Procol Harum - Homburg - San Francisco 1991 video free download

Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, October 3, 1991.

2012 brings an early "new testament" show with a brilliantly-playing Matthew Fisher, a seldom heard guitarist (Tim Renwick) and a new Procol Harum band, ready for the decades that would follow, here on my channel!

Sixth number, a classic: the second single originally recorded from Procol Harum, 1967.

The song had a curious evolution ove the years. Since the late 60s the second to last chorus was dropped, from the 80s to the late 90s Gary Brooker often preferred to start in a slow, almost acoustic, fashion, often dropping the intro completely, with his band mates joining while the performance was going on. In 2001 the original mood was restored and a few years later even the dropped chorus came back.

Here it is, of course, in the slowly building version, also officially recorded on the Live album "One More Time - Live in Utrecht), albeit with a more definite intro.

The piano is of course differs a lot from the original recording, although some of the classical answers (often dropped in recent years) can be heard. Notice the beautiful descent to the middle section in verse two, the occasional prolonged riff and the build-up for the final chorus, less elaborate than other times. Notice also the absence of the arpeggios in the middle sections, basically unheard after the 60s.

Organ beautiful as always, unusual but not unheard variation of the ornamentation in the second chorus (that also ends on F instead of D, just like in the original record), the baroque ornamentation for the final chorus has changed several time over the years, here is much more linear if compared to the original recording but not linear as it would be in the 2000s.

The percussion seems relatively weak on this particular organ, but that's something that the organist can't affect, of course.

Renwick's guitar playing is quite interesting and basically unheard before, I find his semi-acoustical arpeggios quite fitting.

The bass playing is quite appropriately kept under restrain in verse one, and remains quite stately afterwards...Something Bronze was always able to do was to sound elegant when required. Notice, of course, the different bass pattern in the final chorus. Basically every Procol bass player did something more pronounced there but every one had his way to do it.

The drumming is quite similar to the Utrecht one, there is still no trace of the first incarnation of the "town clock", impersonated by the kit a few years down the road, then, briefly, by the piano and today by the guitar.