22 June 1967
Ghostly organ riffing on Bach; impenetrable lyrics referencing Chaucer: would you call ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ pretentious? Well, John Lennon was drawing on Edward Lear and the Tibetan Book Of The Dead; The Byrds had a smash hit with Pete Seeger’s folk setting of a chapter from the Bible; Mick Jagger would shortly base one of the most famous Stones tracks on The Master And Margarita. Okay, compared to those illustrious peers Procol Harum’s light fandango and sixteen vestal virgins are a bit naff and Dylanesque, the latter a derogatory term in my vocabulary. Still, those were the prevailing winds through this new-fangled rock music of the time.
Beyond the fame of its musical hook and wordy words, there isn’t much else to this. After the first verse and chorus we’re retreading the same ground again for lap two. However, what wins my favour is how, at heart, ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ is the ’60s ‘Too Shy’ by Kajagoogoo, and that’s a compliment. Hear me out. That airy organ and those vague lyrics combine with Gary Brooker’s soulful vocal line to conjure up a dreamy, aching, evocative atmosphere much like that ’80s slice of synth-shimmering nightclub heartache. What’s more, they’re both one-hit wonders without an obvious flair for naming a band.
Anyway, now that I’ve made sense of ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’, join me next time as I crack into Finnegans Wake.
