Dark Horse Records has dropped a previously unreleased single and music video from the late singer-songwriter Joe Strummer entitled “Fantastic.” The new release continues the efforts of Dark Horse to celebrating the singer, who tragically passed away in 2002 at the age of 50.
The track was one of the artist’s final recordings, with its recording being completed in December of 2002. “Fantastic” was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales. The song starts off slowly, with droning and subtle instrumentals giving Strummer’s vocals a chance to shine. As the track builds up, we hear the guitar continue to get louder and more intense, before the final two minutes, where the track reaches its climax in intensity before fading out.
The music video for the video acts as a tribute to the late artist, opening with a one minute long spoken word introduction from the musician. Previously unseen footage from the artist is placed all throughout the visual, which also includes a cameo from the legendary Pearl Jam guitarist Eddie Vedder. Watch the official music video for “Fantastic” via YouTube below.
This single comes off of the box set honoring the artist: JOE STRUMMER 002: THE MESCALEROS YEARS, available through Dark Horse Records. Punk legend Henry Rollins has said of the new boxset that “If you think you miss Joe Strummer now, by the time you get to the end of this boxset, you are really going to miss this guy. What an impact, what an amazing musician, what an amazing human being, a great artist, and this boxset perfectly captures the man, the music and the moment. I’m so glad this came out.”
Eddie Vedder recently honored Joe Strummer with a cover of the then unheard “Fantastic” and The Mescaleros’ “Long Shadow.” In 2018, collection was released of previously unheard music from Strummer entitled Joe Strummer 001.
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