''The Well's on Fire'' is the eleventh studio album by

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, 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 List of best-selling singles, sold over ...

, released in 2003. The album was Matthew Fisher's last studio album with the band, and his last live release with them was '' Live at Union Chapel'', recorded in December 2003 and including many of the songs from the studio album. It was also their last studio album to feature lyrics from

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 ...

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' hailed ''The Well's on Fire'' as Procol Harum's "finest album in nearly 30 years", remarking that it goes for a more rock-based sound than its predecessor ''

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 ...

'' and recaptures the worthy elements of the band's heyday without relying solely on nostalgia. Individually noting the still potent talents of core members Matthew Fisher, Gary Brooker, and Keith Reid, they concluded that Procol Harum "have demonstrated that they're capable of making relevant music again."

Track listing

All music by

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 ...

and lyrics by

, except where noted. #"An Old English Dream" #"Shadow Boxed" #"A Robe of Silk" #"The Blink of an Eye" #"The VIP Room" #"The Question" ( Matthew Fisher, Keith Reid) #"This World Is Rich (For Stephen Maboe)" #"Fellow Travellers" - based on "Lascia Ch'io Pianga" by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

(Fisher, Reid) #"The Wall Street Blues" #"The Emperor's New Clothes" #"So Far Behind" #"Every Dog Will Have His Day" (Brooker, Fisher, Reid) #"Weisselklenzenacht (The Signature)" (Fisher)

Personnel

;Procol Harum *

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 keyboa ...

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 without ...

* Matthew Fisher - organ *

Geoff Whitehorn Geoffrey Charles Whitehorn (born 29 August 1951, London, England) is a guitarist and singer-songwriter, who has played as a member of If, Crawler and Procol Harum. History In August 1973, Whitehorn joined the pioneering British jazz-rock ba ...

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 stri ...

Matt Pegg Matthew "Matt" Pegg (born 27 March 1971) is an English musician and bass guitarist. Pegg is the son of Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull bass guitar player Dave Pegg. He is an experienced bass guitarist in his own right and has been known to ...

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 ...

Mark Brzezicki Mark Michael Brzezicki ( , ; born 21 June 1957) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Scottish rock band Big Country. He has also played with the Cult, Ultravox, From the Jam, Procol Harum, Rick Astley, the Crazy World of ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

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, a ...

with: *

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(2) ;Technical * Rafe McKenna - producer * Joshua J Macrae -

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Cover Version

Les Fradkin Les Fradkin (born 1951) is an American MIDI guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show ''Beatlemania''. In addition to playing MIDI guitar, ...

covered "Fellow Travellers" as part of a ''Beyond the Pale''

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

. It also appears in his 2006 release, ''Goin' Back''.

References

External links

ProcolHarum.com
- ProcolHarum.com's page on this album 2003 albums Procol Harum albums Eagle Records albums {{2000s-progressive-rock-album-stub