Behind the Pale

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

(Note: Scott Coner will be releasing a new music video of the rock classic "Whiter Shade of Pale" on May 17. In this blog article, he tells us why he recorded the song for his forthcoming EP.)

 

         So many things attach themselves to us when we are young. If you have read my blog articles, I have told you several of the stories about why I have chosen certain songs that I have recorded “cover” versions of. I don’t do many, but when I do one, it’s a song that matters to me quite a bit.

         A couple months ago, I took three songs that I wrote to Nashville along with one song that I did not write. The song is called “Whiter Shade of Pale”, and it is one of those songs that matter to me more than I can say. Originally, the song was released in May 1967, but in my world it made its debut around 1983 on a soundtrack for a movie called “The Big Chill”. I have never seen the whole movie, but the music sure caught my attention. I had a cassette of the soundtrack and drove around in my truck listening to it over and over again. 

         I can’t tell you exactly what it is about the song that I love so much. It’s a combination of the organ, the melody, and the lyrics I suppose. I have no earthly idea what the song is about, but I know how it speaks to my heart. It instills a feeling that few songs have ever done. 

         As we began the process of putting the song together in the studio, I wanted to hold on to the “signature lick” from the keyboards and keep the song at the same beats per minute. Other than that, I wanted to come at it differently. The original drums remind me of Ringo when the Beatles played live. There was far more splash cymbal than I could use. My direction to the drummer was to attack it like John Bonham on a very simple, stripped-down set. His set was a mix of a 1950s-era kick and a 1970s set of toms that had recently been refinished. The drums themselves were mic'd pretty close to the same way Bonham had his set-up in the studio. Like I have said, if your drums don’t sound huge, you’re already in the weeds before you even begin.

 

         We came at the vocals differently than most would imagine I think. Carol Chase, who sings back-up vocals for Lynyrd Skynrd, opened the verse all the way to the first chorus. I took the second verse, then dropped to a lower harmony on the final two choruses to allow Carol to be on top.  Currently, we have guitar tracks all over the place, and I considered putting a loop deep into the mix. We waited a few weeks before we started mixing. I wanted it to be fresh when we began. Logan Schlegel prepared a rough mix.

(Check back on May 17 to watch the "Whiter Shade of Pale" video featuring Scott Coner with Lynyrd Skynyrd background vocalist Carol Chase.)

         Carol brought a really fresh edge to the song with her raspy, bluesy delivery. She had asked me to listen to Annie Lenox’s cover, and I did. But I am satisfied that Carol is a better singer than Miss Lenox, and a lot of the processed sound she used on her project sounds dated to me. I also briefly studied a version by Willie and Waylon, but sadly, I felt like it was one of the weakest cuts they ever did together. It didn’t matter anyway. We were going to come at the song our way and any other interpretations didn’t matter.

         As I have said in other writings, my intention has never been an attempt to beat the original cut. That would only spell failure. Instead, I come at a classic as if it has never actually been released and nobody has ever heard the song but me. I know that sounds a little bit crazy, but in my mind, I’m visiting an imaginary universe that doesn’t have “Whiter Shade” in it yet. It becomes our job then to play off of the original, but not copy it. We don’t do Karaoke.

         I hope you enjoy our attempt at the song. Believe me when I tell you that doing this song is the highest compliment I could ever pay Procol Harum. This song was a true game-changer for me. As I write this blog article, I must tell you that I can’t wait to release our version of the song.

     

                  Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.