Go back to the Fartzy-Dartzy Procol Harum page NOW! My Pants Shall Always "Shine on Brightly" Overall Album Score: 8.9 out of 10 You know... in a big way, Procol Harum improved their act for this second-go-round, even though it does lack equivalent tracks to "Conquistador," "Repent Walpurgis," and most importantly, "A Whiter Shade of Pale." But it's the OTHER stuff that doesn't seem to be quite as boring to me. Is it because I don't have 'Whiter Shade' to look forward to and I am thus able to enjoy much of the other stuff better? Possibly... but the principle reason is because they spent more time polishing these songs, methinks. However, the two albums stylistically are quite similar, as nearly every Procol Harum album is similar to each other. Except... yep... this is more polished and stuff. And, this time, there are no seemingly 'filler' tracks. Even though I'm writing this before I look at the tracks, I don't see myself scoring any of them below an 8.5. The previous album had many tracks that had scores down there. People who like to purchase albums based on their historical significance (after purchasing their previous LP) should buy this one! The sprawling, symphonic, 17-minute epic, "In Held Twas I" was the first of its kind and made all sorts of advances into the world of Prog-rock. (Which is quite an accomplishment! 17+ minute tracks would become a staple in early 70s Progressive rock!) And, it isn't until the final third when the track finally starts to become a little boring. (Sure... it is pretentious, but I never minded that too much.) They were originally going to fill that side with a bunch of blues-based songs. Fortunately, many of them are graciously included in the CD. YAAAAAAAAY! This is a SUPER bonus! We get everything! That's not to say there aren't other tracks that deserve your attention. Indeed, many of these other ones probably deserve MORE of your attention! There's "Quite Rightly So" and the title track, which both have me captivated like "A Whiter Shade of Pale" did. Don't believe me? Download the frikin songs for all I care and see for yourself! I mean... it's not QUITE as utterly spellbinding, but it's still bloooody good. I would like to close this review with something a little bit off-base. Winona Ryder: if you are reading this, I want you to know that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I think that heist job of yours was sooooo sweet, but poorly planned! I could help you, in your future jobs! Overall Album Score: 8.9 out of 10 (Ooooooooo! It's a tie! I suppose if you like the Procol Harum debut album, you'll like this follow-up just as much. Though, I'd still definitely get that debut first, 'cause even if you don't like most of Procol Harum's stuff, you'll find that "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is cooler than Space itself.) Average Song Score: 8.7 (Wow! The song score did manage to get very close to the debut ... and that was even though there are three songs on the debut that I like better than anything here. These songs are all very strong!) Album Tilt: 8.5 (Like on their debut, I don't always feel like I've just listened to a great album. Bits get rather boring, also. Nevertheless, it's still memorable) Artist Tilt: 9.5 (The 17-minute symphonic, progressive rock track is the first of its kind! And, it doesn't suck? High artistic ratings all around!) Track Reviews Quite Rightly So 9.5/10 Yep! This is another Procol classek! The tune is not exactly wonderful, but the entire track is very captivating. It's another very effective cross between blues-rock and classical music ... and I love it, of course! Already, you can tell this towering song was spent more time developing on (and sounds like Prog-Rock). A luverly album-opener if there ever was one. Shine on Brightly 10/10 More stuff in the similar vein of the previous track, but it's entirely different. The song is based bouncy piano chords (even though the song isn't bouncy) and a lot of interesting instrumental choices. I am, yet, captivated once again! It's another BEAUtiful song form Procol Harum. This is my favorite track of the album. Skip Softly (My Moonbeams) 8.5/10 Well... this track is different. And, it's kind of CRAZY. I mean... Procol Harum writes beautiful music, but they're also certifiable loonies. (The lyrics are crazy, too.) Oh well, the track is, above anything else, interesting (even though it does eventually briefly descend into something that sounds like it was lifted from the soundtrack of a circus, quite unfortunately), and it does serve to diversify this album up a little bit. Wish Me Well 7.5/10 This one sounds a lot more like a regular rock song. It's not particularly captivating and, unfortunately, gets a little boring. Okay... I scored a track below an 8.5! So sue me! It's the worst track in the album, and it's still find it to be good. But I guess it's best when you take it within the context of the entire album. Rambling On 8.5/10 Hey! If you read the review of Procol Harum's previous album, this was my major complaint! That Procol Harum just keeps on RAMBLING ON! Heeeheee! That's not to say this track is not-rambly! 'Cause it is! But, I do like this track because, while it isn't as captivating as the first two tracks, it still manages to interest me. Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone) 8.5/10 Yer Regal WHAT????? My spellchecker doesn't even know what that is. Essentially, this is a typical Procol Harum classical/blues rock inspired song, but it's set to a militaristic beat. It's, in fact, not bad at all! Some of it is kind of weird ... and I do like it when Gary Brooker shuts up and lets these eccentric choices in instruments speak for themselves. (...which isn't to say I don't like what he's singing...) In Held 'Twas I 17/20 HoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooAH! This is a VERY pretentious track that begins with sort of a Buddhist atmospheric thing, and Gary reading off something about a pilgrim visiting the Dahlia (Dolly Llama) Lama. And this Lama dude says "Life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?" which actually kind of disturbs me. Does this mean there's going to be a guy named "Jack" climbing up my life? And then, the track moves into a very classical-oriented passage with a VERY PLEASANT piano playing and some operatic choruses. And then we get more talking to this piano. (What he's saying gets even more weird.) And then... suddenly ... the song takes louder, quicker, approach where it sounds like we've just entered a 16th Century tavern full of merry drunks. (The tune here is excellent! And sounds better than any 16th Century tavern song I've ever heard ... albeit I can't say that I spend too much time listening to 16th Century tavern songs.) And then there's thunder, and it metamorphoses into a more regular and above-average Procol Harum tune. (It's easy to see how this track influenced the development of Prog-rock, especially at this section.) It does get a little boring here, but not much. And then, the song turns into a significantly more eerie and dynamic instrumental passage. And then it gets very peaceful and turns into a beautiful, Baroque-y song and Gary starts singing again (to another above-average tune) and it slowly gets more dynamic. After that fades away, the track progresses into another operatic, piano driven sequence with 'ooo'ing vocals an' ev'rythin'. And then Robin Trower enters with his very impressive electric guitar work (he's great). And then the vocals cue up again, 'xcept this time, they're more dynamic. If you have it on loud enough, this part might impress you enough to move ya a little bit. (Ehh... screw the neighbors!) What a great coda! The Bonus Tracks: (Mmmm... I'm not going to count these in the total song score, but I'll briefly review them anyway.) Seem to Have the Blues (Mostly All the Time) Yeah... this was one of the blues rockers that was scrapped to make way for "In Held Twas I." It's very good, if it does get too rambly in uninteresting ways! I would give it an 8.0 out of 10. Monseuir Armand Another blues rock song, this one is quite a bit better than the previous track, and I'm actually kinda wondering why they didn't originally replace this track with the relatively uninteresting "Wish Me Well." I would definitely give this track a 9. Alpha Ooo! We get to hear somebody cough before this track starts up! Coooooo! More blues rock stuff... and it's very decent if I'm not too excited about it. This is the first song that I can truly say gets real BORIIIIIIIIIING after awhile. A 7.5. (Oooo! Like the jazzy piano work here during the instrumental passages.) In the Wee Small Hours of Six Pence Actually... this song is entirely awesome! It's not particularly blues-based (...I'm not sure if this song was meant for this album, or if it was a B-side...) The rest: ...Includes ANOTHER version of "In the Wee Small Hours of Six Pence" (it was a rejected outtake, I assume.) Two, back to back, versions of "Quite Rightly So" and then a version of "Shine on Brightly" in Italian. Woah! These are so generous that they do nothing but fill up space. I don't mind! I'd rather there be pointless bonus tracks than there NOT be pointless bonus tracks. Do you agree with this review? Did I just let out a big fart? Leave your comments here! mwest@fnbcnet.com (srhcb) received June 15, 2004 "Life is like a beanstalk," is actually, "Life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?" which gives the phrase an entirely different twist. Don Ignacio responds: Thank you for that. And I've noted it.

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He *likes* to be artistically-challenged.