You know that hymn 'Amazing Grace'? Well this is an instrumental version of that. Played on bagpipes. That's what this is - it's 'Amazing Grace' played on bagpipes. At number one. I've been trying to find out if there was any film or TV tie-in that could explain its popularity but I've drawn a blank - I know that Scotty played it on his bagpipes at Spock's funeral in 'Wrath Of Khan', but 'Amazing Grace' seems to have got to number one in 1972 on its own merits (though I vaguely remember a public information type film on TV at the time featuring a Scottish regiment, a castle and some fog that may or may not have had this as its backing).
What you make of it all will depend on what your views on:
a) the hymn itself
b) the sound of bagpipes.
While I've no beef with a), I can't say the same about b) and so this rather leaves me cold. In it's defence, it pleases in its purity and lack of gimmicks (you can't imagine this being released in anything other than 'dance remix' form with a 120bpm backing today), but it confuses in its presentation - just who was buying this and what did they do with it in the privacy of their own homes? It would kill any 'record party' stone dead if you spun it in-between the Marcs and the Rods, and yet it's hard to imagine someone fancying a bit of 'Amazing Grace' and then playing it in isolation. But plenty did, because not only did this get to number one, it was also the biggest selling single of 1972.
As Spock was wont to say, 'Highly illogical'.
I think it was TV advert...seem to remember a gymnast on parallel bars or rings performing to the music on TV advert but don't know what the advert was about
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