Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Procol Harum - 1969-03-15 - NY - 'Easter Island'

Procol Harum
1969-03-15 (and 4/69)
Fillmore East (and The Troubadour),
New York, NY
'Easter Island'
SBD, Good Quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Here's some more vintage Procol Harum, this one a live recording from the original Procol Harum lineup, in 1969 (and probably the best sounding live Procol boot available from this era). This boot contains 2 New York shows, but is known as 'Easter Island' (I have no idea why). Procol Harum was one of the great pioneers of progressive rock, and their odd combination of classical themes and styles (provided by Brooker's melancholy vocals and Fisher's church-like organ) with the searing R&B-style guitar jams of Robin Trower remains unique. So, check out this unique piece of rock history.
As a side note, Procol Harum was actually the very first rock concert I ever went to as a young teenager, at a place called 'The Kinetic Playground' (a cramped, dumpy, converted warehouse) in Chicago, IL, back in the early '70's (Gentle Giant was the opening act). Brings back long distant memories.

Tracks 1 to 9: Live at the Fillmore East, March 15, 1969
Tracks 10 to 14:Live at The Troubadour, April 1969
Tracklist:
01. Conquistador
02. Stoke Poges( Chelsea Tunes )
03. Kaleidoscope
04. Homburg
05. Repent Walpurgis
06. Shine On Brighty
07. Going Down Slow
08. Juicy John Pink
09. (Outside the Gates of ) Cerdes
10. Skip Softly
11. Crucifixion Lane
12.Wishing Well
13. Rambling On
14. A Whiter Shade of Pale
Gary Brooker: vocals, piano
Matthew Fisher: organ
Robin Trower: guitar
David Knights: bass
B.J. Wilson: drums

6 comments:

Buns O'Plenty said...

hey, this is Chris, love your blog as always! I was the webmaster of Discover Classic Rock and unfortunately i had to get rid of my webspace for a bit, so my site is not up right now. You were linking to me so i thought i'd let you know so you can remove Discover Classic Rock. I do update my Buns O'Plenty blog which is 60s, 70s funk, jazz, and soul if you are interested. I hope to make my DCR site return in the near future.

keep up the great blog
Chris
http://bunsoplenty.blogspot.l.com

Unknown said...

Experienced this original Procol Harum in 1969 at LaCave in Cleveland Ohio. LOUD! Robin Trower played a Les Paul Junior, what tone! LaCave sat maybe 300; our table was directly in front of the organists Leslie; drummer B.J. Wilson should be remembered, a most tasty musician.

Kevin said...

First show was recorded on Easter Sunday . . . hence Easter Island title

Unknown said...

Unfortunately the download link no longer works.

Unknown said...

A minor correction: The line-up with Trower and BJ Wilson was NOT the original line-up. The band at the time of the original recording of Whiter Shade of Pale included guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison. Harrison was not on the hit single, as - I understand - he had not yet been employed by the band. A jazz session drummer, Bill Eyden did the session. Harrison, by then a member of the band, felt he should share in the royalties. He too recorded the tune, but that version was rejected and the one with Eyden went on to become the hit. Disgruntled, Harrison and Royer departed to formed Freedom, paving the way for Gary Brooker to bring in his former bandmates from the Paramounts, Trower and Wilson. When the band's first album was recorded, another version of Whiter Shade was recorded with Wilson drumming. At that point there was what most people see as being the 'original' Procol Harum.

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much!
I ahve been a Procolite since the very start, and I am so thankful for this. I saw them first in Oslo (was it 72?), and then at the Ragnarock Festival in 1974, when I even had a chat with Gary Brooker (and I believe B.J. Wilson), and a autograph on a yellow 10kr, I either lost (or spent by accident). Anyway, Brooker was a t-r-u-e sweet gentleman to me! What a memory....

The organ suddenly stopped working, so they finally got another one, after playing several R&R/R&B songs in the meantime.... Totally pro musicians as we know!

WHEN WILL ONE OF THE BIG MUSIC MAGAZINES GIVE ONE WHOLE ISSUE (or at least very long article) TO PROCOL HARUM! They certainly deserve it!