BROKEN BARRICADES

This wonderful album is one of my personal favorites. "Broken Barricades" does not appear at most lists of Procol Harum's best works, which IMHO does not makes justice to this record. "Broken Barricades" opens with "Simple Sister", one of the most powerful album openers I've ever heard, with a short (but absolutely essential) orchestral passage. The title track comes next; a beautiful composition with sad lyrics (and Gary Brooker sings sad songs as no one; he puts so much emotion at every word - sometimes his voice almost make me cry). A powerful rocker, "Memorial Drive", shows Robin Trower's composition skills at its best, but there's something missing: why he does not play a guitar solo? Another highlight is "Power Failure", which features the late B. J. Wilson on a percussion solo. About "Luskus Delph", "Playmate of the Mouth" and "Poor Mohammed" (sung by Robin Trower), all I can say is: although these are good songs, they're not up to the standards of the aforementioned - still they're better than much of later days Procol Harum. The major flaw on this album is the controversial "Song for a Dreamer", on which Robin Trower pays tribute to his idol Jimi Hendrix. He desperately tries to mime Hendrix' style and, although he succeeds in this risky venture, it sounds as a ripoff when it should be a homage. Repertoire Records added three bonus tracks to this release, but there is nothing new, just single edits of "Broken..." and "Power", and a mono version of "Simple...". This is not an essential buy to prog aficcionados, but everybody interested on Procol Harum should have this album.