Album Review

William Ruhlmann [allmusic.com]

Echoes in the Night was the album for all those fans who had been waiting eight years for a Procol Harum reunion. In addition to Gary Brooker's singing and keyboard work, it featured Procol organist Matthew Fisher, lyricist Keith Reid, and drummer B.J. Wilson. They didn't appear on every track, but when they got together, notably on the title song (which also featured Eric Clapton), ''Saw the Fire,'' and especially the ambitious ''Ghost Train,'' Procol Harum was back. (A surprisingly important part of that sound was Wilson's distinctive drumming, notable because he would not be part of the official reunion of the group in 1991, since he died in 1989.) Even when Fisher and Reid weren't collaborating, as on ''Mr. Blue Day,'' Brooker aspired to a Procol approach, adding The National Philharmonic Orchestra for that old art-rock flavor. Like Brooker's other solo albums, this one didn't get much attention, and it would be another six years before Procol Harum did get back together, but for anyone who was paying attention, Echoes in the Night was a welcome reminder of what the band could do.