''Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

songs recorded in 1970 by the members of

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...

under the name Liquorice John Death. It was not released until 1997.

History

Strictly speaking, this is not a Procol Harum album; it was recorded shortly after the band had finished working on their 1970 album '' Home''. During these recording sessions, producer Chris Thomas asked the band to play some old favourites while he set up the equipment for recording. The band enjoyed playing these older songs, so a few months later Thomas booked the Abbey Road recording studio, and the band recorded all the tracks on this album in a single night. "We staggered out at dawn, having attempted about 45 songs. We didn't finish them all. I think the drummer collapsed half way through with laughter." "Well, I..." is the only song they played that was written by the group, and is drummer B.J. Wilson's sole songwriting credit. Although some tracks from the recording session were played by

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

Roger Scott Roger Scott (23 October 1943 – 31 October 1989) was a British radio disc jockey. He was best known for presenting an afternoon radio show on London's Capital London from 1973 until 1988 and was also best known for presenting his late night ...

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...

, to whom a tape was given, the fifteen-inch master tape was lost. The quarter-inch copy given to Scott also disappeared until the end of the 1990s, when it turned up in a box of tapes returned to the band by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

- Chrysalis.

Title

A friend of the musicians called Dave Mundy was responsible for the name of the band and of the album, as well as for the album cover. In the early 1960s, the musicians had performed these songs around

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

The Paramounts The Paramounts were an English beat group based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. They had one hit single with their cover version of " Poison Ivy", which reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964, but are primarily known as the forerunner to Proc ...

, a name given to them by their manager. Mundy had objected to this name and devised one of his own for them, Liquorice John Death. After his suicide in 1970,GRO Death Indexes, Oct-Dec 1970, it was found that Mundy had left all his possessions to

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...

, guitarist in The Paramounts and Procol Harum. These included a painting of an album cover for Liquorice John Death's ''Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About''. When the band found themselves able to release the album, they felt that there was no alternative but to use Mundy's ideas and cover. Mundy is remembered in the song "For Liquorice John" (think 'Fall Icarus John') on Procol Harum's

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

album ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

''.

Track listing

# " High School Confidential" (

Ron Hargrave Ronald J. Hargrave (born November 8, 1929) is a well renowned ukulele player and actor from the 1950s era, who has become an icon to the Rockabilly fan base. He co-wrote music for Jerry Lee Lewis and was also identified as a billboard star music ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

) – 2:17 # " Kansas City" ( Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 3:40 # " Lucille" (

Albert Collins Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...

Richard Penniman Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

) – 3:21 # "

Brand New Cadillac "Brand New Cadillac" (also recorded as "Cadillac") is a 1959 song by Vince Taylor, and was originally released as a B-side. Featured musicians on the released recording were: Joe Moretti (guitars), Lou Brian (piano), Brian Locking (bass) and B ...

" (

Vince Taylor Vince Taylor (14 July 1939 – 28 August 1991), born Brian Maurice Holden, was an English rock and roll singer. As the lead singer of Vince Taylor and His Playboys, sometimes Vince Taylor and The Playboys, he was successful primarily in France ...

) – 1:37 # "

Matchbox Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. Matchbox A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designe ...

" ( Carl Perkins) – 2:28 # " Breathless" (

Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include " Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), " Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerr ...

) – 2:59 # "Everything I Do Is Wrong" ( Charlie Rich) – 3:11 # "

Old Black Joe "Old Black Joe" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864). It was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1860. Ken Emerson, author of the book ''Doo-Dah!'' (1998), indicates that Foster's fictional Joe was inspired by a servant in th ...

" (

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...

; arranged by Brooker, Trower, Wilson and Copping) – 3:07 # " Shopping for Clothes" (

Kent Harris Kent Levaughn Harris (October 15, 1930 – April 9, 2019) was an American songwriter and record producer, who is best known as the writer of novelty tunes such as " Shoppin' for Clothes" (a hit for The Coasters, credited to Harris, Leiber and S ...

) – 3:33 # "Well, I..." (Brooker, Trower, Wilson, Copping, Dave Mundy) – 6:30 # "I'm Ready" (

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

, Al Lewis, Sylvester Bradford) – 2:51 # "

The Girl Can't Help It ''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the titular role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenpl ...

" (

Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television prog ...

) – 2:07 # "

Keep a Knockin' "Keep A-Knockin' (But You Can't Come In)" is a popular song that has been recorded by a variety of musicians over the years. The lyrics concern a lover at the door who will not be admitted; some versions because someone else is already there, but ...

" (Richard Penniman) – 1:24

Personnel

;Liquorice John Death *

Gary Brooker Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum. Early life Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

Chris Copping Chris Copping (born 29 August 1945 in Middleton, Lancashire, England) is a musician and singer-songwriter who was a member of Procol Harum in the 1970s, and has also composed for TV and film. He predominantly plays organ, piano and bass guitar. C ...

– bass, organ * B.J. Wilson – drums with: *

Jack Lancaster Jack Lancaster is a British composer, record producer and musician. In the late 1960s, Lancaster co-founded the British rock group Blodwyn Pig with Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams and in the late 1970s he was a member of the British progres ...

–

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

(9, 12) ;Technical *Dave Mundy - artwork

Notes

Sources and external links

ProcolHarum.com's page on this album
{{Authority control Procol Harum albums 1997 albums Albums produced by Chris Thomas (record producer)