Procol Harum's NME coverage ...

1 July - 29 July 1972

These excerpts from New Musical Express, kindly selected for 'Beyond the Pale' by Yan Friis, show Procol Harum continuing to enjoy chart success, while the Rainbow Orchestral gig, and Grand Hotel, are announced; meanwhile Freedom suffer a critical hammering.

NME, July 1, 1972:

U.S. Singles

1. ( 2) Song Sung Blue, Neil Diamond
2. ( 5) Outta Space, Billy Preston
3. ( 1) Nice To Be With You, Gallery
4. ( 8) Lean On Me, Bill Withers
5. ( 7) Troglodyte (Cave Man), Jimmy Castor Bunch
30. (36) Conquistador, Procol Harum

U.S. Albums

1. ( 1) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
2. ( 2) Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull
3. ( 4) Harvest, Neil Young
4. ( 3) First Take, Roberta Flack
5. ( 7) Joplin In Concert, Janis Joplin
11. (18) Procol Harum Live, Procol Harum

(Cash Box)

NME, July 8, 1972

Front page headlines:

McCARTNEY GIGS (big pic and story)

SLADE, COCKER FOR RAINBOW

JOHNNY WINTER HERE?

Jobsworhs: are they real?

NME Top 5:
1. ( 3) Take Me Bak 'ome, Slade
2. ( 5) Puppy Love, Donny Osmond
3. ( 2) Rock And Roll (part 1 & 2), Gary Glitter
4. ( 1) Vincent, Don McLean
5. ( 6) Little Willy, Sweet

British Albums
1. ( 1) American Pie, Don McLean
2. ( 4) 20 Dynamic Hits, Various Artists
3. ( 5) Bolan Boogie, T.Rex
4. ( 2) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
5. ( 3) Honky Chateau, Elton John

U.S. Singles
1. ( 2) Outta Space, Billy Preston
2. ( 4) Lean On Me, Bill Withers
3. ( 5) Troglodyte (Cave Man), Jimmy Castor Bunch
4. ( 1) Song Sung Blue, Neil Diamond
5. ( 8) Too Late To Turn Back Now, Cornelius Brother & Sister Rose
26. (30) Conquistador, Procol Harum

U.S Albums
1. ( 1) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
2. ( 2) Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull
3. (13) Honky Chateau, Elton John
4. ( 5) Joplin In Concert, Janis Joplin
5. ( 6) Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
8. (11) Procol Harum Live, Procol Harum

Main albums reviewed:
Little Wheel Spin And Spin, Buffy Sainte-Marie
Just Another Band From LA, Mothers
Tantamount To Treason Vol. 1, Michael Nesmith
Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden, Elvis Presley

Main single reviews by Roy Carr:
Woman To Woman / Midnight Rider, Joe Cocker
Southbound Train, Crosby & Nash
Give A Boy A Break, Gallagher & Lyle
Big Six, Judge Dread
Seaside Shuffle, Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs
Run To Me, Bee Gees

and:

PROCOL HARUM: Conquistador (Chrysalis)
My all-time favourite Brooker / Reid song performed this time with the unobtrusive help of the Edmunton (sic) Symphony Orchestra. Without a doubt Procol Harum have sustained their position as being one of this country's most tastefully original outfits. Pity they've been forced to seek fame and fortune elsewhere. With the current if somewhat unexpected success of Whiter Shade Of Pale, this tremendously powerful record should give them the exposure they so justly deserve.

NME, July 15, 1972

U.S. Singles
1. ( 2) Lean On Me, Bill Withers
2. ( 3) Troglodyte (Cave Man), Jimmy Castor Bunch
3. ( 5) Too Late To Turn Back Now, Cornelius Brother & Sister Rose
4. ( 1) Outta Space, Billy Preston
5. ( 9) Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast, Wayne Newton
22. (26) Conquistador, Procol Harum

U.S. Albums
1. ( 1) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
2. ( 2) Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull
3. ( 3) Honky Chateau, Elton John
4. ( 5) Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
5. ( 4) Joplin In Concert, Janis Joplin
7. ( 8) Procol Harum Live, Procol Harum

And then, on page 15, there is a half page ad for some cheap albums on EMI's Music For Pleasure label.

NME, July 22, 1972

U.S. Singles:
1. ( 1) Lean On Me, Bill Withers
2. ( 3) Too Late To Turn Back Now, Cornelius Brother & Sister Rose
3. ( 5) Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast, Wayne Newton
4. ( 2) Troglodyte (Cave Man), Jimmy Castor Bunch
5. ( 6) If Loving You Is Wrong, Luther Ingram
19. (22) Conquistador, Procol Harum

U.S. Albums
1. ( 1) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
2. ( 2) Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull
3. ( 3) Honky Chateau, Elton John
4. ( 4) Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
5. (11) Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits, Simon & Garfunkel
12. ( 7) Procol Harum Live, Procol Harum

And then an amusing quote for the Album reviews-pages, signed Charles Shaar Murray:

FREEDOM: Freedom Is More Than A Word (Vertigo)
Pretentious Mediocrity: Heavy Rock Division. As we sometimes find on Vertigo albums, the cover is both portentous and inept, the music ditto. Freedom are led by Bobby Harrison, a former member of Procol Harum whose principal claim to fame is not having played on A Whiter Shade Of Pale five years ago ...

NME, July 29, 1972

Front page headlines:

TYA FESTIVAL TOP (big pic of Alvin Lee, story)

FREE ELP and JETHRO in JAPAN

SLY STONE: Now you see him now you don't... (small pic)

DAVID GEFFEN: Taking care of Neil and Joni... (small pic)

BOWIE: Will the Dorchester ever be the same again? (small pic)

NME Top 5:
1. ( 1) Puppy Love, Donny Osmond
2. ( 2) Rock And Roll pt. 1 & 2, Gary Glitter
3. ( 3) Sylvia's Mother, Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
4. ( 7) Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Partridge Family
5. ( 4) I Can See Clearly, Johnny Nash

British Albums:
1. ( 2) Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits, Simon & Garfunkel
2. ( 1) American Pie, Don McLean
3. ( 3) 20 Dynamic Hits, Various Artists
4. (14) School's Out, Alice Cooper
5. ( 4) Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie

U.S. Singles
1. ( 2) Too Late To Turn Back Now, Cornelius Brother & Sister Rose
2. ( 3) Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast, Wayne Newton
3. ( 6) Alone Again (Naturally), Gilbert O'Sullivan
4. ( 5) If Loving You Is Wrong, Luther Ingram
5. (10) Brandy, Looking Glass
18. (19) Conquistador, Procol Harum

U.S. Albums
1. ( 1) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
2. ( 2) Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull
3. ( 3) Honky Chateau, Elton John
4. ( 5) Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits, Simon & Garfunkel
5. ( 7) Still Bill, Bill Withers
8. (12) Procol Harum Live, Procol Harum

News pages:

Procol: special Rainbow show

Procol Harum are to star at London's Rainbow Theatre on Friday, September 22, supported by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. And their concert will be filmed by producer Sandford Lieberson, who was previously responsible for the Mick Jagger film Performance. After the Rainbow date, Rainbow (sic - should of course read Procol Harum) play further dates - without orchestral accompaniment - at Bristol Colston Hall (September 23), Liverpool Stadium (24) and Newcastle City Hall (25), with the possibility of more British dates to be announced.

On September 30, Procol fly to Montreux to begin a short tour of the Continent, when they will be supported by various leading European orchestras. The group return from their American tour this weekend, and spend next week completing work on their new album Grand Hotel for release by Chrysalis at the beginning of October.

Main album reviews:
For Glastonbury Fair, Various Artists
Dingley Dell, Lindisfarne
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway Live, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
You Don't Mess Around With Jim, Jim Croce
He Touched Me, Elvis Presley
A Song For You, Carpenters

Main single reviews by Danny Holloway:
All The Young Dudes, Mott The Hoople
Virginia Plain, Roxy Music
Too Late To Turn Back Now, Cornelius Brother & Sister Rose
Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress, The Hollies
Back Stabbers, O'Jays
Layla, Derek & The Dominos
Get On The Good Foot, James Brown