From way back, I was always a Procol fan, and was delighted to write sleeve notes for a number of album reissues, but this 2017 5CD, 3DVD box was the Holy Grail.

I always felt the band were lumbered by that single. Even today ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ still sounds remarkable, eerie and other- worldly. There are those who testify that the follow-up ‘Homburg’ was even better. ‘A Salty Dog’ wasn’t bad either...! Over nearly a dozen classic LPs, Procol kept delivering. When Gary Brooker died in 2022, the signposts truly did cease to sign. It’s a cliché, but his voice and the music of Procol Harum live on.

Funny to think that on that day in early 1967, Gary Brooker told me ‘Salad Days (Are Here Again)’ “were both worthy, but on the day, ‘Whiter Shade’ just felt right”. How right he was. So do yourselves a favour, and for one more time, skip the light fandango - though probably best to avoid turning the cartwheels cross the floor...

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