Navigating the Afterglow: An Analysis of Smokie’s "This Side of Paradise" Introduction

Smokie, a band often synonymous with the honey-sweet harmonies of 1970s soft rock, underwent a significant period of reinvention following the 1986 departure of original lead singer Chris Norman. The track featured on the 1990 album Whose Are These Boots? , serves as a pivotal example of the band's "Alan Barton era". This paper explores how the song maintains the band's melodic legacy while embracing the more polished, radio-targeted AOR (Adult Oriented Rock) style of the early 1990s. Lyrical Themes: The Weight of Memory

: The song describes a "blinding moment" where the narrator experiences a deep, almost spiritual connection with a "mysterious girl".

Musically, the track represents a bridge between Smokie’s classic 1970s sound and the evolving landscape of 1990s pop-rock. Chris Norman

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