Secrets of the Hive: The Best of Procol Harum

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Procol Harum

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At a time when the music industry seems to be flooding the market with compilations of major artists that contain just a tidbit of something new to snare "completeist" fans, those same fans may be understandably wary of adding yet another "essential" compilation to their collections. There are already many Procol Harum "best of" and "greatest hits" compilations on the market, so why should anyone buy this one?

There are several good reasons. First, this is the first compilation that spans their career to date. So if you are going on a road trip and can't decide which of your Procol Harum CDs to bring with you, Secrets of the Hive makes perfect sense. Secondly, there is the quality of the remastering to consider. It is superb! Finally, there is the attractive and informative booklet that accompanies the CD. It is filled with all sorts of pictures and interesting facts about the band that make the overall Procol Harum experience that much more enjoyable.

Fans may argue about which songs should have been included that weren't and those that should have been left off. I have my list. But overall, Salvo Records did a fine job of offering fans a balanced sampling of Procol Harum's oeuvre. All the essentials are here, its just the electives one may quibble about.

The gimmick here is a live recording of the previously unreleased Into The Flood. Its an excellent song, but this set didn't need a gimmick to sell me on its merits. I'd have bought it regardless. Whether you are a long-time fan of Procol Harum or a new listener, the grand overview of the band's career as presented on Secrets of the Hive is one you will be proud to own and one you will play over and over.

Procol Harum is my second favorite band of all time, second only to the Stones, and just "second" only marginally above Fanny. That said - well, they've never, ever been shy about repackaging themselves. "Secrets" may be the newest compilation of Procol Harum's material, but it is, by NO means, the "best." A) of all the tracks listed hereon, an unnecessarily inordinate amount of attention is is devoted to PH's post-1991 output. And B), what is worse, much is made of the fact that a live version of the song "Into The Flood" is included. Beware, folks: unless this recording is of the 9/17/2001 "millineum" concert, which, a rarity, featured 2 Procol Harum guitarists, the sublime Mick Grabham, who was PH's guitarist from "Grand Hotel" thru "Something Magic" - Procol's most prolific period - and the..."current" guitarist, the ever-histrionic G Whitehorn - and I have a bootleg of that concert - that one song...just...ain't...worth...it. A far, far superior PH compilation is that "Singles A & B," which offers some real treasures in addition to just "rare and remixed B-sides": there's a live version of "Luskus Delph," previously unreleased from the "Edmonton" session; (forgive me if I "adjective" too much like Cameron "incindiary" Crowe here), there's a live, absolutely transcendent version of J Strauss' "Blue Danube"; and especially, there's the original "Into The Flood," originally an unused song-demo for 1991's "Prodigal Stranger" - and the guitarist on IT is Bobby Mayo, Peter Frampton's late great keyboardist/rhythm guitarist/conscience. The short almost offhand solo that Mayo delivered, is - and I shall resist the justifiable urge to say, "Well, DUH" here - vastly superior to what I HAVE heard Grabham and Whitehorn do, and what I can only surmise that 'horn currently...excessively delivers. But hey - this IS Procol Harum we're talking about here - and if the Stones can inflict the satanic "Miss You" on every single "best of" THEY'VE released since it was..."hatched," I guess Procol Harum can be spotted one sort of..."duf" track. And "Hive" does present all new liner notes courtesy of Procologist Roland Clare, always a pleasure, but - again - be forewarned, every song on "Hive" has been released before, some more than 4 or 5 times...