Procol Harum

Gary Brooker and the latter-day Procol Harum -- featuring Matthew Fisher on Hammond organ, Mark Brzezcki on drums, Geoff Whitehorn on guitar, and Matt Pegg on bass -- do an exceptionally good set on this DVD from Classic Pictures, which captures them in concert in Copenhagen, Denmark in December of 2001. By the time of this show, the core of this lineup of the group had been working together for more than a decade, which is longer than the original band was together (even if you counted their years together in the Paramounts from the early '60s), so it's no surprise that they have a lean, tight sound. And as the show is a contemporary production, the crisp image and sound, the very choice camera angles focusing in on each member for maximum visual impact, and as graceful in its shift of shots as a well-choreographed ballet, are to be expected. What makes it work as a totality, however, is Brooker's singing, which is as fine as ever and astonishingly good and expressive; indeed, he and Fisher throw themselves into the classic repertory, going back to "A Whiter Shade of Pale," "Repent Walpurgis" and "Homburg," as though it's fresh material, and not repertory that they've been doing for 30 years or more. The recording quality is such so that both keyboards are well delineated along with the other instruments -- what will be interesting to those who've never seen the band in concert is how much of what they do here is blues-based and not really progressive in a pretentious way, and guitarist Geoff Whitehorn seems to throw himself into the blues with greater enthusiasm. The repertory is drawn from across their history, from album tracks off their 1967 debut LP to work from their last studio reunion project in 1992, but whatever songs they're doing, they almost always emphasize the rock elements over the progressive aspects, thus making for an exciting show. Coupled with the superb visuals, derived from highly mobile camera and fluid editing, this is about as fine a video as there is from among the crop of work by surviving '60s artists making the rounds on DVD in the early 21st century. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide