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A Salty Dog (song)

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Wikipedia article


{{Infobox song

| name = A Salty Dog

| cover = ASaltyDog.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Procol Harum

| album = A Salty Dog

| released = 1969

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Progressive rock

| length = 4:41

| label = Regal Zonophone

| writer = Gary Brooker, Keith Reid

| producer = Matthew Fisher

| chronology = Procol Harum

| prev_title = Quite Rightly So

| prev_year = 1968

| next_title = Conquistador

| next_year = 1972

}}

'"A Salty Dog"' is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it was released as the lead single off the band's 1969 album 'A Salty Dog'. It was also included on the 1972 album 'Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra'.

Background and composition



The song's lyrics were written by Keith Reid and its music was written by Gary Brooker, who also sang. It was featured on the band's 1969 album, 'A Salty Dog'. Reid's lyrics describe sailors crossing the unknown seas. The string arrangement recalls Frdric Chopin. The song is reportedly one of Reid's favourites.

Release and reception



"A Salty Dog" peaked at #44 on the UK Singles Chart.Roberts 2006, p. 440 BBC Radio DJ John Peel explained the lack of chart success:

The song was generally well received by music critics. Matthew Greenwald of Allmusic praised the narrative as "brilliant" and carried by "an expansive melody and epic performance from the entire band". The string arrangement was "fabulous" and "only adds grandeur to the song and recording, making this one of the group's most fully realized moments". Perhaps the greatest praise came from Melody Maker's Chris Welch, who called it "their finest hour" and "one of the greatest pop singles to emerge in recent years". He added, "The tune is beautiful, the arrangement brilliant, the performance perfect". 'Cash Box' described it as a "stunning effort."

"A Salty Dog" is notable for not including any contributions from guitarist Robin Trower who, when the band became a quartet in 1970-71, would play bass in live performances of the song.

Chart performance



Cover versions



The song was covered by Marc Almond on his 1986 album 'A Woman's Story', and by Transatlantic on the two-disc Special Edition of 'The Whirlwind', where it is sung by drummer Mike Portnoy. Sarah Brightman covered the song on her 1993 album 'Dive'. Styx covered the song on their cover album 'Big Bang Theory' (2005) with Lawrence Gowan on lead vocals.

Notes



References



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Category:Songs with lyrics by Keith Reid

Category:1969 singles

Category:Procol Harum songs

Category:Songs written by Gary Brooker

Category:1969 songs

Category:Regal Zonophone Records singles

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