PROCOL HARUM [AKA: A WHITER SHADE OF PALE]

Two tracks that really BLEW me as far as this album concerned: "Repent Walpurgis" and "Conquistador". "Repent Walpurgis" is a very very nice track, ambient and atmospheric, keyboard / piano / organ based with great lead guitar. The tagline melody is touchy and memorable. It's opened with a simple drum-beat followed by soft organ sound that serves as initial melody. The music flows nicely and followed by an electric lead guitar in the same tagline melody, continued with a piano play. What a nice harmony this track is producing! I don't think any human being dislike this song whether s/he is a prog lover or not.

"Conquistador" is an opening track for this album. It has a great mixture of ballad, pop and rock components. The vocal line is crispy and beautiful accompanied by tight bass line and simple yet nice piano at its background. It's relatively energetic song. The organ solo at the end of this track is stunning! Emotionally, this track is in the same vein as the Beatles' "Your Mother Should Know" kind of track. Don't get me wrong, these two tracks are different in melody but it creates similar feeling to listener (my view).

The second track "She wandered through the garden fence" is another interesting track with strange organ sound accompanying the vocal line. It's a continuously nice music with dynamic organ sound. It flows smoothly to the next track "Something following me" which rather mellow and bluesy than the other tracks.

Well, I don't wanna go track by track as this is a classic and legendary album. Overall, I consider this album is a masterpiece debut album. It has a strong songwriting, tight structure and composition, great melody and excellent musicianship. The "not so good" audio quality of this album has even made this record legendary and it should sound this way. It's nostalgic! Rating 5/5. - Gatot Widayanto, Indonesia.