Procol Harum est un groupe britannique aux accents baroques, formé en 1967, figurant parmi les précurseurs majeurs du rock progressif. Son premier succès, A Whiter Shade of Pale, classé n°1 au Royaume-Uni et n°5 aux États-Unis, fut un tube planétaire et figure encore aujourd’hui dans les sondages parmi les meilleurs morceaux de rock jamais écrits. (Suite sur Wikipedia)
Le morceau "Conquistador" est proposé en deux version : l'originale figurant sur le premier album du groupe, et la version de 1971 enregistrée live avec l'Orchestre Symphonique d'Edmonton.
A Whiter Shade of Pale
We skipped a light fandango,
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor.
I was feeling kind of 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,
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
That I wandered through my playing cards,
And would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast.
And although my eyes were open,
They might just as well have been closed.
And so it was later,
As the miller told his tale,
That her face at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.
