BROKEN BARRICADES

The cover picture on Procol Harum's fifth record "Broken Barricades" indicades that this is a rock band or a hard rock band. So don't be surprised if you have hard to see this as a prog record. I had. Over a white fog we see the faces of the four members: Gary Brooker(vocals, piano), Chris Copping(bass, organ, synthesizers), Robin Trower(guitars) and Barrie James Wilson(drums). The record is quite short but its play time it's full of competent and well pleyed music.

I see this record as an improvement from the last one "Home". The songs are more distinct and straight and the instrumentalists do a god job. Almost nothing though could be considered prog. These eight tracks are good working hard rock songs. Broken barricades doesn't contains especially interesting songs but there are no bad stuff such as on "Home".

"Simpe sister" (7/10), the starter is one of the best. It's a heavy rock song with a great guitar solo and powerful vocals and an orchestra makes the song really mighty in the end. "Power failure" is very rocky and its biggest effort is the progressive drum solo(7/10). "Luskus Delph" has a little of the old Procol Harum feeling known from their first record, a little bit classical(7/10) and "Song for a dreamer" is the album's only experimental song. On this track the band plays with an amazing soundscape(7/10).

Even the rock song "Playmate of the mouth" is worth seven stars but the closer "Poor Mohammed" isn't as interesting(6/10). The title track "Broken Barricades" has nice piano and vocals and it is emotional but doesn't really affect me(6/10). My total statement is that this record is an improvement and the musicianship is better than before. The compositions though isn't interesting enough to get more than three stars.