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Tony Dekkar/Great Lake Swimmers

Song Sung Blue EP

(Weewerk; US: 11 Nov 2008; UK: Available as import)

Song Sung Blue is a collection of tracks recorded by Tony Dekkar to serve as a soundtrack for Greg Kohs’ documentary of the same name, which tells the story of Lightning & Thunder, a husband-wife Neil Diamond tribute band. The disc starts with a cover of Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” by Dekkar’s band, Great Lake Swimmers, and that track alone is worth the price of admission. Their version remains true to the original, while the band’s threadbare folk sound and Dekkar’s lilting vocals lend their own bittersweet touch to the song. From there, the disc offers eight instrumental pieces written by Dekkar, which are nearly as affecting as the cover. Through the simply plucked guitar of “The Dream”, or the warm vocal harmonies of “Eyes on the Prize”, these works and full of space and soaked in feeling. That most of the tracks stay at or under two minutes make the EP seem fleeting, and in that way this music is still reliant on the film to bring out its full power. But this is still a beautiful, if brief, offering from Dekkar, and will surely hold fans over until the next Great Lake Swimmers record.

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Great Lake Swimmers - Innocent When You Dream (Live - Tom Waits Cover)
Related Articles
19 Aug 2009
With equal emphasis on exposing an array of artists and maintaining Vancouver’s status as a socially-driven and socially responsible place to be, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival was out of this world.
22 Apr 2009
Great Lake Swimmers make great music to listen to as you lie in the grass and fall asleep.
5 Jun 2007
Tony Dekkar has hit his stride with Ongiara, using the right combination of elements from the band’s earlier work to craft not only their best, but one of the best of ‘07.
13 Oct 2005
Bodies and Minds breathes with the emotion of Dekker's voice and pulses with the subtle beauty of his sparse acoustic arrangements. This album deserves a broad audience and Dekker deserves mention with Sam Beam as today's most lauded singer-songwriters.
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