Fast saw the distinction when Gabriel covered “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” Procol Harum’s song from the start of the progressive era. In Gabriel’s hands, the gossamer fell away, revealing a pure rock song, something modeled after the music he’d heard in New York. “Peter was really just ripping his vocals to shreds,” Fast said. “My wrists got really tired playing all those sixteenth notes. Part of what he was doing was mocking the song; part of it was trying to understand it.”82
