From: "Stephen Moore" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, April 16, 2004 11:26 PM Subject: Re: ok, now I'm cool
> Doug Brewer wrote: > > I am the proud owner of an *istD. Just a few questions. > <<snip>> > > 5.) Who was the guitar player on "Whiter Shade of Pale?" > > I do believe it was Robin Trower. Not a bad guess, but it wasn't. Robin Trower joined the band after the record was released and already had become a hit in 1967. Whatever guitar playing there is on AWSoP (I assume we're talking about the original recording) would have been played by one Ray Royer, whom Robin Trower soon was to replace. However, the one question on Whiter Shade of Pale that I for many, many years was trying to get an answer to was: - Who did that great drum playing on "Whiter Shade of Pale"? In my opinion it is some of the greatest slow tempo rock drum playing there is of that era. I often use it for an example for any drummer to study. Basic, kind of restrained (not flashy) but with a kind of pulsating steady swing to it, which is not that easy to accomplish at such a slow tempo and which - very much overlooked in my opinion - contributed to the overall feeling and success of this late sixties rock classic. If you happen to have this recording in your collection - why don't you give it another listen and concentrate solely on the drum playing. Maybe you'll agree and find the same joy that I have found in it. Early on I learned that, for the recording, the original drummer was replaced by a session drummer, but I knever knew his name. Well finally, through the Procol Harum equivalent of the Pentax net community, I learned that his name is Bill Eyden, a British jazz drummer who also played on three Georgie Fame albums 1966-68, including the hit "Yeah, Yeah", as well as with other jazz artists like Sonny Stitt and others around the Ronnie Scott's jazz club scene. Lasse
