''Something Magic'' is the ninth studio album by

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 ...

, and was released in 1977. Electing to work with producers Ron and Howie Albert when

Leiber and Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

(who had produced the band's preceding album) were not available, Procol Harum flew into

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

with more than enough material for their album. However, the Alberts rejected more than five of these tracks, leaving only four from the material the group had intended to use. Vocalist/composer/piano player

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 ...

then offered up the epic "The Worm and The Tree", a piece by lyricist

Keith Reid Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the excep ...

that Brooker had been toying with on and off for several years. Under mounting pressure to complete the musical composition and orchestral arrangements for the 19-minute epic (which according to Reid was about "how the press tried to break up the band") Brooker turned to local Miami arranger Mike Lewis to complete the orchestral arrangements for the title track "Something Magic", and band member

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 ...

to complete the woodwind arrangement for "Skating on Thin Ice". With work completed on "The Worm and The Tree", Brooker previewed it for co-producers Ron and Howie Albert who approved of the piece (a surprise, given that it had a lot in common with the epic orchestral/

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

piece "In Held Twas I" from ''

Shine on Brightly ''Shine On Brightly'' is the second studio album by English rock band Procol Harum, released in 1968 by record labels Regal Zonophone and A&M. It is considered an early example of progressive rock. The album's single, "Quite Rightly So", fail ...

''). Guitarist

Mick Grabham 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 ...

offered up his only composition, set to Reid's "The Mark of the Claw", to help fill out the album (on the 2009 Salvo reissue, Grabham is incorrectly credited with writing the single "Wizard Man" with Reid). The Alberts insisted that the band's steady drummer B.J. Wilson use a click track for the album, an unusual demand given his work on the band's previous releases. After this album was released, Copping left the band.

Dee Murray Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Biography Murray was born in Gillingham ...

( Elton John's bassist) replaced him for the North American tour promoting this album.

Reception

The album was preceded by the single "Wizard Man", backed by Gary Brooker's instrumental "Backgammon" in the UK but paired with "Something Magic" in the United States. The single didn't chart in either the United Kingdom or the United States, and the album rose no higher than No. 146 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' charts. In Canada, it reached No. 84. It debuted at No. 13 in

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, before falling out of the Top 20. ''Something Magic'' would remain the last album released by Procol Harum until 1991, when Gary Brooker reunited with Keith Reid, Robin Trower, and Matthew Fisher (drummer B.J. Wilson having died prior to the reunion) for ''

The Prodigal Stranger ''The Prodigal Stranger'' is the tenth studio album by Procol Harum, released in 1991. Recorded after a 14-year break, it met with an underwhelming response from listeners but served to kick off a largely successful reunion for the band. Backgr ...

''.

2009 Salvo reissue

Salvo reissued the entire discography of Procol Harum in 2009, remastered with bonus tracks. ''Something Magic'' was remastered by Nick Robbins. The bonus tracks included the B-side "Backgammon" as well as a demo of two tracks played live by the band but rejected for the album: "You'd Better Wait" and "This Old Dog". The bonus tracks were selected by Brooker and Reid for the reissue.

Track listing

All songs written by

and

except where noted. Some versions of the album omit "Wizard Man"; even those which include the track omit its lyrics from the inner sleeve.

Personnel

;Procol Harum *

Pete Solley Peter Solley (born 19 October 1948, London) is an English musician and record producer. He has recorded with Eric Clapton, Al Stewart and Whitesnake as well as producing records for Ted Nugent, Oingo Boingo, Motörhead, The Romantics, Jo Jo Zep ...

– organ and

synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* B. J. Wilson – drums *

–

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 ...

–

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 ...

and

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 ...

–

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

References

External links

ProcolHarum.com
– ProcolHarum.com's page on this album {{Authority control Procol Harum albums 1977 albums Chrysalis Records albums Repertoire Records albums