Boomer Ballads: A Whiter Shade of Pale, live in Denmark 2006

I love Annie Lennox's version of WSP. The girl can sing. Just don't let her talk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZqPoriYXho

Posted by Fat Man at June 22, 2015 8:31 PM

A haunting dirge-like song. Great lyrics and the right instrumentation to carry it.
I'd listen to this song in varying stages of intoxication or junk-sick sober.
I cannot think of a better way to say good bye to a love lost.

It is better to love a woman and be disappointed than to eat your soup alone.
Take it from me, I've done both.

Posted by chasmatic at June 22, 2015 11:01 PM

Brooker still had the pipes after all those years. What a voice! That DVD is one worth owning.
Geoff Whitehorn's guitar work alone is a master class for any young guitarist interested in learning how to suit a solo to the material.

Posted by Mal at June 23, 2015 5:58 AM

Its a cool song that works well but I'll die not ever knowing what the heck it means.

Posted by Christopher Taylor at June 23, 2015 9:27 AM

Chris, I think the writer mentioned something about a love lost. A farewell song for the girl departing and his contemplations on how miserable he now is/will be.

Maybe if we were all stoned on psychotropic drugs we'd get it, shrug.

Posted by chasmatic at June 23, 2015 4:25 PM

I got it.

Posted by Van der Leun at June 23, 2015 7:12 PM

Just for fun, I plugged the lyrics into IBM's "Personality Insights Demonstration" analyzer, which works on samples of writing.

http://watson-um-demo.mybluemix.net/

Takeaway: Watson is pretty good at this. The day I get back "I love that song!" will be the day to worry.

Posted by Joe at June 23, 2015 8:12 PM

It is one of those songs I can forget until the next time I hear it. It doesn't whistle well.
Neither does Purple Haze. I can do most if that one except the drum solo.

Posted by chasmatic at June 24, 2015 8:35 AM

Got to see them twice; once with Trower on guitar and Fisher on the Hammond. The other time with Chris Copping on organ and Mick Gobham on guitar. First time was at the old New York pavilion at the '64/'65 world's fair grounds, second time at the Budkokan in Tokyo. Both performances were memorable. When Brooker hit the high note at the end of A Salty Dog, it gave one chills.
One of my all time favorite bands.

Posted by brinster at June 24, 2015 9:24 AM