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Rating: 
Summary: Procol Harum: As Great as Ever!!!
Review: Any fan of Procol Harum should pick up this DVD now! The band is in fine form, the video is well shot, the sound is crisp & well balanced, and the song selection spans the band's entire career: full of classics, rarely played gems, and a few relatively newer cuts from 1991's "Prodigal Stranger" CD. This is a nearly 2 hour concert from Denmark in December, 2001. The band includes, Gary Brooker (piano, vocals), Matthew Fisher (Hammond B3 organ), Geoff Whitehorn (guitar), Mark Brzecki(drums), and Matt Pegg (bass guitar). From sizzling rockers like "Memorial Drive" and "Piggy Pig Pig" to beautiful ballads like "A Salty Dog" and "Homberg" (and all points in between) the band plays with great passion and precision. Gary Brooker's voice and piano playing are incredible, and the rest of the band shines on brightly, as well! The concert is shown without cuts and interruptions. Among the special features included are interviews, very cool rehearsal footage, a discography, and a family tree. This DVD is a real bargain. For Procol Harum fans, buying this is is a no brainer. Adventurous fans of Art Rock, Prog Rock, Classic Rock, Psychedelic Rock will find all this and more (including a sprinkling of Classical Music, R&B, 50's & 60's Rock & Roll, & even World Music) in Procol Harum. This is a truly great band deserving far more success and acclaim than they ever received. They do it A-L-L with power, majesty and class!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost Perfection
Review: I have seen Procol many times over the years. From their early Filmore east concerts to their most recent shows in NYC. I must say , This is the best I have heard them on a "Live" recording since Robin Trower left the band in 1971.The band is tight and the dynamics are like that of vintage Procol Harum . Geoff Whitehorn plays with the emotion and feel remenisent of Robin Trower(who is 10's in my book) ,while still using his own style and technics. BJ.is a hard act to follow and I miss his playing very much . I give Mark Brezicki alot of credit for keeping in BJ's style but also using his own orginality . Matt Pegg does some very nice licks and blends in well also . As for Mr. Brooker and Mr. Fisher ,It's always great to see these to Pros working together! Procol Harum is truly a great band ,and with out a doubt an "orginal" band . Most of all if you are a real Procol fan this DVD is a MUST HAVE! THX.GC.
Rating:
Summary: Quite Rightly , Very Exciting!!!
Review: I have seen Procol many times over the years. From their early Filmore east concerts to their most recent shows in NYC. I must say , This is the best I have heard them on a "Live" recording since Robin Trower left the band in 1971.The band is tight and the dynamics are like that of vintage Procol Harum . Geoff Whitehorn plays with the emotion and feel remenisent of Robin Trower(who is 10's in my book) ,while still using his own style and technics. BJ.is a hard act to follow and I miss his playing very much . I give Mark Brezicki alot of credit for keeping in BJ's style but also using his own orginality . Matt Pegg does some very nice licks and blends in well also . As for Mr. Brooker and Mr. Fisher ,It's always great to see these to Pros working together! Procol Harum is truly a great band ,and with out a doubt an "orginal" band . Most of all if you are a real Procol fan this DVD is a MUST HAVE! THX.GC.
Rating:
Summary: A Whiter Shade of Hair
Review: I love the classic Procol Harum band and their recordings upto about mid-seventies. With this video and it's performances I do have a few dissasatisfactions that keep it from getting my full five-star blessing...1) I don't care what the common practices are, there is no excuse for not using a REAL PIANO for a concert. Lets see...real piano strings or a digitally sampled piano sound. I'll take a real piano (in tune or not) anyday.
At least Matthew make no compromise and uses a real Hammond organ, but c'mon Gary lets hear Grand Hotel on a real piano. Maybe slightly inconvenient but it won't break the bank. 2) The band is together (altough perhaps a tad too loose, but please, please put some energy into it. Getting a little older is no excuse for not turning up the volume and getting wild.
The drummer has great style but will only hit his kit so hard and overall the band just seems to be holding back.
Take off the slippers boys and put yer Rock n' Roll boots back on and don't be afraid to break a sweat. All that aside, the visual and audio production on this disc is excellent, very good indeed. None of that disturbing modern flash editing that makes us music lovers cringe.
The song list is great, lots of old favorites...
Christmas Camel, Memorial Drive, She Wandered Through, Repent Walpurgis, New Lamps and much more).
I actually enjoy the rehearsal performance more than the concert itself.
Overall this is a great disc and well worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: A Whiter Shade of Hair
Review: I love the classic Procol Harum band and their recordings upto about mid-seventies. With this video and it's performances I do have a few dissasatisfactions that keep it from getting my full five-star blessing... 1) I don't care what the common practices are, there is no excuse for not using a REAL PIANO for a concert. Lets see...real piano strings or a digitally sampled piano sound. I'll take a real piano (in tune or not) anyday.
At least Matthew make no compromise and uses a real Hammond organ, but c'mon Gary lets hear Grand Hotel on a real piano. Maybe slightly inconvenient but it won't break the bank. 2) The band is together (altough perhaps a tad too loose, but please, please put some energy into it. Getting a little older is no excuse for not turning up the volume and getting wild.
The drummer has great style but will only hit his kit so hard and overall the band just seems to be holding back.
Take off the slippers boys and put yer Rock n' Roll boots back on and don't be afraid to break a sweat. All that aside, the visual and audio production on this disc is excellent, very good indeed. None of that disturbing modern flash editing that makes us music lovers cringe.
The song list is great, lots of old favorites...
Christmas Camel, Memorial Drive, She Wandered Through, Repent Walpurgis, New Lamps and much more).
I actually enjoy the rehearsal performance more than the concert itself.
Overall this is a great disc and well worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: ..very much alive and well
Review: I would like to share a few comments on Procol's new live DVD. I think the band has presented themselves the best possible way
with plenty of good songs, excellent Dolby 5.1 sound, a beautiful stage without any excess or gimmick. Since I'll probably never be able to attend a Procol Harum concert, this is really for me the next best thing.
I was particularly delighted by Gary's mention of my country, Venezuela, during one of the interview segments, talking about the success of a AWSOP.
The concert segment show the band in top form, playing with confidence and style, and Gary's voice is stunning like always. It is really a delight to hear the live renditions of A Wither shade of Pale, A Salty Dog, Homburg, Holding On, and so many very old and not-so-old songs . The concert transmitted a sensation of magic and peace of mind, and they let the music speak for itself, so I would suggest every Procol fan to buy the DVD, dim the lights, get a good bottle of wine, have your wife or husband join you, watch together the concert and let the world spin without you for a while. I would like also to recommend ... an excellent website run by fans of the band
Rating:
Summary: Almost Perfection
Review: The "almost" I am speaking of is the lack of enthusiasm in general. (The audience and the band). It's not really that noticable and might just be the way it was recorded... almost "through the board" type of recording. I don't think Procol Harum has to jump around like Mick Jagger... but there is a slight lack of movemnet in the DVD. Just a little stiff. I also agree that with another reviewer that I wish Gary Brooker would play a real piano. And of course B.J. Wilson's drumming is always missed but Mark B. does a great job. That aside...great choices of songs great performances and a very clear recording. This DVD makes me want all the Procol Harum remastered CD's and reminds me how GREAT this band is. Also...Just to get a glimpse of Keith Reid at the end is almost worth the price. Highly recommended DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Almost Perfection
Review: The "almost" I am speaking of is the lack of enthusiasm in general. (The audience and the band). It's not really that noticable and might just be the way it was recorded... almost "through the board" type of recording. I don't think Procol Harum has to jump around like Mick Jagger... but there is a slight lack of movemnet in the DVD. Just a little stiff. I also agree that with another reviewer that I wish Gary Brooker would play a real piano. And of course B.J. Wilson's drumming is always missed but Mark B. does a great job. That aside...great choices of songs great performances and a very clear recording. This DVD makes me want all the Procol Harum remastered CD's and reminds me how GREAT this band is. Also...Just to get a glimpse of Keith Reid at the end is almost worth the price. Highly recommended DVD.
Rating:
Summary: all's well that ends
Review: there are no glaring mistakes...the digital sound is superb....the band looks right and gary's voice is sharp as ever....to see matthew's spiderlike fingers up close on the keyboard is a real treat...the songs run the spectrum from the first to last releases...grand hotel, exotic fruits, and the first lp have the most play with home coming in last...whitehorn's guitar's tone is as poignant as trowers, but unfortunately as has been true since trower left, the leads cannot be matched..as a matter of fact, in memorial drive, piggy pig pig, and repent walpurgis it's just as well the guitar playing gets drowned out....on the other hand, on those songs where trower's leads aren't permanently sketched, whitehorn shines, especially on as strong as sampson...pegg's bass playing blends in like a good umpire at a baseball game.....the drumming is much better than on the last orchestral release, with little overplay...maybe a handful of times bj's licks are missed, but all in all a good effort this time....matthew keeps his gameface throughout, cracking the slightest smile at the end of the concert...his playing is flawless, using his right hand mostly for lead and left hand on the controls...and gary does a masterful job(even with lyric notes), as if this was one for the recordbooks...a permanent illustration of what this band has meant for 35 years....salty dog and grand hotel take honors, with beyond the pale as most fun..bj's thunder was absent..trower's lightning gone...but even so, a mammoth task was accomplished in denmark 2001...
Rating:
Summary: A REGAL ZONOPHONE INDEED!!
Review: This is just a great DVD! Just the opportunity to see Matthew Fisher and Gary Brooker at work is a real treat in itself. Their current lineup is very good, with a percussionist formerly from Big Country and Dave Pegg's son on bass. The new guitar player is quite tasteful, sticking closely to the classic style of the early band (think Robin Trower ala Gibson, minus the Wah Wah). The performance in Copenhagen includes good performances of 20 odd pieces spanning their career. I would have liked more from the second album...NO LIFE IS LIKE A BEANSTOCK?...SHAME! Also, I wonder if they still perform "Cerdes, outside the gates of"?
The real treat, however, is a surprise extra performance of 6 or 7 songs in rehearsal for the tour. In a relaxed atmosphere, they run through great versions of "Morning Dew", "Hey Joe", and a wonderful rendition of "She waundered through the garden fence", among others. Watching Matthew Fisher play those beautiful lines from that song on his Hammond/Leslie combo was worth the purchase of the DVD itself. A cap to the set was an inspired version of "Let's go get stoned", a song where you can clearly see Gary Brooker's dept to Ray Charles.
If you have been a long standing fan, or...wonder what all the hoopla was about "skipping the light fantastic", check out this DVD. You can't go wrong. Hey, the price is right too. Now, how about Robin Trower on DVD!!
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