Exotic Birds and Fruit

Note: This review is for the Friday Music remaster. For some reason, amazon puts this review in with the Salvo remaster as well. Comments on that follow as two reviews on essentially the same recording are not permitted.Exotic Birds and Fruit was originally issued at a time when disco fever was beginning to sweep the AM radio charts and at a time when imaginative music got increasingly less airplay on FM as radio business consolidations standardized playlists across the country.I remember buying it the day it arrived in the record store and rushing home to put it on. Immediately, I recognized the songs on side 1 of the album as being as good as anything the boys had issued to this point. Side 2 of the album was played less as I felt at the time the songs were somewhat weaker.With CDs, listening to a recording is a whole new experience. Sure, you can skip songs you don't like and easily replay those you do without the hassle of getting up to move the needle. But I tend to listen to the recording in its entirety which often gets me to hear a song I once did not care for with new ears. Such has been the case with the Friday Music reissue of Exotic Birds and Fruit.First of all, the sound is of excellent quality. Secondly, Friday Music tempts the Procol Harum fan with a couple of bonus tracks. Nothing But The Truth, Beyond The Pale, and Strong as Sampson still rate among the band's best songs but after hearing this well-made remaster, I have a new appreciation for The Idol, Fresh Fruit, Monsieur R Monde, and Butterfly Boys. I still don't much care for The Thin End of The Wedge but that is no demerit for this. Of the two bonus cuts, the band's magnificent rendition of Strauss' Blue Danube waltz stands tall, particularly during keyboard solos.Whether you are an old-time Procol Harum fan or a Procol-curious newcomer, you can't go wrong adding this overlooked classic to your CD collection.June 20, 2010:Well, its clear that amazon has screwed up again in not fixing the product information despite appeals by disgruntled buyers to do so. The Salvo Records reissue being sold does not include a version of Blue Danube. Instead, you are provided with an alternate mix of As Strong As Samson. BFD!, I'd rather have Blue Danube. But even if you already own the Friday Music remaster, I say go for the Salvo as well. Why? For the six-panel digipak packaging and the booklet which is chock full of pictures and info about the band at this period in its career. The Salvo booklets are classic and not to be missed!

Total satisfaction with product and shipping.

Exotic Birds and Fruit was preceded by 7 perfect records so its a bit of a let down as two of the cuts on it are so generic as to be almost unlistenable. It starts off great, 5 good ones in a row, with The Idol and The Thin End of The Wedge getting into some minimalism/conceptualism/serial repetition or something that is interesting, if not immediately lovable, but deepening nicely with repeated listenings. Which is why Monsieur R. Monde and Butterfly Boys are such a disappointment — just forgettable riff rock. I don’t know how to explain what I mean except that I’ve noticed this kind of rock is often resorted to for filler or when a band has run its course. Fresh Fruit is fine and suits a certain position that similar songs hold on their other records, but it is sandwiched between those other 2 less than Procol quality songs. For me, the standouts are Strong As Samson and New Lamps for Old, both of which belong in the Procol canon. New Lamps for Old sounds like a really pleasing mix of Whiter Shade of Pale and The Long and Winding Road. Without Monsieur and Butterfly, Exotic Birds and Fruit would still be album length, almost half an hour, 5 minutes longer than Smiley Smile. As an LP I bet side one has been played a lot more than side 2...

Exotic Birds and Fruit was Procol's best album in their "later period" of albums 7-10. One must go back to the 5th album, the often wished for "Broken Barricades", to find a work of equal quality. Some of the tunes on EB&F are simply as good as anything the band ever created--e.g. Strong As Sampson, Thin End of the Wedge, Nothing But The Truth, New Lamps for Old. NOT Butterfly Boys tho'!Now I'm an old Procol Harumite. I started listening to them and buying each record as it came out back in 1968, with Shine On Brightly. I used to debate with myself as to whether Procol was the best Rock and Roll band in the Universe, or whether the best was The Beatles. But really that wasn't a fair question, because it was comparing apples with exotic fruit. Both bands in their own ways molded my consciousness in ways probably impossible to explain, but Procol Harum was something special, something God-given for me. Their worst was better than most bands' best, but when they were at THEIR best no one could touch them except the Beatles.

I remember the record from '74 or so. A great Procol album. What makes this really special are the 2 live discs. One is from the BBC the year the album came out. The other was recorded for old KZEW radio in Dallas, Texas the same year. These are treasures. Musically tight. Never missing an orchestra. Listen to B.J. Wilson's drum intro to Bringing Home the Bacon. Phenomenal!Highly recommended.

OK, Robin Trower has been gone. Ok, Mathew Fisher has also gone missing. But, you know what? Grand Hotel and Exotic Birds are two good albums of solid music that can play through to the end. I liked the older Harum with its harder edge from Robin Trower, but their songwriting was just not as consistently strong on earlier albums. I do like the earlier stuff a lot, but phase two of Procol Harum was more consistent and still rocked. I am definately happy that I gave those later albums a chance. PS This is summer rock / not to be played in winter. Its all good. JohnnyP.

Music from my youth!!! I have the LP so I had to buy the CD, as well!!! Love it!!!

Buon album dei Procol , ottima la rimasterizzazione e l'aggiunta dei bonus

I came late, in my musical education, to Procol Harum. I was, like any respectable pilgrim of good music, au fait with A Whiter Shade of Pale, the exsquisite Conquistador, the dramatic, A Salty Dog, and Pandora's Box. Beyond that however, I was embarrassingly ignorant; it seems on reflection (rightly or wrongly) that their albums received limited exposure on the radio. Thankfully, I have been able to rectify my ignorance, acquiring the extended releases, from their first album to this release; inclusive. What has become apparent from listening to all of these releases, is that Keith Reid and Gary Brooker were responsible for some of the most memorable and unique music of the golden age of British rock. They imbude their articulate and eloquent compositions with a sense of whimsy, colour and drama, that only individuals of their generation, exposed to the the influences of classical, jazz, big band, blues and music hall, could. The lyrics to Strong as Samson as social commentary, and an expression of the human psyche, rank alongside the very best that Dave Cousins, Ray Davies, Ian Anderson or Roger Waters ever penned.Every respectable music collection should, by decree, contain at least one Procol Harum album.

Amazing album: fantastic songs, great playing, wonderful vocals by Gary Brooker with Spector Wall of Sound production. Procol should have stopped here.

J'avais acheté cet album lors de sa sortie et il ne m'avait pas emballé, mais le remastering, la faiblesse des productions actuelles, en tout cas cet album est vraiment d'un très bon niveau et les bonus extras.