The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye (The Symphonic Music of Procol Harum) is an orchestral album of Procol Harum music that was released in 1995. The album was produced by longtime Procol Harum vocalist/pianist/songwriter Gary Brooker, and among the various musicians who contributed to the album are Procol Harum members Robin Trower and Matthew Fisher. The main performers on the album are the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with one track performed by Sinfonia of London. Unlike all the other songs on the album, the title track has never been officially released by Procol Harum; Procol Harum played the song on tours and recordings of this have appeared on bootlegs, but never on an official album or single. It was a Gary Brooker solo single and included on the Gary Brooker solo album Echoes in the Night, which was co-produced by Brooker and Fisher, who also co-composed the song's music. Its lyrics were written by Procol Harum's Keith Reid and Procol Harum's B.J. Wilson played drums on the track original single. Reception Allmusic commented that while a symphonic tribute album would seem a natural fit for Procol Harum since they were among the first musicians to attempt to marry rock music with classical music, the new arrangements over-emphasize the symphonic side, "making the music seem less stately than soporific." They also criticized Gary Brooker's vocal performances as unemotional and dull.