Procol Harum - A Salty Dog Reaction

In this video we're listening to Procol Harum. Admittedly, we know very little about this band besides 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale'. So, it's about time we looked them up. We're really excited for this reaction. And the video was taken from another YouTube channel - Johnny Red. Enjoy!

[Capfka]

My favourite Procol Harum song. It's a fantasy, so don't try to read too much into the lyrics! Keith Reid was a bit like that when he wrote songs!

[petenorton]

incidentally i also think that this song is also an unconscious tribute to coleridge and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

[erictownsend]

Gary Brooker wrote the music, played piano, sung, and arranged the orchestral. Keith Reid writes all their lyrics, then sent them to Gary who wrote music. Missing from this song is their famed guitarist Robin Trower, who left after their 5th album Broken Barricades to pursue a very successful solo career. BJ Wilson one of the most interesting unusual drummers. To hear all of them try "Simple Sister" a more hard-hitting song. Keith's lyrics also strange!

[edgarsnake]

Great concept--a crew of ghosts on a ghost ship trying to make their way back home. Loved your reaction to this enigmatic and compelling song. I saw Gary and the band do many epic performances of this.

[garyspeed]

so hauntingly beautiful... brings tears to my eyes, the universal search for paradise

[grahamblair-gq]

Listen to them live in Denmark if you want to see how good they really were.

[petenorton]

i an of that generation so after loving whiter shade of pale i bought salty dog when it came out and it blew me away. mind you i had just finished three years in the merchant navy

[orchidwave]

Such an exquisitely unorthodox song, pulled off so well. I'm always amazed by BJ Wilson's drumming in this. Imagine yourself being the drummer, and you have to come up with an appropriate drum part to this thing. He Ringoed the hell out of it (meaning - he somehow found just the most fitting drum treatment imaginable...). And of course, everything else is amazing. But BJ stands out for me.

[didierchapelot]

The drummer is B.J.Wilson. My fave drummer in rock history. He was so idiosyncrasic. This song is one of their immortal classics (more macabre than melancholic) but they have done quite a few. You should explore more from them.

[custisstandish]

I am a big fan of Procol Harum. Saw them live twice, and that was over 50 years ago. Try another cut from this album, THE DEVIL CAME FROM KANSAS. There is not a bad song on this concept album. There is a great live cut from their Broken Barricades album, POWER FAILURE.

[simonlitten]

British bands of the late 1960s delivered some really interesting stuff. I always thought this song was about sailors, possibly whalers, surviving a long voyage having gone the wrong way (against the wind) around Cape Horn and abandoning ship at the first viable landfall. Strangely, a non-dancing party standard in the mid-1970s.

[jeffreybooth]

Thanks for the name check and glad you enjoyed it.Grand Hotel or As Strong as Sampson are two more to consider, im always trying to introduce people to this great band and hope they get as much joy as the band have given me.

[ghichens]

Ok . Have not heard this before, Tis a very sad tale . Most sea fairing towns can relate to this song in one way or another .
Growing up in Penzance / Newlyn, my Dad was a fisherman, and my Grandfather, there was always losses at sea . the most horrendous was our local lifeboat (All Volunteers for the RNLI ) this boat had its own boat house with a slip right into the sea . She was based at Mousehole, (Penlee ) round the corner from Newlyn . A ship on the way to Ireland got into trouble in Mounts Bay in a terrible storm 2 days before Christmas 1981, The Captain left it far too late for a tow from the Nord Holland (That was its job ) captain crew and his wife and children were on board total 8 people .
The Penlee life boat was called up in huge seas 60 foot plus, made a couple of attempts to get people off the stricken vessel who by now was 1/2 a mile off the cliffs . A huge wave smashed the two vessels onto the Cliffs, all hands were lost as well as the 8 lifeboat crew .
We all new the lifeboat men, the Engineer on the lifeboat, I was mates with his son . Neil later was Coxswain of the new Lifeboat for that area . He retired about 10 years ago ! I can relate to this song very much . There is mention of the Cape Horn, so this is mainly to do with Sailors of that era before the Suez Canal was opened, Square Riggers and such like ! Cheers ! Enjoyed it

[alericksonof]

A note of trivia organist Matthew Fisher played with Ritchie Blackmore in the band Lord Sutch before the Procol Harum days... when White Shade of Pale took off Fisher left Lord Sutch, years later in the early 70s Fisher joined Blackmore again on a live Lord Sutch album

[andreascala]

this song transports you on a journey an adventure a dream in another dimension. this song is a miracle!

[davidskidmore]

I love that tune. The first 5 Procul Harum albums are well worth checking out.

[GratefulZen]

Their album Home is incredible & features heavy upbeat guitar by Robin Trower on the rocker “Whiskey Train.” Try it, I think you’ll like it!

[paullakin]

The lyrics make most sense if you imagine them as surviving extracts from a sailors log. Snippets from several voyages perhaps, discovered after the ship and crew are long gone.

[jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

Ooooohhhh I’m first ? I gotta say up front I haven’t listened to the vid yet … just seen a fresh comment section n went for it 😅.. I’ll watch the vid n come back later ✊
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[jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

Not my fav PH song, but boy Gary Brooker could sing, he died early 2022 sadly . Could I suggest instead a mid 70’s hit called Pandoras Box ? Bit more melodic and it made the charts too, I’d recommend the studio cut as there’s a lot going on, I’m sure there’s a Top of the pops performance, it’s beautiful .
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