'''Grand Hotel''' is an album by
Procol Harum, released in 1973.
Track listing
#"Grand Hotel"
#"Toujours l'amour"
#"A Rum Tale"
#"TV Caesar"
#"A Souvenir of London"
#"Bringing Home the Bacon"
#"For Liquorice John"
#"Fires (Which Burnt Brightly)"
#"Robert's Box"
Credits
★
Chris Copping -
organ
★
Alan Cartwright -
bass guitar
★
B.J. Wilson -
drums
★
Mick Grabham -
guitar
★
Gary Brooker -
piano and
vocals
★
Keith Reid -
lyrics
★
Christianne Legrand vocals for ''Fires (Which Burnt Brightly)''
Miscellanea
Douglas Adams came up with the idea for
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe while listening to the title track.
[1]
"For Liquorice John", with its uneven rythm and haunting lyrics abouth death, is a hommage to Jim Mundy, an old-time friend from the band's genesis in the early sixties. Mundy had committed suicide in 1972.
In the early 1960s, several of the musicians that would form Procol Harum were members of R&B band
The Paramounts - a name given them by their manager. Mundy had objected to this name, and suggested one of his own for them, "Liquorice John Death". After Mundy's suicide, among his possessions was found a painting of a cover for a non-existent "Liquorice John Death" album.
In 1970, the members of Procol Harum had recorded a session of Paramounts numbers and R&B standards. The tapes were long lost, but when a copy was re-discovered in 1997, Mundy's ideas and cover were finally used for the release of the album "
Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About" by "Liquorice John Death".
External links
★
ProcolHarum.com - ProcolHarum.com's page on this album
References
1. The Salmon of Doubt, , Douglas, Adams, , ,