A SALTY DOG

Procol Harum continued through the late sixties and produced their third album with the lovely sailor look. Unfortunately this record was less progressive than the last one even if the highlights are great. 1969 was the band the same line up than before with Gary Brooker on song and piano and harmonica, recorders, Matthew Fisher on organ, marimba, guitars, piano and recorders Dave Knights on bass, Keith Reid who wrote, Robin Trower on guitars and tambourine and Barrie James Wilson on drums, tabla and congas.

The cover in fantastic. We se an orientalic sailor with a great beard inside a lifebuoy on a sky with dramatic clouds over a calm sea and the textparts are written in an old style type.

A salty dogs contains both good and bad ingredients. I am sad the album isn't so perfect I want it to be. The first track and the title "A salty dog" is a wonderful work, one of the best Procol Harum songs I have heard(8/10). I has a wonderful melody and Brooker sings so nice and I love the magic feeling of strings. "Pilgrims progress" too is very good, the closer matches the beginner (8/10). It feels honest and sweet and a lovely melody. "Wreck of the Hesperus" is the third best song(also 8/10) which is very powerful to come from this band. "The milk of human kindness"(7/10) i great played and there is a little ragtime in the piano. That one and "Crucification Lane"(7/10) is very bluesy, actually too bluesy to me. "Juicy John Pink" (6/10) sounds like an early blues recording and is a little charmy. I also like the choir in "The Devil came from Kansas"(7/10) and also "All this and more"(7/10) is a good song!

Then we have two songs left that isn't so good, I would call them quite boring. "Boredom" is the true name of the song, it has a little funny feeling but it also feels amateurish(5/10) and "Too much between us" is the album's worst(4/10). Beside these two songs the album is good and I take with me the impression of especially "A Salty Dog" and "Pilgrims Progress" which affected me. Unfortunately this album was kind of a decline. I look forward to explore next record "Home". Three strong stars!