Shine On Brightly

Shine On Brightly
Studio album by Procol Harum
Released September 1968
Recorded 1967–68 at Advision Studios, De Lane Lea Studios and Olympic Studios, London, England
Genre Progressive rock, art rock, psychedelic rock
Length 39:09
Label Regal Zonophone, A&M
Producer Denny Cordell
Procol Harum chronology

Procol Harum
(1967)		 Shine On Brightly
(1968)		 A Salty Dog
(1969)
Alternative cover
US and European cover

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.

Legacy

Shine On Brightly was influential in the development of progressive rock by breaking pop and rock music standards with the 17-minute epic "In Held Twas in I", which marked the beginning of the lengthy progressive rock suites that would occur later in the 1970s.

Content

The title of the epic "In Held 'Twas in I" is an acrostic, taking the word from the first movement as well as the first word from a verse later in the movement as well as taking the first word from each of the three successive movements as shown:

In "Glimpses of Nirvana"
Held "Glimpses of Nirvana" (sixth verse)
′Twas "′Twas Teatime at the Circus"
In "In the Autumn of My Madness"
I "Look to Your Soul"

Release

Shine On Brightly was released in September 1968 by record labels Regal Zonophone and A&M. The original British and North American versions of the opening two tracks ("Quite Rightly So" and "Shine On Brightly") are different versions.

The album was reissued several times, including a 2009 remaster using the original 2-track stereo masters and featuring bonus B-sides and alternate takes. However, many of the tracks are played at a higher speed.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Rolling Stone unfavourable[2]

Upon its release, Jim Miller, writing for Rolling Stone, was unfavourable: "Procol Harum's first release was generally more satisfying, especially since this new album displays little in the way of startling growth – the group has apparently chosen to refine their old approach and the musical result, while usually listenable, is not consistently interesting."[2]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, except as noted. 

Side A
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Quite Rightly So"  Brooker, Fisher, Reid 3:40
2. "Shine On Brightly"    3:32
3. "Skip Softly (My Moonbeams)"    3:47
4. "Wish Me Well"    3:18
5. "Rambling On"    4:31
Side B
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)"    2:50
2. "In Held 'Twas in I":
  • a)  "Glimpses of Nirvana"
  • b)  "'Twas Teatime at the Circus"
  • c)  "In the Autumn of My Madness"
  • d)  "Look to Your Soul"
  • e)  "Grand Finale"  
Brooker, Fisher, Reid 17:31

Personnel

Technical

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Shine On Brightly – Procol Harum | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Miller, Jim (7 December 1968). "[Shine On Brightly review]". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 March 2015.