"Grand Hotel" is the sixth studio album by Procol Harum, an English rock band. Released in March 1973, the album marks a departure from their previous works, offering a more orchestrated sound. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics upon its release, the band successfully experimented with a much larger sound than had previously been heard on their earlier albums.
The album's theme gravitates towards decadence, fashion, old money and the often shallow nature of the trappings of wealth, maintaining a conceptual unity throughout. Featured in this album are the members, Gary Brooker (vocals and piano), Mick Grabham (guitar), Chris Copping (organ), Alan Cartwright (bass), B.J. Wilson (drums), and Keith Reid (lyrics).
The album's title track "Grand Hotel" is a melodious overture-like piece that sets the tone for the entire album, bearing strong continuation attributes of the band's debut album, 'A Whiter Shade of Pale.' An interesting fact about the album is that its cover features a hand-illustrated Latin palindrome reading 'In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni,' which translates as 'we go wandering at night and are consumed by fire.'
Despite there being no charting singles from the album, it itself reached number 21 in the US and entered the Top 10 in the UK Albums Chart. As such, 'Grand Hotel' has since been viewed as one of Procol Harum's strongest records and continues to enjoy enduring popularity among fans of the band.
