Procol Harum Fuses Classical Structures and Rock Motifs: A Salty Dog Features Ravishing Symmetry Between Piano, Organ, Guitar, and Strings

Experience the 1969 Album with Newfound Clarity, Detail, and Openness on Mobile Fidelity's Hybrid SACD: Strictly Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies

A call for "all hands on deck" opens Procol Harum's third album, and with that command, an effort that witnesses the band coming into its own as a collective capable of fusing classical structures with rock motifs via an expertise, virtuosity, and style matched by none of its peers is on its way to making history. A Salty Dog survives as proof no other artist ever sounded like Procol Harum – while also demonstrating few collectives boasted a lineup full of such ace instrumentalists. Stacked with exploratory themes, boundary-crossing directions, and sweeping melodies, A Salty Dog proudly veers off traditional course and ventures to intrepid places forbidden to even the most thrill-seeking groups of the highly experimental era.

The intertwined symmetry between organist Matthew Fisher and pianist Gary Brooker, central to every song on the set, gets revealed with newfound detail, openness, and clarity on Mobile Fidelity's hybrid SACD. Produced by Fisher, A Salty Dog resonates with a presence and immediacy stunted on prior editions. The full-bodied tones, front-to-back imaging, and grand dynamics inherent on this audiophile edition (limited to 2,000 numbered copies) elevate the 1969 favorite to landmark status. 

The cinematic breadth of the sonics parallels the scope of the bold arrangements, which include strings, recorders, bells, celeste, and a myriad of guitars. Brooker and Fisher split vocal duties, save for on "Crucifiction Lane," which boasts a rare lead from marvel-in-the-making Robin Trower. The latter's prodigious guitar lines add another distinctive element to the compositions and further up the ante of the interplay between Brooker and Fisher. Trower accents tracks such as the topsy-turvy "The Milk of Human Kindness" with bluesy vibes and jolts "Juicy John Pink" by way of jukejoint energy. Not to be outdone, B.J. Wilson's still-unsung percussion draws from R&B and swing techniques to supply a natural albeit firm footing.

For all the proficient playing and narrative storytelling, the most impressive feat surrounding A Salty Dog remains its accessible complexity and relative modesty. Procol Harum never comes across as pretentious, self-indulgent, or contrived. Anchored by Fisher's unique Hammond M102 organ riffs, the works function as a summation of their parts. Tunes like "Wreck of the Hesperus" serve as wondrously varied tapestries stitched with swelling chamber rhythms, barbed thickets of distortion, and thundering progressions. It's a ravishing picture of majestic subtlety and sheer power.

NME wrote shortly after the record's release that "the most exciting facet of this tremendous album is not so much that it contains the Procols' best recorded works to date, but that their potential is still nowhere near being fully spent." Rolling Stone concurred, observing, "‘Too Much Between Us' is the kind of song you can float away on – its background and vocal of marimba and acoustic guitar in a perfectly understated waltz-time are beautifully ethereal."

A notable footnote, Fisher departed Procol Harum shortly after the release of A Salty Dog, permanently impacting the band's trajectory and sound. His performances here are just one reason this inimitable album carries sway more tha five decades after its release. 

“If you love this record I think you will be very happy you bought Mobile Fidelity's reissue. Your happiness will begin on the opening track when Brooker begins singing and the strings enter. You've never heard Brooker sound so tonally "Brookerish", nor have the string harmonies ever sounded so lush and ‘right.’”
—Michael Fremer, Analog Planet