Satan's Pilgrims / Thomas Lauderdale - Thomas Lauderdale Meets The Pilgrims CD (Heinz)

Thomas Lauderdale is the pianist and leader of acclaimed combo Pink Martini, and Satan’s Pilgrims is, of course.... well, no explanation needed for who they are! So what do you get when you match the talents of a classically trained pianist with one of the finest instrumental surf rock bands that has ever graced this planet? A pretty fun and incredible album, and completely unique to what you’ve ever heard before. The songs performed are a mix of lounge and pop classics - familiar favorites like “Rhapsody In Blue”, “Bali Hai”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Sukiyaki”, “Night & Day” and “Calcutta” among them. However, they do rock out a bit more on The Wailers’ classic “Tall Cool One”, as well as the surf standard “Malaguena”. One “Girls On The Beach”, one of the Beach Boys’ more beautiful songs, they enlist self-proclaimed “All-American Jewish lesbian folksinger” Phranc on the only song with vocals on the album. The brilliance of this album though is not just the songs, or the choice of the songs they cover, or the amazing artwork, it’s the fact that this just hasn’t been done before. Sure, there are surf songs with piano on them, but not classical piano! While this has been a work-in-progress for nearly 30 years (yes, work started in the mid-90’s) it sounds fresh and modern as if it was just recorded recently. It also serves as a tribute to much-loved Satan’s Pilgrims guitarist Dave Busacker, who sadly passed away in 2021. His work can be heard and felt throughout this release.

Tracks: Rhapsody In Blue - Bali Hai - Tall Cool One - Night & Day - How Great Thou Art - Girls On The Beach - Malaguena - Out Of This World - Sukiyaki - It Had Better Be Tonight - Calcutta