Home - PROCOL HARUM****

Whiskey Train/Dead Man's Dream/Still There'll Be More/Nothing That I Didn't Know/About To Die/Barnyard Story/Piggy Pig Pig/Whaling Stories/Your Own Choice

Home was the last of the classic albums from progressive rock group Procol Harum during the period when they were at the peak of their game. The epic Whaling Stories is considered to be the stand-out track. (US:34 UK:49)

"The last of the really good Procol albums. Trower's guitar is electrifying and Reid's lyrics are refreshingly direct and bitter."

"This album contains nine superb tracks, varied, gothic, superbly played. Procol Harum had lost their genius at the organ, Matthew Fisher, yet they came up with their best album to date. Whaling Stories is the stand-out, Whisky Train is a marvellous rocker and The Dead Man's Dream is to be heard to be believed."

"Procol Harum's first album sans organist Matthew Fisher, Home is the dividing line between the two camps of Procol devotees: those who gave up on the band after Fisher left, and those who thought the band was better off without him. On Home, Fisher's sublime, cathedral-like organ passages are replaced by stark, whittled-down arrangements dominated by Robin Trower's bluesy guitar and Gary Brooker's gruff voice and pounding grand piano."

"Dark, beautiful and various but still quite coherent. Nearly all songs are excellent and memorable. No dull songs, all good. Titles like Dead Man's Dream and About To Die showcase Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid in a particularly dark state of mind. Still, the epic Whaling Stories more than compensates and is alone worth the price of admission."

"Slightly following the formula of the former albums, but with an air of unpretentiousness, it rocks furiously in places. The musicianship is impressive and first-rate, even with line-up changes."

"The sheer variety of musical genres they successfully take on is very impressive. Also noteworthy is the fact that the album is so good despite the absence of Matthew Fisher, previously one of the group's main songwriters.”

"While instantly recognisable as a Procol Harum project, anyone expecting to hear another set of pseudo-progressive, or classically-tinged moves was in for a major surprise with the release of Home, if only because it was their most rock oriented."