Procol Harum, A Whiter Shade Of Pale - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction

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#virginrock #procolharum
I’ve been curious about this piece for a long time, and now I finally got to experience it!
Here’s the link to the original song:
• PROCOL HARUM - A White...
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
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Credits: Music written and performed by Procol Harum
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16 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 1 тыс.

@eugenehahn9355 2 месяца назад

You must watch/listen to their live performance from 2006 in Denmark with orchestra and choir backing. More emotionally impactful and moving than the original studio version. Most people end up teary. Thank you .

@ianbotha9912 2 месяца назад

That is a good version.

@VonBlade 2 месяца назад

Totally disagree. Without the Hammond Organ it's entirely gutless.

@diceau 2 месяца назад

yes it is such a beautiful version

@Sarvasaha 2 месяца назад

Oh, that oboe...

@ianbotha9912 2 месяца назад

@@VonBlade They have the Hammond organ in the 2006 version. Watch the video.

@vsmicer 2 месяца назад

The late Gary Brooker (the main songwriter and vocalist) was a good friend of mine, and I got to play this with him a few times (I'm a bassist). Gary was a lovely man...he started the music for this directly from Bach, but after 3 or 4 chords, forgot his way, and wrote what we now know. Under it all, is Gary's piano, which is often lost a bit in the mix, though there is an audiophile version that brings it into the heart of the piece, almost as well as the mastertapes. The amazing Hammond organ was played by Matthew Fisher, Gary's co-writer.

@JohnD-scaledecks 2 месяца назад

In classic literature, "a miller's tale" is a story of adultery of a wife against her husband. I see this as the story of a confrontation. Things were going great in their marriage (first verse) then the bomb drops that he knows as he lays it out - "as the Miller told his tale." As a result, "her face, at first just ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale." He asks, "Why?" And, "Is it true?" The second verse is her response. "She said there is no reason, and the truth is plain to see." He had his evidence all planned out. "So I wandered through my playing cards, and would not let her be." He loses his innocence (vestal virgins) and realizes he was blind to it all. "Although my eyes were open, they might just as well have been closed." To me, the descending walking bass is sadness, but the organ invokes comfort, acceptance, and hope for the future. I may be (and probably am) totally off, but that's what the lyrics speak to me. In that context it all makes sense. (The rare third and fourth verses fit well in this pattern, too.)

@davidheiser2225 2 месяца назад

I don't think you're off at all. This is the best explanation of this I've heard and it makes complete sense.

@gordonbrooks3856 2 месяца назад

Excellent interpretation. It doesn't diminish the song like most analysts do.

@ericminch 2 месяца назад

Well done. In the 50+ years since this song came out I haven’t heard a better explanation of the lyrics. Keith Reid is still alive, maybe he has said what the verses meant. And the lyricists for many prog or paraprog bands (Procol Harum, Yes, Moody Blues, King Crimson, Rush…..) have said more or less that they focus more on prosodics than semantics.

@kilgoretrout3966 2 месяца назад

You're only off a little. The Miller's Tale comes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Each of the Characters tells their tale. The Miller's Tale is most remembered because it is bawdy. i'll reserve my analysis of the song. i'm pretty sure i have its meaning down, and it is highly metaphorical, but would take too long to type. Just pay attention to small things such as "when we called out for another drink, the waiter brought a tray." So they asked for A drink, but were brought a full tray. There are lots of little phrases that point in another direction than its pure grammar, and all are to excess. "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor." Not gonna do the light dance, were turning cartwheels....ill stop there, but i think it has a very definite picture that is obscured by Gary Brooker's amazing lyricism.

@DerEchteBold 2 месяца назад

Wow, this makes perfect sense, much more than any occult nonsense people come up with just because of that vestal virgins line.

@shiva1742 2 месяца назад

I am 82 years old and I think I could listen to this every day. Thank you for finally getting around to it.

@jwelsje 2 месяца назад

I am 62 and when I play this song at parties, there is almost no roon left for people to dance.

@peterolbrisch8970 2 месяца назад

I fel sorry for you. Must be the age catching up. 🤘on.

@cspringer333 2 месяца назад

Procol Harum in Denmark 2006 has a full orchestra and choir. What's more amazing is his voice sounds the same decades later.

@oopswrongplanet4964 2 месяца назад

That is true, except his voice sounds even better, like aged brandy.

@tehluhlah 2 месяца назад

And the orchestra opens with the Air on a G string which makes it even more awesome to listen to!

@kschulwitz 2 месяца назад

Yes! The 2006 live version is way better, the best even. I wish Virgin Rock would listen and react to this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-St6jyEFe5WM.html&pp=ygUhd2hpdGVyIHNoYWRlIG9mIHBhbGUgMjAwNiBkZW5tYXJr

@НинадаТарапицца 2 месяца назад

Yepp, I am surprised she didn't react to that instead.

@alfonsioux 2 месяца назад

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-St6jyEFe5WM.html

@gwengoodwin3992 2 месяца назад

Let me be the first to mention the recording that Vlad no doubt already has queued up: the 2006 live performance that paired Procol Harum with the Danish National Concert Orchestra and choir at Ledreborg Castle. It is glorious. It is emotionally very satisfying to see Sir Harry Booker play piano and sing triumphantly with the orchestra and choir backing the original band.

@Grateful_Dad_54 2 месяца назад

Gary Brooker

@richdiddens4059 2 месяца назад

By playing the original first you can see how great is on its own. If you play Denmark 2006 first the original sounds like a cheap imitation.

@gerilarryogle970 2 месяца назад

Agree. I can't believe that you would not enjoy a richer orchestra performance with full percusion including kettle drums. This 2006 performance really emphases' what you are stating about the classical relationship of the melody.

@johnpublicprofile6261 2 месяца назад

And it has violins 😅

@charlesmarkley220 2 месяца назад

A young lady lost her life. A lament. Can't you see?

@jwelsje 2 месяца назад

I first started to play this song by ear in 1977, as a fifteen year old. It earned me a place in a band as the youngest ever member. Until today, when, as a 62 old, when I jam this song in bars, it stops people from drinking and they start to listen.

@falconquest2068 2 месяца назад

Awesome story!

@BR81-iv6lt 2 месяца назад

🤨

@Marnee4191 2 месяца назад

Which instrument?

@jwelsje 2 месяца назад

@@Marnee4191 I played the organ. It was a time when everybody wanted to play lead guitar and keyboard players were hard to find.

@peterolbrisch8970 2 месяца назад

Probably because they want to kill you.

@JohnRandall7 2 месяца назад

I wish you would react to "Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale, live in Denmark 2006". It's very good.

@djpj9174 2 месяца назад

Not just very good. By far the best version of the song.

@eh1702 2 месяца назад

His voice, the tonal quality and his phrasing, had just absolutely matured and flourished since the original recording.

@torbenanschau6641 2 месяца назад

But it clearly lacks the drive and spirit of the original. As Amy clearly pointed, the drums, bass etc. also play an important part to make it rock. It's still there in that concert but lacking something in my eyes. Especially Rhythm.

@allanwilson1103 2 месяца назад

@@djpj9174 I don't think it is a question of one version being better than the other, but I am sure Amy would find it interesting to compare the 2006 version to the original, particularly with Gary Brooker's orchestration for the Danish National Concert Orchestra and the development of Gary's singing voice from 1967 to 2006.

@kopynd1 2 месяца назад

prefer the original

@dmitrykazakov2829 2 месяца назад

I cannot even imagine something this great and complex could make into the charts these days. How deep we had fallen... 😶

@richdiddens4059 2 месяца назад

In response to the origin of the title he has said it was overheard at a cocktail party. Over the years they have given varying meanings to the song but one was that it described an evening in a bar trying to pick up a certain woman. Most recordings and performances only include the first two verses but they occasionally include a third verse and very rarely the fourth.

@richardgoddard37 2 месяца назад

There's still some fantastic music around, you've just got to look harder, as it's never played on the radio or TV. It's one of the benefits of the internet.

@vics8873 2 месяца назад

Everyone's favorite while tripping (including John Lennon's).

@ForCrynOutLoud 2 месяца назад

@dmitrykazakov2829 More like how shallow we have fallen.

@jontalbot1 2 месяца назад

Interesting point. I remember when it came out it was such a bomb. I have heard it so many times l almost don’t hear it

@OC35 2 месяца назад

At my 88 year old mother's request, this was played at her funeral.

@eh1702 2 месяца назад

It was played as my sister walked up the aisle back around 1973-4 - it was “their song” the slow dance that he first asked her to dance to. They’re still married, the happiest couple I know.

@AntonyBall-hm4jo 2 месяца назад

Well done mum - she had class!

@jwelsje 2 месяца назад

That is a touching story, I love it.

@jwelsje 2 месяца назад

@@scummins2922 Waaw! Two years later I was sitting beside the church organist, playing the same song at my aunts wedding.

@bradleyhart8475 2 месяца назад

I don't want to be a downer, but...in 1990 my sister put this song on "repeat"...took a handful of sleeping pills...and never woke up.😢

@michaelengland8299 2 месяца назад

I’m 73 years old and delighted that you shared your experience with Whiter Shade of Pale

@Upe-f9c 2 месяца назад

This is a song that you never get tired of, no mather how many times you´ve heard it.

@ulfnarverud1661 2 месяца назад

This is the best reaction/analysis of this song that I have seen. Well done!

@anthonychapman5552 2 месяца назад

Your joy when hearing various portions of the song is beautiful

@FABIO_MARTINSS 2 месяца назад

in 2006 Matthew Fischer, the procol harum organist who created the recurring organ melody, won in court the right to receive royalties from the song as co-author, since until then only lyricist Reid and Gary Brooker who composed the song's melody voice received. When asked why he had not filed the case sooner, he said that he had been told that he would not win the case. In my opinion, the organ part is as important as the song itself. When we remember this song, it is this blessed organ that comes to mind. According to Peter Frampton, this is the most beautiful ballad ever written. I agree with him and it was released the year I was born, 1967

@torbenanschau6641 2 месяца назад

Right. The Song wouldn't be anything without the Hammond. Even played with violin it wouldn't have been that impactful. Don't forget, in 1967 the Hammond was still quite a new instrument, especially in England and in Rockmusic. Jon Lord and Deep Purple came a little bit later, the Beatles and most other english Rockbands didn't use the Hammond that much yet. Maybe Steve Winwood in the Spencer Davis Group already used it by then. It was more a thing of Jazz and Soul up to this time. And most other electrical instruments just were coming into the scene, like the Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet and Continental Vox/Farfisa. Out of these, the Hammond was the most expensive one and quite a legend. Now it sounds ancient and with its warmth, especially in this song.While easily playable, it's certainly one of the most remakable Hammond parts in any music.

@g.e.5723 2 месяца назад

The Organ is the ONLY reason one, ( certainly myself), is immediately drawn to "pay attention" to the lyrics/tune.

@mojobag01 2 месяца назад

Frampton is not alone. He has members of The Beatles and Black Sabbath in support.

@rosewoodsteel6656 2 месяца назад

I believe I heard that he lost on appeal. Anyone else hear that?

@nyobunknown6983 2 месяца назад

Fischer's organ part is what makes the song special.

@kencawley3121 2 месяца назад

I don't think I've seen you as excited by a piece of music as this. Love seeing the joy you received from it.

@Steve-q6l4v 3 дня назад

I was 10 when this song came out, knew nothing about music, but i knew this was a classic, not to be forgotten song. Thanks Amy great job as usual.

@andrewobrien6671 2 месяца назад

Glad you noticed the drumming on this. Excellent from the drummer. It makes it so much more impactful.

@arimakiaho2960 2 месяца назад

Yes

@paulw2996 2 месяца назад

The drummer on this version is BJ Wilson. The original with Bill Eyden is far superior.

@Bassman2353 2 месяца назад

This song was released on Procol Harem's debut album May 12, 1967. The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper was released literally two weeks later, May 26. To have been alive at that time was to experience an absolute revolution in music. John Lennon couldn't stop playing it. Ringo, when complemented on the Beatles' accomplishment, made a point of saying "whiter Shade of Pale" was the best song released that year.

@alansmith1989 2 месяца назад

For me too it was `best of the year` Just a shame that it wasn`t quite top UK sales champion of 1967- but over 800.00 (In 67) was still pretty good going.

@mainstreetphotos2653 2 месяца назад

The song isn't on their UK debut album. It was included on the US debut album (replacing Good Captain Clack) which was released four months later.

2 месяца назад

1967 was the zenith of creative music. More great songs were released in that year than any other.

@giabgr 2 месяца назад

Later pressings included it, but it wasn't originally on the debut album.

@hughjarrett4736 2 месяца назад

P. Harum 😉

@nhmaze 2 месяца назад

Peter Frampton says this is the greatest song ever written.

@Doo_Doo_Patrol 2 месяца назад

well, if peter frampton says so.

@Carlshanks-p1d 2 месяца назад

What do you or Peter Frampton know about music? I know for a fact you've spent your entire adult life farting endlessly into easy chairs and munching on stale nachos.

@Doo_Doo_Patrol 2 месяца назад

@@Carlshanks-p1d That is somewhat strange. Why stale nachos. I can afford fresh nachos.

@davidrauh8118 2 месяца назад

Just to reiterate that you must listen to the 2006 Live recording in Denmark with orchestra and choir. Gary Brooker's voice was like a fine wine that had aged for the better. Amazing.

@davidshattock9522 2 месяца назад

Went out like great boxer still full of power even in advanced.years .RIP

@eh1702 2 месяца назад

I never really noticed this before, but he must have worked on his voice massively over the decades. By the time of the live performance in Denmark, it’s more mature/ mellow/coloratura, more physically powerful - and the phrasing is so much more subtle and accomplished.

@dirkjanriezebos2240 2 месяца назад

Also close microphone techniques in the 60s resulted in a slightly harsher sound.

@eh1702 2 месяца назад

@@dirkjanriezebos2240 Yes. But just the same, we’re comparing a live performance with the earlier studio recording/mixing.

@johnwest7993 2 месяца назад

The drums are essentially what makes this song a rock tune. They draw the song into present day music.

@JJDSports2012 2 месяца назад

Really perceptive point.

@peterolbrisch8970 2 месяца назад

Nothing makes this rock.

@marasmusine 2 месяца назад

@@peterolbrisch8970 If these drums don't rock, then they at least roll.

@peterolbrisch8970 2 месяца назад

@@marasmusine It's a dirge. It's funeral music. It's for dead people.

@cliffstone71 2 месяца назад

Bach was the first rocker and has influenced many rock artists in the 20th century

@Doo_Doo_Patrol 2 месяца назад

bach was not a rocker. i took a whole college course on bach and can assure you that he was anything but.

@stephensmith3111 2 месяца назад

". . . compared to Bach, man, we all suck." -- Pat Metheny

@Doo_Doo_Patrol 2 месяца назад

@@stephensmith3111 Metheny is wrong. I love Bach, but there are many, many other things that don't suck: Dvorjak, Grieg, Albinoni, Pachelbel, Wagner, Schoenberg, Sibelius...I don't have all night.

@stephensmith3111 2 месяца назад

@@Doo_Doo_Patrol It's still an amusing quote. It's one man's opinion; but given Pat Metheny's formidable chops as both a composer and performer, I will not dismiss it. Besides once these levels of excellence are achieved, arguing who's better, who's best becomes kind of moot.

@Doo_Doo_Patrol 2 месяца назад

i agree to a point, but still, i don't consider either bach or metheny to be rock.

@michaelfrank2266 2 месяца назад

I've watched many reviews of this song by others on YT and I still learned something today. Thank you Amy.

@stephensmith3111 2 месяца назад

That Hammond organ line became hardwired into my synapses decades ago. It is also my go to when I have an annoying tune stuck in my head. The best way to kill an ear worm is with another superior ear worm. And this one is glorious.

@squ34ky 2 месяца назад

The organ sound is also piped into a device called a "Leslie speaker" which has a rotating drum/baffle that adds a shimmering quality to it. You could particularly hear it during the "and so it was..." section, if you listen closely.

@lynby6231 2 месяца назад

Very evocative song, and yes the Leslie rotary cabinets add the right ambience

@andreg751 2 месяца назад

Please listen to the South African 60's rock bank doing "Tchaikovsky One" playing a Fender Strat through a "Leslie Speaker". Amazing classical piece converted to ROCK. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-h7NX3qQe2yA.html

@vodkaman1970 2 месяца назад

The original Leslies only had 2 speeds slow and fast and being mechanical didn't jump instantly. You can hear how he switches on the fast speed as he does the gliss running his hands along the keys to land on that big crescendo chord and then lets it slow down again for the low key "turned a whiter shade of pale" line. It works so well to give that effect of a shock that leaves you pale.

@shiva1742 2 месяца назад

@@squ34ky Eric Clapton also used a Leslie speaker.

@otterspocket2826 2 месяца назад

The Leslie switches in at that point (and so it was...), and out again for the second half of the chorus

@mpmlopes 2 месяца назад

I've read the comments and I know a lot of people already mentioned the 2006 Denmark performance, but I really wanted to add my voice to the choir of people recommending it, it really is something else.

@angelatheriault8855 2 месяца назад

This song is just gorgeous. I still don’t understand what it is about it that makes me tear up every single time I listen to it.

@EmmaPeelman 2 месяца назад

Same here...

@pamelahugh4 2 месяца назад

Yup, every time. Kind of embarrassing if you're not alone!

@babjikarri4432 Месяц назад

Angela dear, it's nostalgia for a time that has gone forever that makes you tear up, the music from that era engenders visceral feelings within us that we can't put into words, hence, the tears.

@thomassharmer7127 2 месяца назад

The drums are creating the energy and forward momentum with all those little traps and fills, almost like the singer catching his breath between all these complex images and lines of thought. They also bring variety and an element of improvisation as the rest of the instruments hold to a fairly stately and elegantly steady score (apart from the important organ swells).

@paulw2996 2 месяца назад

This isn't the commercial release, but the one with BJ Wilson on drums. The commercial release is the far superior one.

@chriseckert613 2 месяца назад

Nights in White Satin released the same year might be a good one to check out soon. This song could be considered loosely related in time period and genre, although it is even more melodramatic. It has the sound of a movie soundtrack than a classical piece to me. When / if you get to this song, it's the album version or a live performance that will give you the full effect of the song. The single version was chopped in half. There is an interesting story about how the single version was not a major hit, but album version became a sensation 5 years after the release.

@jamesredman1263 2 месяца назад

I lived near Nashville TN in the early 70s, and a dj at the FM rock station absolutely adored the Moody Blues. So we got them quite often.

@user-ky6vw5up9m 2 месяца назад

What a delight to see Amy do this .

@jeffreypowell1656 2 месяца назад

You are so good at what you do!

@Ki11erAce 2 месяца назад

I did not see this coming today. What a great choice. Thanks for making my day, Amy.

@JacobSprenger 2 месяца назад

"Conquistador" and "Homburg" are great Procol Harum songs, too. I was born in '80, but I found a vinyl featuring these three songs in a heap once left to me by a neighbour. One of my most used vinyls in there. That one beige live album by Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, too. Procol Harum may have done their part in making the Hammond Organ my favourite instrument.

@robertwilloughby8050 2 месяца назад

There's the classic "Shine On Brightly" which should have been a MASSIVE hit.... but strangely wasn't.

@EmmaPeelman 2 месяца назад

What a superb and revealing, educational reaction to this wonderful composition. I loved the "digression" into Pachelbel and the original air from Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D. Oh, and the analysis of the organ line reproduced on that beautiful harp... The one little niggle was the comment about the voice being unremarkable but fitting (true!") for this piece. I think the late and great Gary Brooker had a wonderful voice, so I wholly support the suggestion that Amy would do well to listen to the 2006 live version with the choir in Denmark as well. Thank you very much, Amy!

@scottmoquin 2 месяца назад

Amy, you're musical knowledge is awesome! I could listen to your explanations all day.

@hollowslayed4979 2 месяца назад

Glad you’ve done this one! Wuthering heights next please.

@dianefiske-foy4717 2 месяца назад

Yes!

@69Mucci 2 месяца назад

I have always loved this song. It has a very mysterious quality to it. Another song that was an influence on this one was When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge. It's almost like a combination of the Bach piece and that song, so you should check out that one too. A combination of baroque with a very soulful vocal laid on top. John Lennon was a big fan of the song when it came out.

@zredband 2 месяца назад

Okay, this is the kind of commentary I came here for. Thank you for teaching me new ways to love and enjoy one of my favorite songs. Also, all of their music is wonderful, I'd love for you to hear "Salty Dog" as well .

@Johnny_Socko 2 месяца назад

I think this is my favorite video that she's ever done. This was the perfect song for her to analyze (and for us to listen to).

@thumbygreen 2 месяца назад

ah yes a salty dog great tune.

@EmmaPeelman 2 месяца назад

Oh yes!!!

@jackscotto1780 2 месяца назад

The live version in Denmark touches your heart

@billbaker9623 2 месяца назад

Thank you for your analysis relating this piece to Bach's Aire on a G String. It's given me a deeper appreciation of the song. The importance of the Hammond B3 organ with the Leslie speaker cannot be overstated. If you have not already seen it, I would strongly suggest that you watch the 2006 performance at Ledreborg Castle with the Danish National Concert Orchestra and Chorus. It will bring tears to your eyes.

@JacoWium 2 месяца назад

I wasn't even aware of the effect of the Leslie speaker until today, visiting this comment section. It's given my ears a new delight to focus on within such a familiar piece of music. Sometimes, the internet is useful for something!

@ryobiify 21 день назад

It's amazing that you can fall in love with someone that you've never met.

@41Forethought 2 месяца назад

Another excellent review, Amy. The vocal and organ countermelodies blew this 16 year old's mind back in '67 and still impresses nearly 60 years on. However, I never realized how important a part the percussion played in linking the two melodies. I've been a fan of Procol Harum ever since A Whiter Shade of Pale was released. I saw them perform on a Friday night in 1967 at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom during the band's first U.S. tour. (BTW, Pink Floyd was the opening act that night!) Thank you again, Amy, for showing me and others a whole new way of understanding an old favorite!

@Sycophantichallenger Месяц назад

Every time I come across one of your videos I'm struck by your passion and if you'll excuse the sentiment, your beauty. I wish you fulfillment, comfort and love. Please keep displaying your passion.

@MichaelWarchol 2 месяца назад

As always, Amy. a perceptive review. I love the majestic quality that the organ and vocals bring to this song. If you found this piece interesting, I suggest that you seek out a song called “Nights In White Satin” by a group called The Moody Blues.

@goosebump801 2 месяца назад

Oh, yes please!

@Johnny_Socko 2 месяца назад

I thought the exact same thing when watching this video! I would love for her to do the full album version of Nights in White Satin.

@falconquest2068 2 месяца назад

"As the Miller told his tale..." This song brings a tear to my eye every single time I hear it. It doesn't matter what the lyrics mean. I believe lyrics should mean whatever you individually want them to mean. Music is very much an individual experience in that way.

@philparmenter53 2 месяца назад

The millers tale - part of Geoffrey Chaucers' Canterbury Tales

@JacoWium 2 месяца назад

Agreed. It is quite the same with poetry. The poet wrote the poem with a certain intent, but in terms of its meaning, the poem ultimately belongs to the reader as soon as it is delivered in print. I don't mean it in the sense of the poet not owning the copyright or anything, but rather that the reader may capture an essence of the words that are personal and perhaps unique - which the author cannot deny to the reader. Stating the obvious, but that is why music, poetry and other forms of art move different people in different ways (which oddly, the creator has no control over).

@gibbonmountainchronicles6367 2 месяца назад

First time I came across your channel. This was an amazing experience. I've listened to this song since I was a kid but only now did I "hear" more of it's beauty and complexity thru your analysis. Thank you.

@T-bone1950 2 месяца назад

Dear Amy, I just remembered something. If you want to hear this song with just the organ and voice, watch the movie "THE COMMITMENTS ". Around the middle of the film someone is practicing the song after hours on a church organ, although with wrong lyrics. I think you will enjoy this entire film about young people in Ireland trying to form an R&B band. The story is great and the music is fantastic, IMO.

@lamarbush2873 Месяц назад

Thanks! Adorable. Charming. Joyful.🎉

@SeppoHiltunen 2 месяца назад

Thank you for your review! If you continue digging in to Procol Harum, I suggest "Salty Dog"!

@stephpaynes 18 дней назад

It was a great track to dance with. None of us knew what the lyrics were about or cared. But the music was good to smooch to. 1968 played everywhere in England

@shyshift 2 месяца назад

A Salty Dog is their best song ever. It starts with a C#-5 and ends with the same chord. The progression in between is genius.

@alanmatthews9945 2 месяца назад

Completely agree. A Salty Dog is my favourite song from anyone. It's as an aural drama, taking me on a magical voyage......A masterpiece.

@KitPepper 2 месяца назад

This is an outstanding video and I really enjoy and appreciate your attention to every detail in the piece. The triplet at 26:00 that you mentioned, I would describe as the moment in the song where the music almost steps out of it's set mode and becomes human in the emotional sense. Like a heaving of breath to let out the anguish in full force before getting back in step. It's a very "rock thing". Thanks for featuring this great tune. This is without a doubt one of my favorite pop songs of all time.

@davidjones6389 2 месяца назад

This was very special to watch. Thank you.

@jeanmarieboucherit7376 2 месяца назад

One of the best songs ever.

@artistjoh 2 месяца назад

Thank you so very much for your analysis/appreciation for the musical elements of this composition. As a psychedelic poet I have always focused on the words. It is a poetic exploration of seduction and making love in metaphors. It is in itself, a marvelous poem. I love how it has allusions to Chaucer and classical mythology without crushing the allegorical nature of the work. It is deft, and ever so accessible. Having discovered this masterpiece, it will never leave you. Welcome to decades of people who have become entwined in its magic. Now you know why it was placed alongside Queen's masterpiece.

@edwardrutledge2765 2 месяца назад

This song has aged so well; hopefully forever.

@epiphanydrums5427 2 месяца назад

The beginning of classical rock, as we began to call it. I saw them live at Loretta heights college field house in Denver, early 70’s. The drummer was the first hard hitter that I had ever seen. I grew up musically a little that night that I watched him ferociously and solidly attack the drums. I had a lot to learn.

@c128stuff 2 месяца назад

It was such a joy seeing you listen to this, and hearing your comments on this. I have nothing to add to your comments, other than this song having moved me and with me lots of people for as long as I have known the song, which is essentially my entire life.

@davidrauh8118 2 месяца назад

Originally it was recorded in mono. This is a re-recording in stereo for their first album. The piano is almost absent and the drumming is different by BJ Wilson.

@albertwallace5060 2 месяца назад

And the mono (as always, up to late 1968) sounds remarkably better. All music of this time was produced for mono pleasure first.

@jonathan.palfrey 2 месяца назад

Thank you. That explains why this performance doesn’t sound quite right to me.

@MacXpert74 2 месяца назад

Right, I was just thinking this is not the original recording. The organ part is a bit different in the original recording. I like the playing in the original more personally.

@MacXpert74 2 месяца назад

@@albertwallace5060 Yeah, I think this re-recording sounds a bit too 'clean' and lacks a little of the 'grit' in the organ sound that's in the original recording. The original just sounds more powerful to me.

@jamesrowe3606 2 месяца назад

I wish they wouldn't try to improve on classic original recordings. As with The Beatles, many hit songs in the 60s were recorded in mono because that was the tech available at the time. They were written and produced for that format and frankly, the many stereofied and remixed versions of those songs lose some of their original magic for me. This version of WSOP doesn't feel like an improvement and it left me slightly cold. Having said that, I very much enjoyed and appreciated Amy's deconstruction and analysis of it. She certainly knows her stuff.

@szaki Месяц назад

I must've been 13-14 when I first heard this song in the late 60s, growing up in Eastern Europe in a small town. One time, doing my routine bicycle rides, stopped by the local restaurant/salon which had juke-box inside. Threw some coin into the Juke-box, I guess pressed the wrong button and this song -Turned Whiter Shade Pale- was playing. I was blown away by it! Put more coins in and played it many more times. Later, every time I stopped by for ice-cream, I had to listen to this song! It gives me wonderful child hood memories. 😪😄😁

@andyeunson270 2 месяца назад

That consistent base line is a great foundation to this song. Base doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It’s like a house. People see the architecture, see the siding and paint, landscaping etc. no one ever says "Nice foundation" but you better have one. Base might be kind of background but so crucial.

@mrmcphilsconfidential8562 2 месяца назад

First started actively listening to rock music in 1967. This song has always been one of the most heart-rending, soft delivery of slow emotional gymnastics. It reached deep enough to touch my autistically distant heart.

@kenrundle4225 2 месяца назад

It's worth remembering that through the fifties and sixties there were no "wireless" programmes really aimed at the post war, newly emerging UK teenagers. BBC ruled , with no commercial competition apart from Stations aimed at US forces overseas and a very faint and hissy Radio Luxembourg. So many of the UK Rock/Pop "legends" in their seventies and eighties today only had "Children's Favourites" on a Saturday morning. A show presented by a very formal sounding "Uncle Mac" who played gramophone records the BBC regarded as suitable for young ears. By luck he happened to be a blues fan ( at that time Jazz based) so , as Eric Clapton and Keith Richards have said in interviews, managed to slip in the odd track by Sonny Boy Williamson etc. However a good deal of the material broadcast was classical ( eg Vienna Boys Choir, Handel's Water Music, Trumpet Voluntary etc) so the future founders of the rock industry all had a background of hearing classical music no matter how much it represented what they were rebelling against. So every now and then it does colour modern writing. As well as being forced to listen to it at school with music appreciation classes. So different now where whole generations grow up in UK and USA only hearing one kind of music via streamed delivery.

@mauriziomoretti5392 2 месяца назад

So refreshing. One of the best analysis and comment of this masterpiece. If I may add: JSB should be credited amongst the authors, wouldn't have to pay any royalties anyway, JSB died almost 300 years ago. Whiter Shade of Pale to me demonstrates how great music is immortal. The practical demonstration of how the JSB lessons on harmony, tonal centre, counterpoint, reverse canon, melody superposition, etc., is alive and kicking, so much so that rock music can borrow from it and revive those concepts in a modern masterpiece. This ain't plagiarism, Procol Harum just paid respect and a huge tribute to one of the funding fathers (if not THE founding Father) of Western Classical Music. PS: yes I know I know, I should have written Western WHITE Classical Music rooting into the late feudal Judaic-Christian culture, and blah blah... and, btw, for anyone interested on how the original JSB Air on the G string and Whiter Shade of Pale sound like, when juxtaposed, here is an interesting rendering: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kpTU0lJ5PYU.html and the Procol Harum 2006 concert in Denmark, quoted in other comments, where you can experience the first part of Whiter Shade of Pale WITHOUT drums (and the second, when the "60 vestal virgins are leaving for the coast" and the choir kicks in... goosebumps like there's no tomorrows): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-St6jyEFe5WM.html

@unfilthy 2 месяца назад

Thanks to Amy, I find myself considering the role the drums play in this song, instead of taking it for granted, which is probably normal, considering this song was written before I was born and so was always part of my background music, so of course it was the way it was, but I'm enjoying this fresh perspective. To me, the drums have a marching/martial flavor to them, and somehow that works to both add to the forward momentum of the song (working with the rockiness without overwhelming the music), and at the same time, the type of "ornamentation" of this style of drumming echoes/complements the Baroque stylings from the organ. I think the drummer did a great job integrating a restrained (but not insignificant or dull) support to the other instruments (including voice). Thank you, Amy, for making me think about it.

@jenniferwettervik4495 Месяц назад

Oh jeez... My grandpa ALWAYS played this song on his electric organ at home, and about 1,5 years ago I got to hear it played on the church organ at his funeral. Everyone cried. Makes me so emotional.

@peterglynn2128 2 месяца назад

Procol Harum. Whiter shade of pale. Absolute Classic !!

@antonythurston299 Месяц назад

A great explanation, thank you! The phrasing that you refer to liking in the 28th minute comes from Bach’s “Sleepers, Wake!” You knew this already and I am sure it was on the tip of your tongue! Keep up the fantastic analysis.

@altair8598 2 месяца назад

Instant click on seeing your choice today! Was going to suggest Brooker's 2006 Denmark performance which was outstanding. I love every element of this song even more since your review - have previously paid little attention to the restrained percussion.Thanks!

@SamZug-n5q Месяц назад

I'm happy you recognize Wilson's contribution on drums. I'm a longtime Procol Harum fan, and I think Wilson is rock's most under-rated drummer. He never over does it, but frames the music perfectly.

@DavidSmith-wd4mx 2 месяца назад

Gary's voice just got better and better over the years.

@kylelooper2156 Месяц назад

That was one of the most informative reactions I've seen to any song, ever. Maybe it was the perfect intersection of subject and interest, but your enjoyment of the song really increased my enjoyment of the song, which I've always liked and have heard hundreds of times. The lyrics of the song don't tell a complete story, but I believe that there's a story there. I think the story takes place on a cruise ship. It's the story of a fling between the lyricist and a young passenger on the ship, likely a virgin. Maybe the band was getting a free holiday for performing on the ship. The mood is one of youthful exuberance, romance, and alcoholic intoxication. The sexual consummation is implied with having his eyes open, though they may as well have been closed. (Does this connote a guilty conscience?) The point of the song, though, is that the tryst becomes known. A "miller" tells the tale (The Miller's Tale" is a ribald tale by Geoffrey Chaucer about forbidden sexual exploits.) That's when the young woman's face turns "a whiter shade of pale." The loss of her virginity is known, and she has to face the consequences to her reputation. The Summer of Love, when this song came out, was a rejection of Victorian sexual mores, which caused the young woman to feel less than or damaged for having it be known that she had experienced a sexual tryst outside of and prior to the bounds of marriage. Maybe it's the lyricist himself who told the tale and caused the damage. That would explain why the story is left so ambiguous and couched in allusion and myth. He feels guilty for having caused the damage to her reputation, and the mythology is just protecting himself. You rightly point out that the vocal climax of the song revolve around the words "And so it was later." The point isn't that the tryst occurred. It was that it was gossiped about. And the effect was that "her face, already ghostly" (maybe she was avoiding him) "turned a whiter shade of pale." The lyrics and the music are both couched in the same classicism, and the overall effect can only be described as ethereal. You feel like something profound is happening, like a religious experience, but the lyrics and story seem almost banal. It's a perfect tension.

@farnaud33 2 месяца назад

Thank you so much for this in depth analysis of this monster of a song. There's more to Procol Harum than this, I'm thinking 'A salty Dog', 'Homburg' on the same period , or 'Grand Hotel' which came later and, to my mind, is also a monster of a song.

@rosewoodsteel6656 2 месяца назад

I'm glad you touched upon the lyrics. To me the imagery of the words are just as important as the music and they work so well together.

@glennstach4439 2 месяца назад

Late 60' s and 70's Music is the BEST simply because of the ORGAN !!! MUSIC since then always seems to be MISSING something !!! 🤔😩 ✌🖖🍁🌻💛💙🇺🇦

@davidbutcher5295 2 месяца назад

It's a stunning song/piece of music, overwhelming and uplifting at the same time and Keith Reid's lyrics cannot be easily dismissed in the same way that part of the fascination of Steely Dan is their enigmatic verse. I can see Gary Brooker up there sitting down with Bach and saying 'well this is a Hammond 3C and had you been born 300 years later.... My father, back in 1964, used to say yes but these songs have not stood the test of time and yet here we are some 60 years later discussing this one and Bach nodding with approval

@blechtic 2 месяца назад

It's not just the drums. Once again, it's the classic rock thing that the rhythm section, i.e. drums and bass, is the pumping heart, the driving force, the center of the song.

@Johro66 2 месяца назад

Great reaction! And yes absolutely the drums are key in all of this

@pablolara797 2 месяца назад

It is interesting to check the hit charts. There was a so-called old european wave of German-speaking musicians Inspired by the success of the Whiter Shade, Johann tried his luck in 1972 and reached, with Joy, the number 6 in the USA. Two years before, and after 39 attempts, "Wolfie" Amadeus reached rank 10 in Europe and 67 in USA. In 1972, a certain Gustav Mahler surpassed Wolfie by conquering rank 6 in USA. Finally, in 1976, and with the help of 757 ml spirit, Ludwig B. got the desired number 1, and for a whole week.

@Wuppie62 Месяц назад

The memories...Imagine the millions of teenagers (me being one of them) and people who were in love who slow-danced in a close embrace to this tune.. I can still remember the scent and the butterflies of those first romantic encounters. :)

@antidote7 2 месяца назад

Drums definitely add feel, a vibe that is flowing, not rigid.

@Gr3g3r9 2 месяца назад

Gary Brooker had one of the most "natural" voices in rock. I love his contribution to "a concert for George". Old brown shoe is absolutely excellent. Wonderful man.

@netuno60 2 месяца назад

Great song. Very well inspired. Thank you for your analysis, Amy.

@goodviewfromuphere120 2 месяца назад

Haven't listened to it for years and the emotion it invokes takes me right back.

@kimn9802 2 месяца назад

Possibly the most melancholic tune in the history of popular music. Timeless.

@silgen 2 месяца назад

Have a listen to "Who Know Where The Time Goes?" by Fairport Convention. All a matter of opinion, of course, but that's where my money would be.

@glennkonklin2926 2 месяца назад

Nights in White Satin?

@Xiroi87 2 месяца назад

Time, The Alan Parsons Project

@kimn9802 2 месяца назад

@@silgen Know the song extremely well. Check out When I was on Horseback by Steeleye Span. Haunting and sad but brilliant.

@VeggieGamer 2 месяца назад

Absolutely love this song, and seeing you break it down while reacting to it was wonderful! :)

@ianbotha9912 2 месяца назад

In the same vein you have the Moody Blues with Knights in White Satin and Forever Autumn.

@berwynjones7073 2 месяца назад

Nights. Justin Hayward wrote the song on the break-up with a girlfriend. He’d probably have been a little alarmed to encounter knights in white satin.

@TimvanderLeeuw 2 месяца назад

Seconding this recommendation - came here to suggest the same! The whole album Days of Future Past is a must-listen, I would say.

@seajaytea9340 2 месяца назад

My thoughts as well. This is a great reaction and analysis. Amy is now primed to listen to Days of Future Passed. Another step in the arranged Rock and Classical marriage. All leading to the Prog music of Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis, ELP, and so much more.

@garymaidman625 2 месяца назад

It's actually Nights in White Satin, not Knights. Also, Forever Autumn isn't a Moody Blues song, he released it as a solo single after performing it on the War of the Worlds album.

@paulqueripel3493 2 месяца назад

@@garymaidman625 Jeff Wayne originally wrote it for a Lego commercial.

@xers999 Месяц назад

I bet this song will be played and appreciated by many 100 years from now.

@markspooner1224 2 месяца назад

Air on the G String was used in a famous TV advert 'Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet' in Britain from 1966 to 1991 so it was already in the publics consciousness.

@philparmenter53 2 месяца назад

I was going to type that, so you saved me the effort. Thanks

@markspooner1224 2 месяца назад

@@philparmenter53 I didn't go through the 200 odd comments to make sure it hadn't already been said so I'm relieved, thank you too.

@digitig 2 месяца назад

In the Jacques Loussier Trio jazz arrangement, of course.

@GoodForYou4504 2 месяца назад

This song has been on my playlist, in many forms, since I was a teen. Had it as an album, mix cassette, song list cd, napster, and then just a youtube playlist that I listen to when I'm in the mood for old music. What I find great is that I hear the words in different ways through the decades that I've aged. But all worked and were right!

@deryabak6266 2 месяца назад

Fun fact: this was the „song“ of Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman as it was playing the night they started dating in a club in London 🙃

@kphedges1 2 месяца назад

Thank you for such a beautiful and enthusiastic examination of this lovely piece of music, I hung on and agreed with every word you said, an absolutely amazing description.

@garycameron8167 2 месяца назад

None other than John Lennon said it was one of his favorite songs of the 60s

@Doo_Doo_Patrol 2 месяца назад

so what. that guy was a flake.

@timrussell9869 2 месяца назад

@@Doo_Doo_Patrol Not as big a flake as you though....

@Doo_Doo_Patrol 2 месяца назад

@@timrussell9869 I'm still alive though.

@timrussell9869 2 месяца назад

@@Doo_Doo_Patrol I'm not sure how. Surprised your brain has enough power to trigger a breathing response....

@Doo_Doo_Patrol 2 месяца назад

@@timrussell9869 Are you one of the peaceful loving hippies imagining no heaven? I wish you faith and hope, and you wish me dead. Turn in your Lennon card. The guy was a woman abuser lemon. I remember when he was plugged, and my US government teacher asked the class who this John Lemon fellow is.

@paulg123 2 месяца назад

I just subscribed. This is a wonderful, deep analysis of a true classic. I agree, that the restlessness of the drums and the calming of the organ are perfectly and beautifully put together in a balanced and unique way. Your reactions and detailed study of these classics are amazing!

@vodkaman1970 2 месяца назад

When I think of Hammond organ, this and Deep Purple are what I think of first.

@DennisMurphey 2 месяца назад

I was so glad to see you address this music. Once again you put structure to my feelings and thoughts regarding this song. I recall hearing in when i was in college and it was so mellow and relaxing. Never figured out what the words meant but the music as you point is relaxing like a wave with the organ holding the long notes drums tapping in backgrounds you covered all the reasons why this song has staying power, and is in most Boomers archive for ever. Thank You so much for sharing you wonderful enthusiasm and expressions of joy and glee when you recognize a classis thread in the song. You are a real treat to watch, and listen to, Thanks, D

@michaelsnelling2918 2 месяца назад

the voice melody is more or less suspended in mid air … never noticed that until you pointed it out … masterefull example of simplicity embracing complexity

@evilpenguinmas 2 месяца назад

"Simplicity embracing complexity" is perhaps the best single phrase description of baroque music in general and Bach in particular I have ever heard.

@marcusrawlinson5024 2 месяца назад

Oh wow, you are so right in your breakdown of this wonderful piece and I really love your appreciation of the drumming which isn't forward but is crucial for the integrity of the music, classy work.