As for the songs?
Also pretty much what I expected. Some work great within the more classical format, while others don't work quite as well. The orchestral arrangement on "A Salty Dog," for example, really does compliment the original, particularly in the case of the added choral touches. "Conquistador" is likewise flawless, but of course that song already benefited from the orchestral arrangement that made it such a big hit back in the seventies.
Less successful is the symphonic arrangement of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." If ever there was a song where you don't want to de-emphasize the organ (or to try adding to it), that's the one. It's like screwing with "Light My Fire." You just don't do it.
Likewise, "Simple Sister," a guitar powered near-hit for Procol Harum from the Trower days is done no favors by a female choir singing the words "Simple Sister" at exactly the moments where the guitar should be out front and center.
The bonus material here is pretty danged cool though — a six-song set filmed for a Danish TV special in 1974 that actually reminds you these guys once knew how to rock. And that people could actually smoke in a bar way back then.
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