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Product Description
Un Essentiel amazon.fr
Grandiose : Procol Harum n'a pas son pareil lorsqu'il s'agit d'écrire de somptueuses symphonies conceptuelles qui sont autant d'écrins à l'alchimie parfaite des chansons du groupe. Après avoir célébré la mer sur A Salty Dog et la mort sur Home, Gary Brooker et Keith Reid s'attaquent à une minutieuse et voluptueuse description de la déliquescence. Introductions au piano, violons, voix portée par l'orgue, choeurs célestes, tout est là pour transformer en réussite cette étrange mise en scène de thèmes aussi noirs que la série du même nom. Lyrique mais jamais pompeusement grandiloquent, Procol Harum explore ici la décadence dans un luxe inouï de détails. On y boit les plus grands vins, goûte les meilleurs plats dans une vaisselle d'argent mais on s'enivre pour oublier ses chimères. Un disque d'un raffinement peu courant. --Philippe Robert
Album Description
Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the British band's 1973 album including bonus tracks. Originally released on the Chrysalis label, Grand Hotel found Gary Brooker and Co. returning to the grandeur of earlier albums like Shine On Brightly and Salty Dog. Stylish packaging includes 24-page booklet, previously unseen photos and memorabilia plus extensive sleevenotes by Procol expert and respected author Patrick Humphries with contributions from band members. Salvo. 2009.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grand Harum,
By
This review is from: Grand Hotel (Audio CD)
Coming off the success of their "Live With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra" album, which hit #5 on the U.S. album chart, as well as a successful tour playing more concerts with full orchestra accompanyment, it was probably preordained that Procol Harum's next album would have a decidedly more orchestral, classical feel to it. And such was 1973's "Grand Hotel." Featuring new guitarist Mick Grabham, "Grand Hotel" is an instant Harum classic. The songs are so musically rich, and the orchestral arrangements perfectly compliment the band note for note. The big, lush title song is one of the group's best-known tunes, and is still a staple in their live repertoire today. Other favorites include the driving "Toujours L'Amour" and "TV Caesar," the lighthearted fun of "A Souvenir Of London" (with drummer B.J. Wilson playing 22 mandolins!), the classic Harum rocker "Bringing Home The Bacon," and the beautiful "For Liquorice John," which singer/pianist Gary Brooker wrote for a late friend. One of their very best releases, "Grand Hotel" is a sparkling Procol Harum album that tastes like a fine wine.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Penultimate Procol album!,
By Photoscribe "semi-renaissance man" (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Grand Hotel (Audio CD)
This is the Procol Harum album that fully realizes the voluptuary, Orson Welle-sy aspect of the group. Songs glorifying a holiday in a French, Monte Carlo, or Riviera hotel or restaurant, singing about "peach flambé" and "bursting grapes"....This is Procol for Tauruses! After first hearing this album in the early 70s, it quickly became my #1 favorite among their albums, with "Broken Barricades" perhaps a co-ranker or a VERY close second. "Fires (Which Burn Brightly)" is a depressing tune seeming to express the futility of a long forgotten cause and what ennui and overexposure have done to dull it's import. The arrangement of this tune is remarkable because of the use of one of the Swingle Singers for a bit of scat in the beginning, background and end of the song. The title song is described above, and has a gorgeous mazurka for a bridge. "Bringing Home The Bacon" is a teasing complaint about the burdens of raising a gluttonous infant, with a howling vocal by Brooker and some great organ work and recurring crescendos. Still madmen, they have songs like "Toujours L'amour", which speaks of a split-up and a contemplated suicide. "Robert's Box" could be the mandatory visit to the doctor to see about "A Souvenir Of London". "A Rum Tale" talks about an artist's attempt to sell his works, his frustration at not being able to, and his empty threat to "burn down the town". "T.V. Caesar" is a great song singing the praises of good ol' Mighty Mouse! It has one of the lushest arrangments on the album! All in all, a very rich album, with very unusual arrangements all around for Procol...(they NEVER used an orchestra outside of their "Live" album before!) with banjos, balalaikas and other weird instruments. LOTS of piano, much more so than usual, and Brooker is at the top of his lungs for most of the album, but then again, he was never one to whisper. Put on "Citizen Kane", get out some chablis, caviar and melba toast and then afterward, enjoy music to indulge yourself by....
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Procol Harum Album of the 70's,
By
This review is from: Grand Hotel (Audio CD)
I have read several of the Amazon reviews about this album and I agree with many points made by Procol Harum scholars. However, here is my take on "Grand Hotel". I bought this record upon it's release in 1973 and I believe it is still one of the finest collections of classic rock that I have ever heard. For this effort, Gary Brooker and Keith Reid put forth their best collection of material with a combination of superb melodies and satirical lyrics. Examples include "A Souvenir of London"; a snappy and somewhat tilted folk song about a lad that contracts a well-known social disease after his visit to the big city. "Toujours Lamour" is a lamentation of lost love, which conveys the ultimate negative response to a Dear John note. "Grand Hotel" is an elegant rocker and describes lying in bed, drinking fine wines and savoring cuisine not typically featured at the Motel 6 continental breakfast. Other memorable songs include the Caribbean flavored "Robert"s Box" and the moody "Fires that Burned Brightly", a very cool track offering the vocal talents of Christiane Legrand from the French vocal group the Swingle Singers. This lineup was my favorite PH configuration; and included the very underrated guitar playing of Mick Grabham. On "Bringing Home the Bacon" and Toujours Lamour, he laid down two of the best guitar solos that I have ever heard. As a journeyman drummer, I cannot say enough about BJ Wilson's orchestral drumming, which is put to great use on the title track. His drum beat on bacon remains a masterful demonstration of rock percussion. Brooker's voice, as always, was soulful and powerful and still has very few peers. Finally, this album has no filler material and displays the band at the peak of their artistic talents.
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