PROCOL HARUM

Broken Barricades ESotErIC

The rockier bridge between AWSOP and their symphonic future.

By 1971, Procol Harum were a significantly different band from the one which had soundtracked Britain’s Summer Of Love with the trippy, Bach-quoting A Whiter Shade Of Pale. The psychedelic/protoprog sound they had pioneered on their first few albums was in abeyance and in its place was a far earthier vibe that, as the press release for Broken Barricades said at the time, leaned in the direction of “fashionable musical heaviness.” And while they had hardly gone full-on Sabbath, there’s undeniably a harder, more muscular feel to this album, the sound of a band contemplating the US arena rock circuit while still trying to hang on to what made them special in the first place.

It starts in fine style with the dramatic, jabbing riff of Simple Sister, played by guitarist Robin Trower as though goading the rest of the band into action. Gary Brooker ably rises to the challenge, his voice still retaining its soulful melodicism in this new setting, while his bluesy, jangling piano is more than a match for Trower’s soloing. And

while the sound might be tougher, the arrangement is still pleasingly baroque.

Less pleasing are the misogynistic lyrics,

Keith Reid having seemingly moved on this album from gloomy romanticism to a violently downbeat assessment of the world. There are two lovely ballads here in the title track and Luskus Delph, Brooker’s yearning vocals almost inevitably inviting comparison with Traffic’s Steve Winwood, but they’re outnumbered by gritty blues rockers such as Memorial Drive and Power Failure, the latter even featuring a drum solo. The album’s other stand-out track is Song For A Dreamer, Trower’s shimmering tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

Broken Barricades proved to be a turning point for Procol, with Trower leaving soon after its release, and the band subsequently embracing a more symphonic rock sound. This reissue also features two previously unreleased live concerts, the Stockholm gig from 0ctober ‘71 including an excellent version of Repent Walpurgis.