Procol Harum - Shine On Brightly (1968)

I don't know if Shine On Brightly was the group's best album, but it is quite high up there for me. "In Held 'Twas in I" was in fact the second song by the band I ever heard, and recorded off FM radio, the first song heard of course being the radio and jukebox smash hit, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." Upon hearing the title track for the first time, the beauty and grandeur of it literally shined through so much I had to buy the album. Why this song was never released as a single amazes me; but then again if too many Procol songs had charted they could not have been one of the major progressive rock bands that they were.

This is a song about madness, and I probably was mad to try to make a video out of it. Still, I have a soft spot for this song ... and that is usually reason enough to make music videos out of some compositions. Of course one thing I enjoy about "Shine On Brightly" is the absolutely stirring single note lead guitar that rings out forever, courtesy of Robin Trower. The only other song I have ever heard that had as much impact that also used a single note lead guitar solo was "Cinnamon Girl" (1969) by Neil Young with Crazy Horse. I have given "Shine On Brightly" a similar type of expression in places as I did in "Repent Walpurgis," although there are difficult lyrics that required considerable attention to detail and the band members themselves in other parts. But a mad undertaking or not, I hope you will find that this video shines like the song.