ and the rich sound of Hammond organs, is one of the few pieces on the album that stands up to the band’s best creative years.
»Procol’s Ninth« was far from a bad album, but some imposed production moves wrecked the original plans. On top of that, Procol Harum had made so many better records in the past that comparing it with them is rather thankless. On several tracks you can hear that the band didn’t have its old creative freedom, and it was hard to make anything more than a decent record out of that. The much rawer, ‘American’ sound from the imposed producers, who followed the label’s wishes, spoiled a lot and kept »Procol’s Ninth« from joining the Procol Harum classics. Buying it is a must only for the biggest diehards, the ones who need the whole discography of these legendary progressive rock pioneers filled out.
Lineup
Gary Brooker – vocals, piano
Mick Grabham – guitar
Chris Copping – organ
Alan Cartwright – bass guitar
B.J. Wilson – drums
Keith Reid – lyrics
Production
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Tracklist
1. Pandora’s Box (3:36)
2. Fools Gold (3:58)
3. Taking the Time (3:37)
4. The Unquiet Zone (3:39)
5. The Final Thrust (4:35)
6. I Keep Forgetting (3:25)
7. Without a Doubt (4:29)
8. The Piper’s Tune (4:26)
9. Typewriter Torment (4:27)
10. Eight Days a Week (2:54)
