Shine On Brightly

Procol Harum’s second album deepens the baroque-pop ambitions of “A Whiter Shade of Pale” into full psychedelic rock sprawl, with Gary Brooker’s organ cascades anchoring sprawling arrangements that veer between prog rock grandeur and intimate introspection. Released on Deram in 1968, the record showcases the band’s gift for orchestral excess without sacrificing melodic hooks—“Homburg” and the title track remain prog rock staples, their layered strings and complex time signatures setting a template for the genre’s more ambitious practitioners.