You think you know “Red Sails In The Sunset”? That sweet, crooning standard from 1935? Bing Crosby? Nat King Cole? Yeah, Perry Blocker Sand took that and slapped a rocket engine on it. This is a rock rendition that kicks sand in your face and dares you to blink.
Perry Blocker Sand – born Per Otto Sand, a Norwegian singer-songwriter who’s been grinding in the folk-rock-blues trenches for years – first dropped this beast back in 2005 on his album The Pavilion. Then he brought it back for The Essential: Perry Blocker Sand in 2020. And thank God he did. Because this 2:50 track is attitude wrapped in blues harp and acoustic grit.
Let’s talk about the army of musicians who made this happen. Because holy hell, the credits read like a who’s who of Norwegian rock soldiers. You got Perry Blocker Sand himself on vocals, blues harp, and acoustic guitar – and man, his voice carries that weathered, lived-in weight. Then Steinar Larsen shows up with guitars, mandolin, bass, recorder, accordion – basically everything except the kitchen sink. And he mastered the damn thing too. That’s commitment.
Bjørn Nilsen brings the electric guitar fire. Thorstein Elvestad, Børre Flyen, and Lage Thune Myrberget – yeah, THREE drummers on different tracks. You think this song doesn’t have backbone? Listen to that rhythm. Lorentz Hermansen blows sax that cuts through like a knife. Ulf H. Aass adds pedal steel and lap steel for that twangy, crying vibe. Bugge Wesseltoft on piano? Yes please. And backing vocals from Marian Lisland, Arne Garvang, and Christin Bastiansen? They glue the whole thing together.
Recorded at Hulen – Grønnsalen, Urban Sound and Creative Studio. Arranged by Sand/Larsen (with some tracks by Sand/Nilsen, but this one’s got that Sand/Larsen stamp). Mastered by Steinar Larsen. Art by Arlen Sand, design by Roger Hennie.
What’s the vibe? It’s rock, baby. Perry Blocker Sand took a 1935 love song about a boat and turned it into a bar fight. You feel the blues harp wail, the acoustic strum, the electric bite. It’s nostalgic but nasty. Sweet but sweaty.
Play this one at sunset. Or sunrise. Or anytime you need to remember that old songs can still rock like hell.