RIP Keith Reid

[JayDee]

What a great song and possibly the best repurpose of a classical melody into a pop song ever. the lyrycist Keith Reid died yesterday at 76. the BBC said it was one of the most played song in the UK in the last 75 years

[Hlaalu]

For me that's the best "song" ever made period, where by "song" I mean anything other than classical pieces, jazz tunes, and the like. As far as "songs" go, this IS the best for me. Astonishingly simple, yet extraordinarily profound.

[JayDee]

For me that's the best "song" ever made period, where by "song" I mean anything other than classical pieces, jazz tunes, and the like. As far as "songs" go, this IS the best for me. Astonishingly simple, yet extraordinarily profound.

Absolutely - same for me.

R.I.P. Keith

[Hlaalu]

the BBC said it was one of the most played song in the UK in the last 75 years

By the way that must be 55 years, now 56... it's from 1967.

[JayDee]

Buongiorno Hlaalu,
sorry, I don‘t want to appear nitpicking but 75 may be correct if the last song which was played more than Whiter Shade of Pale was 76 years ago.

By the way, great song, as I see it mainly because of Matthew Fisher‘s organ theme.

R.I.P. Keith

Cheers from Germany

[Hlaalu]

75 may be correct if the last song which was played more than Whiter Shade of Pale was 76 years ago.

Maybe the OP was thinking of some other song, but that's not what his post says.

In any case, it's hard to think of a 75 yo song having any relationship with Keith Reid at all, since he must have been 1 year old at the time.

By the way, great song, as I see it mainly because of Matthew Fisher‘s organ theme.

Yeah that's what makes it great, right? Everything blends perfectly together: the sound, the simple structure, the lyrics... Of course the comparison with Air on G string always comes up, but I personally don't think of it as simply having ripped Bach off, but something more original in itself than just that.

Also, a different and longer version was reissued 50 years after the original release (it's on YT), but I prefer the original. The sound was less polished in the '67 version, but the mixing was more spot on, and the new version has constant drums fills in it that sound a bit overdone (tastes). The organ line itself that runs under the melody is a bit different too.

[Schorsch]

Of course the comparison with Air on G string always comes up, but I personally don't think of it as simply having ripped Bach off, but something more original in itself than just that.

Matt himself mentioned that he was inspired by Bach's "Air" when creating the intro for AWSOP.

The text written by Keith Reid is widely considered as enigmatic and even incomprehensible, and I am also struggling to get the meaning behind - but I'm not singing, just playing the organ part so I don't care much about the text

[Hlaalu]

Yes he said that and it's obvious from the harmony, at least the first descending part. But that doesn't mean he didn't create something on its own rights.

As for the lyrics, I don't understand them either (who does?!), but they nevertheless "speak". Or better, they do create some sort of picture. They're imaginative, like an abstract painting. They're not coherent in the sense of storytelling but they aren't meaningless either. I think of them as ingredients that somehow manage to paint an enigmatic image.

[MarkJames]

Must have been interesting to have been formally part of a band but not be a performer on stage.

[JayDee]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/ ... shade-pale Old article, not to split hairs, but WSOP is much played was my point. Maybe Taylor Swift gets more airplay these days........

***I don't understand a lot of the imagery of Bob Dylan tunes. WSOP lyrics are part of the awesomeness, not all of it, but a part.