Search - Licorice John Death (Procol Harum) :: Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About

Although it took over three and a half decades to be released in North America,the "lost" Procol Harum 1969 Abbey Road sessions "Licorice John Death " are now rock music reality. Discovered a few years ago, in a mislabeled tape box at this legendary St. John Wood studio, the Licorice John Death recordings were briefly released as a very limited fan club release for Gazza Records. For this newly remastered edition, Gary Brooker has unearthed these thirteen lost tracks recorded with the classic mid-period Procol Harum line-up of himself, Robin Trower, Chris Copping and the late B.J. Wilson. Along with the careful restoration that you have come to expect from Friday Music, Ain't Nothin' To Get Excited About is a rare chapter in the long history of the beloved Procol Harum. These sessions originated around the time between their much applauded Home and Broken Barricades releases. Chris Thomas, who had gone on to produce some of their most successful recordings, manned the controls for this all-night recording session. With a back-to-the-roots approach, this unique quartet played a hard rocking, non-stop set of early R & B, a new original and several 50's rockers which culminated into a rare glimpse to their past, and as a tribute to their devoted friend and fan from their Paramounts era, the late Dave Mundy. The choice of material is vintage 50's rockers and pounding R & B classics from the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis , Fats Domino and Little Richard. Even an early Sun Records reading of Charlie Rich's "Every Thing I Do Is Wrong" gets an incredible work-out that has to be heard to be believed. The real thing here is the band's performance. Gary Brooker sings and plays like never before. He is screaming, shouting, banging the keys and having quite the party with these recordings. Robin Trower takes these classics and turns them into bluesy renditions that pre-echoed his solo work on albums like Bridge of Sighs. Check out his masterful work on "Kansas City" and "Matchbox." Chris Copping plays a powerful bass to B.J. Wilson's soaring drum beat throughout the entire album. Track after glorious track, these four gents from London truly delivered one of the more rocking performances of their day, and it lives on today thanks to some unexpected housecleaning at the famed Abbey Road studios.