A SALTY DOG

"A Salty Dog" is the third full-length studio album by UK rock act Procol Harum. The album was released through Regal Zonophone/A&M Records in April 1969. It´s the successor to "Shine On Brightly" from September 1968. With its sidelong epic "In Held Twas in I", "Shine On Brightly" is one of the earliest examples of a progressive rock album (at least some of the album), but Procol Harum were still a new and young band at this point, and "A Salty Dog" shows the band toning down on the progressive song structures and generally producing more simple material.

That doesn´t mean that the material on "A Salty Dog" is necessarily simple in nature (at least tracks like the title tracks and "Wreck of The Hesperus" suggest otherwise), as there are still tracks here which point in a more sophisticated and even progressive oriented direction. It´s just less direct and more subtle than on the preceding album. It´s quite the eclectic release, featuring piano/organ/guitar driven rock tracks, melancholic ballads, blues rock songs, and more quirky pop/rock. One of the great assets of the music are the many memorable vocal melodies and the vocal performances by the three singers of the band, who are all high level vocalists (Gary Brooker takes the prize here though for his greatly emotional and melancholic voice and vocal style).

Some tracks feature a longing melancholic atmosphere, while others feature a more uplifing and careless mood (tracks like "Boredom" and "Juicy John Pink"). The opening title track is one of highlights of the album, and it´s a beautiful ballad type track, which develops along the way and at its climax includes orchestration. Other highlights include "Too Much Between Us", the above mentioned "Wreck of The Hesperus", and closing track "Pilgrim's Progress". "A Salty Dog" is overall a well produced, well performed, and well written release, but it´s maybe a bit too eclectic in style for its own good. But the many different songwriters in the band pulled in different directions, and "A Salty Dog" is the result of that. Matthew Fisher who was one of the main composers (in addition to singing and playing guitars and organ) and who also acted as producer on "A Salty Dog" would leave Procol Harum soon after the album was released along with bassist Dave Knights. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.