One of the true delights of the summer of 1971 was this FM radio hit from the Procol Harum album, Broken Barricades. It is a remarkable song that undergoes transformation after the vocals give way to a long instrumental passage. Robin Trower performs some of his most stunning guitar work on “Simple Sister“ as the instrumental builds, layer upon layer, until the entire work, complete with strings, sounds more like the soundtrack of a film, one filled with suspense and romance. Ultimately a truly beautiful work with dark undertones. I can honestly say that I have never heard anything quite like it by Procol Harum before or since.
The video begins by conforming to a somewhat sinister and wonderfully bizarre rock motif similar to the ones found on the band’s previous album, Home. A few of the pieces used early on are from the Blake Edwards film, Experiment In Terror (1962) starring Lee Remick and Ross Martin. Previous to this film, Edwards also brought us the fabulous television series Peter