Procol Harum titled their 1977 album Something Magic, and indeed, magic was what the English band hoped for when they headed to Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida to record it.  Now, Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint has revisited Something Magic as a 2-CD expanded edition with three bonus tracks and a BBC Radio One concert.

After Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, producers of 1975's Procol's Ninth, were unavailable to reteam with the band, Procol turned to Criteria and in-house engineer-producers Ron and Howie Albert.  The Albert brothers had engineered such classics as Derek and The Dominos' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs and would go on to produce records by such top-tier artists as Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, Chris Hillman, The James Gang, and Wishbone Ash.  The creative marriage wasn't made in Heaven; Roland Clare's detailed liner notes for this reissue reveal that the Alberts harbor much fonder memories toward the band than vice versa.  But whatever their differences, the Alberts and the band members worked together as co-producers to create an album that, while somewhat shambolic, holds up surprisingly well today - a far cry from the Something Tragic moniker with which it's sometimes been saddled.

Composer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid supplied five new songs, including the epic, multi-part suite "The Worm and the Tree" which filled all of Side Two on the original LP.  Brooker, on piano and vocals, was joined in the line-up by B.J. Wilson on drums; Pete Solley on organ, synthesizers, and violin; Mick Grabham on electric piano; and Chris Copping on bass.  Mick Grabham co-wrote one track with Reid, "The Mark of the Claw."

The Alberts and their preferred orchestrator Mike Lewis embraced the group's classically-inspired sound; the title track (which opened the LP) was quintessential, majestic Procol Harum and even pushed the envelope melodically with its modulations.  Chris Copping arranged the delicate waltz "Skating on Thin Ice" with strings, horns, and woodwinds, lending it a pretty, almost Beatle-esque feel.  Additional voices were layered for a choral effect.  Brooker states in the notes that "nobody [at Chrysalis, the band's label] ever talked to us about hits," but "Wizard Man" was clearly aiming to be one with its clean, commercial rock production and catchy background vocal arrangement.  (Ultimately it was released on 45 but failed to chart, no reflection on its quality.)  The Alberts afforded "The Mark of the Claw" one of their most accomplished productions, embracing its unconventional structure and integrating sound effects into the band's pounding, aggressive track. The original first side concluded with "Strangers in Space," a slow, dreamy, and atmospheric ballad.  Side Two's 18+-minute "The Worm and the Tree" blended spoken word and varied music, orchestrated by Gary Brooker, in a seemingly metaphorical tale of good and evil.  It's the most overtly "prog" of the tracks, with Pete Solley's organ recalling "A Whiter Shade of Pale."  (The notes indicate that the lyrics encompass 410 words, more than Bob Dylan's similarly epic "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.")  The musical fable remains one of the band's most divisive tracks and reflects the overall lack of direction on Something Magic.

Further tracks were demoed at Criteria but Brooker respectfully refers to the demos as "dogshit" in the liner notes; therefore, they haven't been included.  However, Esoteric's edition reprises the three bonus tracks that were appended to Salvo's 2009 album reissue: the B-side "Backgammon" and two songs considered for Something Magic but preserved in live-in-the-studio renditions, the spare, stripped-down "You'd Better Wait" and the country fiddle-flecked "This Old Dog."  The second disc of this reissue features the March 12, 1977 BBC Radio One concert recorded at the Golders Green Hippodrome.  The show features oldies-but-goodies such as "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Conquistador" as well as new songs "Something Magic," "Strangers in Space," "Skating on Thin Ice," "The Mark of the Claw," and "Wizard Man" in looser, more urgent, and more engaging renditions than on the album proper.

Reviews of the original album were mixed, with most singling out "The Worm and the Tree" for criticism.  Procol promoted Something Magic on tour in the U.K. and North America, though Chris Copping departed before the tour's conclusion and was replaced by Elton John Band member Dee Murray.  Even that conclusion was abrupt, as Canadian dates were cancelled due to lack of sales.  Procol Harum quietly split up, remaining dormant until a 1991 revival spearheaded by Gary Brooker (still writing with Keith Reid), Matthew Fisher, and Robin Trower.  As of the band's final album to date, 2017's Novum, only Brooker remained; it was the band's first album not to feature Reid's lyrics.

Something Magic is housed in an eight-panel digipak with a 28-page booklet.  Clare's essay was drawn from new interviews with Brooker, Reid, Grabham, Solley, Copping and the Albert brothers.  Paschal Byrne has remastered the audio.  This expanded reissue is available now from Cherry Red/Esoteric at the links below.  (Amazon links are currently only showing availability from third parties, but Cherry Red still has the title in stock.)

Procol Harum, Something Magic (Chrysalis/Warner Bros. CHR 1130, 1977 - reissued Cherry Red/Esoteric ECLEC 22740, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red Shop)

CD 1

1. Something Magic
2. Skating on Thin Ice
3. Wizard Man
4. The Mark of the Claw
5. Strangers in Space
6. The Worm and the Tree - Part One: Introduction/Menace/Occupation
7. The Worm and the Tree - Part Two: Enervation/Expectancy/Battle
8. The Worm and the Tree - Part Three: Regeneration/Epilogue
9. Backgammon (Bonus Track) (Chrysalis single CHS 2138, 1977)
10. You'd Better Wait (Live) (Bonus Track) (previously included on SALVOCD029, 2009)
11. This Old Dog (Live) (Bonus Track) (previously included on SALVOCD029, 2009)

CD 2: BBC Radio One In Concert (12 March 1977)

1. Something Magic
2. Conquistador
3. Nothing But the Truth
4. Strangers in Space
5. Grand Hotel
6. Pandora's Box
7. Skating on Thin Ice
8. The Mark of the Claw
9. Wizard Man
10. This Old Dog
11. A Whiter Shade of Pale