Saturday 5 December 2020

Sargeant Thunderhoof & Tony Reed - Beyond The Pale: Volume One (Single Review)


Release date: December 4th 2020. Label: Pale Wizard Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

Beyond The Pale: Volume One – Tracklisting

1.Sergeant Thunderhoof - Cloudbusting 07:37
2.Tony Reed - Sat in Your Lap 03:31


Review

Bands and Artists have to be more inventive in today’s modern world and especially with the current lockdown restrictions going around the world. So collaborations are a good way to get new music out and give their fans something new to listen and enjoy at home. Take this new joint single release from UK Psych Stoner Rockers Sergeant Thunderhoof and Stoner Rock Legend Tony Reed. Everyone involved has teamed up for the following record:

This is series of releases from Pale Wizard Records entitled: ‘Beyond the Pale: Volume One’. The concept for this exciting venture is to pay homage to classic artists in a contemporary style using often unexpected musicians.

For this first chapter in the series, we are delighted to present to you a transatlantic meeting between two heavyweights of the fuzz/desert/stoner/psychedelic/heavy rock community as they re-imagine two of Kate Bush’s most iconic tracks.

Beyond The Pale: Volume One sees Sergeant Thunderhoof covering Clloudbusting and Tony Reed covering Sat In Your Lap. I will be truthful to admit that I’m not a fan of Kate Bush at all and was unwilling at first to review this record. Though, I was kindly enough given a promo to review and I must do my Stoner Rock Duty.

I’ve listened to both Kate’s original version and to these new versions. Whilst I will admit I’ll never be a fan of Kate Bush, I will admit there is some creative genius behind these songs and I enjoyed them overall. I prefer the covers that “The Hoof” and Tony perform here. As they do something different with both songs and that’s what I think a cover should do. There’s no point in doing a straight remake of the song. You have to put your own spin on the song and both artists excel themselves here.

Cloudbusting could easily be considered one of The Hoof’s very own compositions. As the song is dense, trippy and has their trademark Psychedelic confident swagger. The vocals are killer and the guitars take the song to extremely loud heights.

Tony’s take on Sat In Your Lap is very much what you expect from his acclaimed Mos Generator outfit with a bouncy style of addictive Stoner Rock that builds up to a cool Hard Rock and almost Prog Rock feel. The song has echoes of 70s Classic Hard Rock and is perhaps the most enjoyable song for myself.

Though, The Hoof do a great job as well with Cloudbusting. it’s just that Tony’s offering is so fast-paced and delightfully addictive and you can’t help but singing along. For the more heavier and psychedelic riffs then The Hoof win that round.

This all amounts to a fantastic split release from two brilliant artists from the world of Stoner Rock.

With this being the first Volume and the promise of more to come, this could be a great record collection to get behind and start collecting. As the record label – Pale Wizard Records – have different variations to collect. I don’t know if there will be a set of different artists covering different songs for each release but I’ll be excited to hear the next chapter.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

SERGEANT THUNDERHOOF:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/tdallasreed
Bandcamp: tonyreed.bandcamp.com

PALE WIZARD RECORDS:

Website: www.palewizard.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/palewizard
Instagram: www.instagram.com/palewizard
Bandcamp: palewizardrecords.bandcamp.com