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Post by queenofthehours on Sept 28, 2014 12:18:30 GMT
Lead Me To The Water - Gary Brooker (1982)
Tracks - Mineral Man Another Way Hang On Rose Home Loving The Cycle Lead Me To The Water The Angler Low Flying Birds Symphathy For The Hard Of Hearing
Lead Me To The Water is the second solo album by Gary Brooker (MBE).
Brooker was the founder, lead vocalist, pianist, arranger and composer of Procol Harum from 1967 until the group ended in 1977 and again in the present day since the band reformed in 1991.
Gary had previously released a solo album in 1979 and would go on to release two further solo records including Within Our House, a live album recorded in his local church to raise money for parish funds.
After Procol disbanded, Gary became the proprietor of his own pub in the Surrey countryside. He also joined his friend, neighbour and pub regular Eric Clapton’s band as unofficial musical director helping Clapton to compose and record. Two tracks that Eric rejected from those sessions made it onto this LP re-recorded by Brooker, ‘Lead Me To The Water’ and ‘Home Loving’.
Among Brooker’s backing musicians on Lead Me To The Water, playing on selected tracks, are Eric Clapton himself, Albert Lee and Chris Stainton. George Harrison also features, repaying a favour to Gary who had contributed to three of his albums including All Things Must Pass. Phil Collins and Henry Spinetti are among those on the drum stool.
Lead Me To The Water has the merit of being entirely written by Brooker; This is the first album of his career where both the music and words are exclusively his. On this LP Gary also acts as his own producer, ably schooled by his previous producers who include George Martin, Ron Richards and Chris Thomas. Gary also took the back cover photograph of himself. The result is that this album is perhaps his most personal statement as a musician.
The strongest evidence that this is a personal collection of songs lies in Brooker’s subject matter: Down-to-earth themes ranging from a passion for fishing, nature and the natural world to friendship and family love. Gary also reflects on the consequences of war, inspired by a neighbour’s real-life experience.
With lyrics less curious than those of Procol Harum, Brooker’s words are just as unusual. For instance, no track on the album can be said to bear any resemblance to a conventional love song. Instead Gary’s love of wordplay, humour and unpretentiousness shines through.
Mineral Man grooveshark.com/s/Mineral+Man/2pXM7x
Another Way grooveshark.com/s/Another+Way/70dYs8
Hang On Rose grooveshark.com/s/Hang+On+Rose/2pXjTr
Home Loving grooveshark.com/s/Home+Loving/2pYd3F
The Cycle grooveshark.com/s/The+Cycle/2pYkbw
Lead Me To The Water grooveshark.com/s/Lead+Me+To+The+Water/2pXteM
The Angler grooveshark.com/s/The+Angler/2pYZaF
Low Flying Birds grooveshark.com/s/Low+Flying+Birds/70dYTi
Symphathy For The Hard Of Hearing grooveshark.com/s/Sympathy+For+The+Hard+Of+Hearing/70dZvr
Musicians Guitar - George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Albert Lee, Tim Renwick, Pater Maunu Bass - Dave Markee, Chris Solberg Drums - Phil Collins, Henry Spinetti, Steve Holly, Scott Matthews Keyboards - Gary Brooker, Chris Stainton, Phil Aaberg Percussion - Kent Middleton Saxophone – Mel Collins
Producer – Gary Brooker Back Cover Photography – Gary Brooker Written By – Gary Brooker
Liner notes: Special thanks to Colin Thurston, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and George Harrison who by their help and company made this record not unworthy of the perusal of most listeners. 'And I wish the reader also to take notice that in writing of it, I have made a recreation of a recreation; and that it may prove so to thee in the reading' (Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler)
Song words www.procolharum.com/gbtext.htm
[As many of the songs have lyrics which you might want to read I have included a link to all the words on the album. (To find this album, scroll about a quarter of the way down the page.)]
# The word “Symphathy” in the title of the track ‘Symphathy For The Hard Of Hearing’ is a play on the words “Symphony” and “Sympathy”.
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Post by queenofthehours on Sept 28, 2014 12:22:08 GMT
This album is poorly served by YouTube, the sound quality of the tracks is poor compared to the CD. As a consequence, I have also included, above, the tracks in Grooveshark which are of a better quality. I’ve also noticed that the YouTube tracks are shorter than they should be, in ‘Mineral Man’s’ case it cuts off most of the intro. If possible I’d suggest listening to the Grooveshark versions. Unless, of course, you want to buy the CD! For the best versions of the tracks it’s worth seeking out Gary’s live 1983 Rockpalast performance.
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Post by jrmugz on Sept 28, 2014 13:26:14 GMT
Cool, QOTH! Another new band to expand my horizons!
Alright man, will check out during the week and send my thoughts throughout, probably a song-by-song breakdown by Thursday or Friday!
Looking forward to seeing what it's all about!
Jim
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Post by 88keys on Sept 28, 2014 16:05:43 GMT
I don't know any of his solo music, so I look forward to hearing this.
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Post by queenofthehours on Sept 28, 2014 16:46:31 GMT
I was inspired to choose this album as CD of the week by jrmugz, BSJ and Brax’s choices of Steve Winwood, Pete Townshend and Phil Collins. I thought ol' Gary would fit right in.
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Post by Horacewimp on Sept 28, 2014 17:39:02 GMT
I also don't know of the album or any of the songs, look forward to listening during the week.
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Post by unomusette on Sept 28, 2014 21:45:28 GMT
I love Gary Brooker's voice on Procol Harum songs, really looking forward to exploring this album
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Post by BSJ on Sept 28, 2014 21:52:04 GMT
Love Procol Harum. This should be interesting. Hoping I can find this used.
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Post by Helmut83 on Sept 29, 2014 4:31:28 GMT
Neither I know any of the songs, but I quite like Procol Harum, so I'm sure it will be interesting.
I've been listening to the first songs already, but I will delay my reviews until Wednesday or Thursday at least. I want to listen to the whole thing more than once (if possible, 3 or 4 times) to give a proper feedback. Your perception of the songs changes a lot with each new listen and I don't want to hurry too much in making conclussions that then I would want to change.
And I liked that information you added, Queen. It helps a lot to know the background of the album.
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Post by queenofthehours on Sept 29, 2014 18:32:40 GMT
I’m glad that many of you already know Procol Harum. It confirms my suspicions that they are suitable listening for ELO fans! As the album credits don’t give much indication as to which tracks any of Gary’s backing musicians play on, I hope that those of you who are familiar enough with their work might be able to recognise their playing styles and tell the rest of us which the tracks are
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Post by jrmugz on Sept 29, 2014 18:40:25 GMT
I'm going to break my tradition and paste my first thoughts on the songs when playing through them today, before the end of the week, though I will probably be providing additional thoughts throughout the week as well as I keep playing it.
Gary Brooker, "Take Me to the Water" CD Review, first thoughts when hearing the songs. ------------------------------------------------------------- Mineral Man - The Fabulous Thunderbirds go 70s style. Cool tune, intriguing what "mineral man" is referring to, needs to articulate the words a tad more clearly. Another Way - I like it, very nice. It reminds me of pre-Duke Genesis records from that period, for some reason. Hello Pop, say hello to my friend Prog. Hang On Rose - Do I go funk, do I go pop, do I go prog? Let me just make a cool tune out of all 3! Reminds me of "nancy, nancy" by Roy Wood! Home Loving - Very nice, my favorite one so far. Sounds like a Pete Townshend song with Pete Townshend on vocals. The Cycle - Continuing with the same feel of the other songs, with some nice poetic imagery about rain, tears, etc. Lead Me To The Water - A decent reggae-rock song, nice name for a title of the album, but I think "Home Loving" warranted being the title track better. The Angler - This is a nice one. Low Flying Birds - I like it; nice. Symphathy For The Hard Of Hearing - Probably the most unique song, I like the nice restrained keyboard break, very cool. It could have went fancier and not been as powerful. Very awesome second half after the keyboard break, makes for a nice spirited coda to the CD.
Pete Townshend plus Roy Wood minus the vocal histrionics.
A very nice pleasant easygoing voice, that fits in well with the straightforward arrangements.
A very strong album, with very cool songs. Doesn't necessarily break any new ground, but most CDs don't. Would be interesting to check out his other stuff, I noticed he does "Say it Ain't So, Joe" a very cool song for which I am familiar with the Roger Daltry version.
Jim
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Post by jefflynnenut on Sept 29, 2014 22:35:21 GMT
Hey thanks lady for sharing the love.....thats what this is all about! Last night I introduced a elo newby to "Time" and "Discovery"! Sharing the love. ...sharing the love!
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Post by unomusette on Sept 30, 2014 19:12:09 GMT
Mineral Man - Reminded me straight away of Ringo Starr, easygoing rhythm and some great unusual sounds from guitar and keyboard layering up. I wouldn't have thought it was Gary Brooker at all if I'd not been told. Liking this one very much. Another Way - More interesting keyboard and percussion sounds, found myself nodding along without realising which is a good thing. Slightly Genesis-esque to my ears. Nice vocals, sounding more like himself here. Is that saxophone towards the end or synthesiser? A bit of sax on a song is always a good thing in my opinion. Hang On Rose - Drums sound machine-made, did he do the whole thing on keyboards? Didn't do much for me because of this but it does have an uplifitng chorus - and vocoder which is never a bad thing. Home Loving - Piano intro reminded me of Burning for Me from the Strawbs album, and the melody brought Colin Blunstone to mind for some reason. Changes of tempo kept me listening, it's not setting the world on fire for me but I'd happily listen to this more often. The Cycle - Not mad again about the keyboard sounds on this, a bit of a filler for me. Nice harmonies though and his vocals seem more to the fore than in previous songs, so you can appreciate the quality of them. Lead Me To The Water - I'm nodding along again, this reminds me of something Andy Fairweather Low might have done in the '70's so it's happily nostalgic. The Angler - Rolls along nicely enough, liking the piano running through it, proper foot-tapper and good melody. Bet this is one Eric Clapton had a hand in? Low Flying Birds - Oo, saucy! Probably completely un-politically -correct. I imagine he had a lot of fun recording this one and not taking it too seriously. Lots going on here musically, and is that a cow bell? And sax again? 'nuff said. *stamps "APPROVED" with big rubber stamp* Made me smile and I loved the funky outro.. Symphathy For The Hard Of Hearing - Nice vocals again, little bit ploddy for me till it speeds up halfway through, but some interesting chord sequences. Again sounding slightly Genesis-alike. Second half lots better than the first, good to end the album on a lively note . I probably need to listen to this off the proper CD, as you say Youtube hasn't done the sound a lot of favours so it's coming across tinnier and scratchier than it really is. Some really good songs on here and I like the diversity and variety of sounds layered together in the best ones. Feeling like I've done myself a good turn hearing this, thanks for sharing
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Post by queenofthehours on Oct 1, 2014 18:47:24 GMT
Hang On Rose - Do I go funk, do I go pop, do I go prog? Let me just make a cool tune out of all 3! Reminds me of "nancy, nancy" by Roy Wood! Yes, I never noticed that before. It's an unusual track but it does have shades of Roy about it. Gary's and Roy's bands shared managers and producers (even clothes) back in the 60s so perhaps they're two peas in a pod musically-wise. Lead Me To The Water - A decent reggae-rock song, nice name for a title of the album, but I think "Home Loving" warranted being the title track better. I have to say I agree with you there. I wouldn't want to change the title but the best alternative is Home Loving, it's the stronger track I think. Pete Townshend plus Roy Wood minus the vocal histrionics. I don't know enough Pete Townshend to know if that's a complement to Gary or not! I expect it is. Do you mean the record reminds you of Pete and Roy vocally or in the way the songs are written? I don't know the Daltrey version of 'Say It Ain't So, Joe' but Gary's version in on his first solo album, produced by George Martin.
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Post by jrmugz on Oct 1, 2014 23:40:58 GMT
Hang On Rose - Do I go funk, do I go pop, do I go prog? Let me just make a cool tune out of all 3! Reminds me of "nancy, nancy" by Roy Wood! Yes, I never noticed that before. It's an unusual track but it does have shades of Roy about it. Gary's and Roy's bands shared managers and producers (even clothes) back in the 60s so perhaps they're two peas in a pod musically-wise. Lead Me To The Water - A decent reggae-rock song, nice name for a title of the album, but I think "Home Loving" warranted being the title track better. I have to say I agree with you there. I wouldn't want to change the title but the best alternative is Home Loving, it's the stronger track I think. Pete Townshend plus Roy Wood minus the vocal histrionics. I don't know enough Pete Townshend to know if that's a complement to Gary or not! I expect it is. Do you mean the record reminds you of Pete and Roy vocally or in the way the songs are written? I don't know the Daltrey version of 'Say It Ain't So, Joe' but Gary's version in on his first solo album, produced by George Martin.
Wow, that really makes sense then about the connection I noticed with Roy Wood. Yeah, I guess I do have to agree that "Lead Me to the Water" is the superior album title, even though "Home Loving" seems like the better song. Guess no law that the best song on an album has to be the album title. Oh, definitely a compliment about Pete Townshend's voice, the laid-back nature of say "Let My Love Open the Door". And without the histrionics, like if you hear a song of Pete's like "Second Hand Love" for instance. Jim
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