Procol Harum - Live At The Union Chapel (DVD + CD) [2005]

i was lucky enough to attend this concert myself in december 2003the dvd captures the atmosphere and ambience of that night perfectly, procol played a mixture of older classics and newer material, as for the dvd the sound quality and imagery is perfect, and watching this is almost like being there, the only weakness is the comments from the bar section of the dvd, i would have thought that some rehearsal footage or a interview with each band member would have filled this space better. 5 stars is deserved because the quality of the concert, the performance camera work and sound make bettering this almost impossible. we are now in a period where a concert usually contains, 500 lights a firework display backing singers and backing tapes, its a refreshing change to see a quality band entertaining the audience without any artificial additives

A brilliant concert from a legendary band, and we all know that one song that took them over the top, who can never forget A WhiterShade Of Pale, one of the most amazing songs from the 1967, there are so many incredible songs that were released around the same time but this one alone still stands the test of time, although i know very little about the rest of material, the rest of the songsare great live, especially when we have Geoff Whitehorn on guitar, all in all a brilliant live concert.

i bought this dvd as soon as it was released. i don't have a 5.1 system and so i played it on the stereo setting. to my surprise, the resulting signal was mono. nobody else seemed to have noticed this but when i pointed it out to the manufacturer, they agreed there was a problem with my disc. however, mine cannot have been unique, as the company reissued the dvd, in a new package including a cd, a few months later. this is a fine concert and well worth having but if a basic stereo sound is important to you, you would be advised to buy the later version with the cd.

This band has stood the test of time, the vocals are still as good as the original sound but the musicianship is even better than the original. The mix of old songs and new met to give a very pleasurable experience, the sound quality and production were also first class. Top act can't wait to see them live if they do the rounds again.

Delighted with my purchase of Procol Harum at Union Chapel. In spite of the passing of so many years I am pleased to say that the sound has not been diminished in any way, from those 1960's sessions

I loved this band in the early years, happened to see this concert on the Arts Channel on sky TV, well it was one to go in my collection, nice to hear old tracks revisited, would recommend it .

Set in the beautiful, intimate surroundings of the Union Chapel, this is a high quality D.V.D. with excellent musicianship, perfect sound balance and sharp audio-visuals. This is one of our most under-rated and undiscovered bands, who most people only seem to know for 'Whiter Shade of Pale' but who have produced many great songs over the years.The reason I docked it a star is because I thought Gary Brooker's voice is begining to show its age and I found some of the newer songs rather dull. But it has 'Conquistador'; 'Whaling Stories; 'Grand Hotel'; 'Homburg' and of course, everybodys favourite instrumental. Well worth buying

It is a great koncert. The DVD gives you a god impression of the show. It helps that you have loved the band from their start

Buen sonido.La parte instrumental magnífica,en cambio la voz no termina de convencer.El tema principal___ A Whinter shade of pale muy bueno

Non conoscevo questo gruppo nei dettagli, a parte la notissima Whiter Shade...ho preso il concerto come una antologia e per avvicinarmi a questo gruppo e alla loro musica.Ho successivamente scoperto che e' un gruppo che ha cambiato tantissimi componenti nel tempo, tranne il pianista e cantante, tutti gli altri sono ruotati e intercambiabili. In questa formazione c'e' pero' l'Hammondista originale Bobby Fisher, il che' da' un sapore della prima formazione...Fisher non sorride mai, e non guarda mai gli altri, e si capisce che ci deve essere stata parecchia ruggine in questi 40 anni...In ogni caso la performance e' validissima, non e' un gruppo dove i membri si scalmanano e neppure ci si aspetta che lo facciano...suonano con grande classe e in modo sontuoso i loro pezzi...e il tutto scorre fino al termine, anche perche' e' un tipo di Rock molto elegante e suona diverso, complesso e sorprendente rispetto ...a tutto il resto.Gary Brooker fa quello che fa...suona, canta, la voce ogni tanto gli fa qualche scherzo, ma tra lui e Fisher all'Hammond c'e' grande intesa e ne esce una musica quasi sacra, sontuosa.Gli altri membri del gruppo sono solo di contorno, solo il chitarrista Whitehorn gigioneggia un po', ma loro sanno di essere li' per supportare gli altri due.Un bel lavoro, e una grande coerenza, da gente che da 40 anni suona gli stessi pezzi, e non sembra se ne siano stancati...Decisamente un lavoro che si puo' acquistare e godere, per chi ama o pensa che questa musica gli possa piacere.Se vi piaccioni i concerti degli AC/DC invece...non e' il vostro cup of tea.

Pour beaucoup, et surtout en France, Procol Harum est resté le groupe d'un seul tube: A Whiter Shade Of Pale. Grossière erreur! J'ai (re)découvert ce groupe il y a peu et l'immense qualité de song-writer de Gary Brooker, son principal compositeur (lyrics by Terry Reid).Ce concert At The Union Chapel de Londres est une petite merveille. Ambiance intimiste,image et son impeccables, très intelligemment cadré. Datant de 2003, à la sortie de leur dernier album Well's On Fire, Procol Harum interprète quelques uns de leurs plus récents morceaux, mais surtout un pot pas trop pourri de leurs plus grandes réussites: A Salty Dog, chair de poule assurée, Grand Hotel, baroque et dandy en diable, Hombourg ou Conquistador où Brooker confesse son admiration pour Ray Charles. Et puis évidement A Whiter Shade Of Pale, dans une version longue ou Matthew Fisher tricote de divins entrelacs d'Hammond.Gary Brooker au piano et Matthew Fisher à l'orgue sont toujours là, aux deux extrémités de la scène, comme pour rappeler leurs anciennes mésententes. Dans les anciens morceaux, Geoff Whitehorn nous offre à nouveau les belles parties de guitare de Robin Trower, avec un son un peu moins fuzzy qu'à l'époque, mais toujours très énergiques et lyriques, rappelant un peu Gilmour. Mark Brzezicki, batterie et Matt Pegg Bassiste sont tous deux excellents et on voit qu'ils prennent beaucoup de plaisir à accompagner ces vieux renards des sixties.La voix de Gary Brooker a très bien supporté le poids des années, toujours aussi puissante et suave, le Peter Gabriel du riche ! Et puis cet orgue Hammond, discret et omniprésent, qu'aucun synthé n'arrivera a égaler.Un beau voyage dans le temps, sans passéisme outrancier, mais avec la nostalgie du goût des choses simples.

There are very few bands from the days of my youth that continue to capture my musical interest, but Procol Harum is one of the few. With the issue of Live At the Union Chapel, they prove that they deserve to be numbered among the musical elite.If you are reading this review, then you probably already have some knowledge of the band and a measure of affinity for their music. If you remember them only the way they were in their heyday, here is an opportunity to see that the band remains a vital unit. The production on this DVD is excellent, the sound largely crystalline, and the ambience conducive to the enjoyment of the kind of music the band plays.I haven't watched any of the extras, but the quality of the performance alone makes this a five-star offering. There are songs from nearly every album except Prodigal Stranger and Something Magic, but the largest number come from their latest CD The Well's On Fire. My favorites are thrilling renditions of Shine On Brightly, Pandora's Box, An Old English Dream, Homburg, Simple Sister, The Question, Wall Street Blues, and of course A Whiter Shade of Pale. Repent Walpugis is missed, I'd have liked to see it replace This World is Rich or Good Captain Clack, but unfortunately it did not.Gary occasionally trips over the lyrics and I think that Robin Trower is really missed on Whiskey Train, but those aren't really complaints, just observations. Overall, Live At The Union Chapel is a Procol fan's dream.If you are a Procol Harum fan, and did not get to see any of the shows when they were on their 2003 world tour, this DVD is a splendid opporunity to see the band's "bookends", Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher, working on stage together once again. If you were fortunate enough to have caught one of their shows as I was, then Live At The Union Chapel is a fine souvenir of their memorable tour. It is particularly a necessary addition to the fan's collection as Fisher has once again left the band.Add this to your collection while you can. In my opinion, it is the best and most important DVD of 2004.

Nachdem das Studioalbum von 2003 (The Well's on fire) schon ein qualitativ sehr hohes Niveau hatte durfte man auf das Live Album gespannt sein. Die Live-DVD "at the Union Chapel" war das letzte Konzert der 66 Konzerte umfassenden Tour. Und es war ein ganz besonderes. Von der Atmosphäre in der ehemaligen Kirche über die Stimmung im Publikum bis hin zur sehr guten spielerischen Verfassung der Band.Zu meinen persönlichen Höhepunkten gehören:Grand Hotel: Nie war der Tango in der Mitte perfekter.Quite rightly so: Selten live gespielt, aber der Groove ist super. fantastischer Gesang, ausgezeichnetes Schlagzeug, sakrale Orgel, wunderschöne, kraftvolle Lead-Gitarre. Dieser Song ist sowohl für das Konzert als auch für Procol Harum stellvertretend.Weitere Highlights sind die Hard-Rock Nummer "Simple Sister", das "Repent Walpurgis No2" (Weisselklenzenacht), die Blues Jams im Rap-artigen "Wall Street Blues", im Dire Straits liken "The Question" und dem sehr selten gespielten "Every dog will have his day". "A salty dog" hat nichts von seiner Faszination verloren. Gary Brookers Stimme wird anscheinend von Konzert zu Konzert besser....."Whiskey Train" wartet mit einem zwei-minütigen Top-Drum-Solo auf und "A Whiter Shade of Pale" ist erstmals offiziell in der 3-Vers-Version zu hören.Sound & Bild sind über jeden Zweifel erhaben.Der einzige kleine Wehmutstropfen: Schade das vom Soundcheck ("Grand Finale","A Rum Tale", "Look to your soul") keine Mitschnitte zu sehen sind , wie auf der letzten DVD (live in Copenhagen). Aber das trübt das Gesamtbild eigentlich gar nicht.