Laser disc cover of the documentary Shades of Grey.
Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know There ain't no rainbows shining on me Shades of grey are the colors I see "Shades of Grey" has an interesting theme and lyrics, namely, as one gets older, one's beliefs and opinions actually become less clear and more ambiguous. As Billy explained in the PBS documentary of the same name, Shades of Grey (excerpt below):
It is as if the radical "Angry Young Man" of the 1970's who used to be so righteous has gotten older in the 1990's and is not so sure about his beliefs anymore. In the context of the album, the song serves as a transition from the anger and angst of Side One to the more tender and introspective songs of Side Two. The angry man in Side One begins to realize in "Shades of Grey" that things aren't always as they seem at first, and while there "ain't no rainbows shining on me" there is redemption in the second half of life. Vertical Divider
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Words and Music by Billy Joel
Some things were perfectly clear, seen with the vision of youth No doubts and nothing to fear, I claimed the corner on truth These days it's harder to say I know what I'm fighting for My faith is falling away I'm not that sure anymore Shades of grey wherever I go The more I find out the less that I know Black and white is how it should be But shades of grey are the colors I see Once there were trenches and walls And one point for every view Fight 'til the other man falls Kill him before he kills you These days the edges are blurred, I'm old and tired of war I hear the other man's words I'm not that sure anymore Shades of grey are all that I find When I look to the enemy line Black and white was so easy for me But shades of grey are the colors I see Now with the wisdom of years I try to reason things out And the only people I fear Are those who never have doubts Save us all from arrogant men And all the causes they're for I won't be righteous again I'm not that sure anymore Shades of grey are all that I find When I look to the enemy line There ain't no rainbows shining on me Shades of grey are the colors I see Shades of grey wherever I go The more I find out the less that I know There ain't no rainbows shining on me Shades of grey are the colors I see Billy on "Shades of Grey" from SiriusXM.
Shades of Grey was also the name of a PBS documentary on the development of River of Dreams. See the Videos and the excerpt below. Additional excerpts can be viewed on YouTube. This is a well-done documentary and gives viewers an insider's look at the process of recording an album. And it's much better than Fifty Shades of Grey.
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Musically, however, the song kind of plods along in the verses. Maybe I'm trying too hard to find a hook, a riff, something that catches me, but it does not deliver. And the "bah bah" vocalizations throughout the song seem a bit contrived. This is not a bad song, but one of the weaker ones on the album. Billy intended to write a song reminiscent of 60s and 70s groups Cream or Mountain, with swirling guitars and a hard rock sensibility. He succeeded, but it is not my cup of tea. Still, the live versions of the song are much more energetic and spirited.
The Cream song that likely inspired the "bah bah" vocalizations is probably "Sweet Wine." The guitarist for Mountain, Leslie West (who also did some work with Cream as a producer) played guitar on three songs on River of Dreams, namely, "No Man's Land," "The Great Wall of China," and "A Minor Variation." As explained in this Newsday article from 1993: "One of [producer Danny] Kortchmar's ideas was to get Leslie West, the Mountain guitarist whose first band, Long Island's own Vagrants, had a big local influence on Billy Joel's late-'60s outfit, the Hassles. Ironically, 'Shades of Grey,' the track which actually invokes West's signature American Cream sound, features guitarist Tommy Byrnes firing up the fuzzbox. 'Cream would write songs about so many fantastic colors, use these bizarre colorful images,' notes Joel. 'I was talking about exactly the opposite: shades of gray. I thought this was a terrific chance to use the Cream arrangement as irony.'" Billy, however, rather than Kortchmar, gets the producing credit on "Shades of Grey."
The Cream song that likely inspired the "bah bah" vocalizations is probably "Sweet Wine." The guitarist for Mountain, Leslie West (who also did some work with Cream as a producer) played guitar on three songs on River of Dreams, namely, "No Man's Land," "The Great Wall of China," and "A Minor Variation." As explained in this Newsday article from 1993: "One of [producer Danny] Kortchmar's ideas was to get Leslie West, the Mountain guitarist whose first band, Long Island's own Vagrants, had a big local influence on Billy Joel's late-'60s outfit, the Hassles. Ironically, 'Shades of Grey,' the track which actually invokes West's signature American Cream sound, features guitarist Tommy Byrnes firing up the fuzzbox. 'Cream would write songs about so many fantastic colors, use these bizarre colorful images,' notes Joel. 'I was talking about exactly the opposite: shades of gray. I thought this was a terrific chance to use the Cream arrangement as irony.'" Billy, however, rather than Kortchmar, gets the producing credit on "Shades of Grey."
