Customer Reviews

Exotic Birds And Fruit

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Die hard Procol Harum fans never got over Robyn Trower's departure. They would bemoan his loss and turn a closed ear to subsequent recordings. The truth of the matter is, that Procol continued to make outstanding records well after Trower left the band. In fact, as a whole, the post-Trower albums were more consistent and stronger than those recordings made prior. This disc, Exotic Birds and Fruit, is one of the two best discs recorded by P.H. in this period(The other being Grand Hotel). There is not a weak song on the disc. The production and musicianship are outstanding and equally creative. This is a stellar band at it's peak as a collaborative ensemble. Highly Recommended.....Simon

Procol Harum dropped off the musical radar screen after 1970, but "Exotic Birds & Fruit" is actually one of their strongest recordings. "As Strong As Samson," in particular, is one of the most beautiful rock songs I have ever heard, with a haunting organ riff that easily rivals "Whiter Shade of Pale." It is, in short, Procol's last masterpiece.

Where this disc is not of the same standard as that of Grand Hotel and Exotic Birds and Fruit, it is still a strong effort in it's own right. Lieber and Stoller assume the production responsibilities from Chris Thomas and do a fine job. In fact the production sounds not unlike the previous disc, Exotic Birds and Fruit. There are two covers, which is not typical of Procol. One, I Keep Forgetting, is written by the producers and comes off quite nicely. The other, a cover of the Beatles'Eight Days a Week, is dreadful and is in fact the only weak cut on the disc. Then again, how often do you hear a good cover of a Beatle song? Highly recommended...Simon.

Especially since hardly any of the original US releases are still in print anymore. Except for the disastrous "Something Magic", their latter day albums might not have been much to write home about taken as a whole, but there was always something on each that made you stop what you were doing and pay attention. This album is no exception--the song "Beyond the Pale" has a Brecht-Weill feel that suggests to me that Brooker and Reid must have just come from watching "Threepenny Opera". The lyrics of "Strong As Samson" are as topical as anything from Stills, Young or Jim Morrison--except the last verse draws a steel guitar into the mix. Well, Buck Owens did sometimes write with attitude, after all. I go along with another reviewer's negative reaction to the Beatles cover "Eight Days a Week"--I've heard school prom bands that did it better. Have you ever noticed that the best Fab Four tributes from other artists are when they do something of their own that's influenced by the Beatles. It's always better than doing an actual cover--Electric Light Orchestra had a great career doing just that. At the moment, this album is out of stock--I hope it's not out of print as well.

I'm not one of PH biggest fans, but I have few records of them, and I can tell you without hesitation: this is far from being in PH high standards. It's weaker than the marvellous live album with Edmonton symphony orchestra, it's weaker than the great "Grand hotel", and it's weaker than the collection albums. Only if you are a die hard fan, you should buy this one, because in general, it is a "tired" album done by a tired band, and only "Pandora's box", that became a hit, breaks the boredom. Unlike the other albums, that contain only original stuff, here we got 2 cover versions (Eight days a week and Keep forgetting), that are done the uninspired way. "Without a doubt" and "Typewriter torment" are also not bad, but the average of this album is far under the band's greatest.