Shine On Brightly

Procol Harum's second effort starts off predictably: Gary Brooker's monochromatic wail over Matthew Fisher's swirling Hammond chords on the title track offer elegance, while the pitter-patter of the following "Skip Softly (My Moonbeams)" gives way to something deeper. "Wish Me Well" even attempts some blues, obviously at guitarist Robin Trower's suggestion. Although the first side of the record could have easily come from their debut, the second side, containing the epic "In Held ‘Twas in I," is the real accomplishment here. Originally titled "Magnum Harum," it's a suite of intertwining songs, but serves as the template for the most progressive of all accessories: the album-side-long track. This idiomatic trait would remain the ultimate expression for the progressive artist: creating a composition with only the physical limitation of the vinyl record as the boundary. Opening with Keith Reid's ramblings about the Dalai Lama, the band breaks into some uncharacteristically complex runs, in a theme they would return to throughout the piece's various transitions. The success is the landscape; the track shifts between seriousness and folly, each movement well-integrated into the next, and culminating with Trower's soaring guitar over the final refrain. The track combines the writing and arrangement talents of both Brooker and Fisher, and the execution of the entire band-no small achievement. Like their debut, the album charted in America, reaching No. 24, but would again falter in their native Britain. Procol Harum would weather some personnel changes over the years, as they followed a similar musical path until their breakup in 1977. Their 1972 live album In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra was a career zenith on both sides of the Atlantic; but Shine On Brightly would remain their shining achievement, and a milestone for progressive rock.