A Salty Dog [Extra tracks, Import, Original recording remastered]

Procol Harum | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 26, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: SALVO
• ASIN: B0026OIBHC
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,577 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. A Salty Dog

2. The Milk Of Human Kindness

3. Too Much Between Us

4. The Devil Came From Kansas

5. Boredom

6. Juicy John Pink

7. Wreck of the Hesperus

8. All This and More

9. Crucifiction Lane

10. Pilgrim's Progress

11. Long Gone Geek

12. Goin' Down Slow (live in the USA, April 1969)

13. Juicy John Pink (live in the USA, April 1969)

14. Crucifiction Lane (live in the USA, April 1969)

15. Skip Softly (My Moonbeams) / Also Sprach Zarathustra (live in the USA, April 1969)

16. The Milk of Human Kindness (take 1; raw track)

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the British Progressive/Pop band's third album, originally released in 1969. Rightly lauded as Procol Harum's masterpiece, A Salty Dog is one of the high spots of late '60s Rock culture; an unmissable musical voyage, a brilliant example of how to fuse classical music with Rock and a tremendously rewarding experience, enhanced here with six bonus tracks selected by band leader Gary Brooker. When you listen to the album, it becomes clear - from the sweeping title track that opens the album, to the serene 'Pilgrims Progress', which brings it to a conclusion, that A Salty Dog is quite simply Procol's most rewarding album. 16 tracks. Salvo. 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant songwriting, great playing and superior sonic remastering job, October 4, 2009

By 

G. Alexander (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Salty Dog (Audio CD)

With many others, I believe that this album is one of the great and musically lasting achievements of the late 1960's explosion of rock forays into other genres and, in this instance, is almost sui generis. The melodies are, in and of themselves, gorgeous, with nary a track having the same rhythm or even instrumentation as the one before or after it. I write less to persuade, however, but rather simply to praise the remastering job. I have a German remastered CD and a recent Japanese K2HD coding remaster, which both have excellent sound, but this remastering outdoes this them. Outside of expensive remasters by Steve Hoffman (first for DCC and now for Audio Fidelity) and a few instances by Mobile Fidelity, I have never heard a redbook (i.e. plain vanilla) CD sound both so warm and yet so sonically detailed. The tracks with the full orchestra and band together are a bit less impressive from a sonic perspective but that is due only to the limitations of the available tracks and "pinging" in the recording studio at the time, and I doubt that they can be further improved with any method. The care that Salvo took, in both the remastering as well as the packaging, is especially surprising and praiseworthy in this day of reduced iPod sound. My highest recommendation.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars procol harum gets the sound quality it dererves, August 15, 2009

By 

Allan K. Betz (Ogden, Utah, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Salty Dog (Audio CD)

After many horrible attempts to improve the original mix through remastering somebody finally got it right.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Natural Hat Trick, July 6, 2009

By 

Morten Vindberg (Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Salty Dog (Audio CD)

A Salty Dog was the last Procol Harum album to feature the original 5-piece line-up. Compared to the previous two, which were very much dominated by Gary Booker's songs and vocals ( not a negative thing at all ), more space is given to guitarist Robin Trower and organist Matthew Fisher.

Robin Trower debuts as leadsinger on his own "Crucifiction Lane" and he wrote "Juicy John Pink" - both songs show the roots of Procol Harum as a tight r&b band. Trower also co-wrote the acoustic "Too Much Between Us" with Brooker - beautifully sung by Brooker, by the way.

Matthew Fisher produced the album, and arranged the orchestra for three of the songs - most note-worthy the title track, which is one of the greatest songs ever written and recorded.

Compared to Brooker's Fisher's voice may appear somewhat thin, but he sings his two songs "Wreck of the Hesperus" and "Pilgrim's Progress" beautifully, and both songs fit in nicely on the album. "Pilgrim's Progress" bears big resemblance to the classic "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

The charming "Boredom" with its Carribean rhythms is a Brooker/Fisher collaboration, adding to the great variety in styles which characterize the album.

Apart from the unique "A Salty Dog", the album features another Brooker classic "All This and More" - classic Procol Harum sound. Inspiration from the Band's recently released "Music From Big Pink", shines through on "The Milk of Human Kindness". The Band was a big inspiration for Procol Harum. "The Devil Came From Kansas" is one of the few tracks I often consider skipping over - too heavy and noisy; seems somewhat out of place on the album.

Much better is the B-side "Long Gone Geek"; another heavy thing, which sounds inspired by The Small Faces or Humble Pie.

Among the bonus-track there are 4 rare live-tracks from a 1969 April tour in the States. Great to hear the original band live - again their r&b roots shine through.

With this album you could say that the band scored a natural hat trick; having their debut and "Shine on Brightly" in mind.