Exotic Birds and Fruit
| Exotic Birds and Fruit | ||||
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| Studio album by Procol Harum | ||||
| Released | April 1974 | |||
| Recorded | late 1973 / early 1974 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, symphonic rock | |||
| Length | 37:00 | |||
| Label | UK, US, Europe: Chrysalis Australia, New Zealand: Festival Germany: Repertoire (2000 reissue) |
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| Producer | Chris Thomas | |||
| Procol Harum chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Exotic Birds and Fruit | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated) |
Exotic Birds and Fruit is the seventh full-length studio album by British progressive rock band Procol Harum. It was released in 1974. Of special note is the release of the album in Argentina, calling the album "Pájaros Y Frutas Exóticas" (literally translated as "Birds and Exotic Fruit"). The cover artwork for the album is by Jakob Bogdani, a noted Slovak artist whose paintings centred on exotic birds and fruit.
Collaborating again with producer Chris Thomas, Procol Harum the band recorded the album at George Martin's Air London Studios in London. According to singer/songwriter/piano player and band leader Gary Brooker the album was recorded in reaction to the two preceding albums which used extensive orchestration. Brooker stated "We made the live album with an orchestra. We'd then taken the orchestra into the studio for 'Grand Hotel'...we'd had enough of orchestras".
This back to basics approach worked well given that there were regular power cuts during the power struggle between Edward Heath's government and the UK unions. The band used an emergency generator during the blackouts which forced three-day working weeks during the so-called "winter of discontent" of 1973–74. New member Alan Cartwright joined on bass freeing up bass player/organist Chris Copping to devote himself full-time to organ which returned to a prominent role in the band's sound.
The album features the song "Butterfly Boys" written about the founders of the band's record label at the time Chrysalis. The band were unhappy with the terms of their contract and expressed that frustration in song.
"Exotic Birds and Fruit" met with a good critical reception but only rose to No. 86 on the Billboard album charts. In Denmark, it peaked at #9 upon release, and nearly a year later in early 1975 it re-entered the Top 20 peaking at #19. The album was preceded by the single release of the opening track "Nothing But the Truth" back with the single only B-side track "Drunk Again".
In 2009 Salvo reissued Procol Harum's entire discography on CD remastered by Nick Robbins. The reissue for "Exotic Birds and Fruits" included two bonus tracks personally selected by Brooker and Keith Reid. "Drunk Again" the B-side to the single "Nothing But the Truth" appeared on CD along with an alternate mix of "As Strong as Samson".
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