Song Review: Jake Shimabukuro and Mick Fleetwood - “Whiter Shade of Pale”
Putting a cover of “Whiter Shade of Pale” on an LP titled Blues Experience is misguided. And putting a bad cover of “Whiter Shade of Pale” on an LP titled Blues Experience is a complete misfire.
Yet that’s exactly what Jake Shimabukuro and Mick Fleetwood - who also left off the all-important “A” - intend to do with their instrumental remake of the Procol Harum track.
With backing from bassist Jackson Waldhoff and keyboardist Michael Grande - who plays as if Matthew Fisher never existed - electric ukulelist Shimabukuro and drummer Fleetwood recreate a ride on a lift as the former plays a dichotomous version of virtuosic Muzak and the latter acts simply as a timekeeper.
This missed opportunity follows “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” ahead of Blues Experience’s Oct. 18 arrival.
Grade card: Jake Shimabukuro and Mick Fleetwood - “Whiter Shade of Pale” - C-
Russell Mael de Sparks escoge sus canciones favoritas para The Line of Best Fit, y éste "T.V. Caesar" me ha llamado bastante la atención. Dice que por su anglofilia galopante Procol Harum era uno de los grupos que más le gustaban, tanto por música como por las letras de Keith Reid, y califica tanto a la canción como al grupo de pretenciosos en el buen sentido.
"Otra cosa que me gusta de esa canción es que, a partir de cierto punto, sigue repitiendo el estribillo. Lo juro, debe continuar durante tres minutos al final, donde simplemente se repite una y otra vez [canta]: “T.V. Caesar, Mighty Mouse / Obtiene el voto en todas las casas”. Es grande y grandiosa, y sí, pretenciosa, pero creo que también es muy conmovedora".
Two songs from the British Rock Symphony. First, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” with vocals by Gary Brooker the original singer from Procul Harum who died earlier this year. Second, Jumpin' Jack Flash with vocals by Darlene Love.
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A Whiter Shade of Pale
Music by Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher; Lyrics by Keith Reid
We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
And the waiter brought a tray
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale
She said, "There is no reason
And the truth is plain to see."
But I wandered through my playing cards
And they would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast
And although my eyes were open wide
They might have just as well been closed
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale
And so it was that later
__________________________
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Songwriters: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
I was born in a crossfire hurricane
And I howled at the mornin', drivin' rain
But it's all right now, in fact it's a gas
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash
It's a gas, gas, gas
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag
I was schooled with a strap right across my back
But it's all right now, in fact it's a gas
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash
It's a gas, gas, gas
Ooh!
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled
Yeah, yeah
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right through my head
My, my, yeah
But it's all right now, in fact it's a gas
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash
It's a gas, gas, gas
Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas
Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas
