Tony Dekker - Prayer of the Woods
by Mark Rowland
published: 18 / 12 / 2013

Label:
Nettwerk Music Group
Format: CD
intro
Melancholic and spiritual 70’s-Californian folk-influenced solo album, recorded in an Ontario church, by Canadian singer-songwriter and Great Lakes Swimmers front man, Tony Dekker
Tony Dekker, primary songwriter and front man of Canada’s Great Lake Swimmers, is taking a break from his main band, going solo with ‘Prayer of the Woods’, an album recorded over two sessions in the historic St Brendan’s Church in Rockport, Ontario, with Dekker playing all the instruments himself. The result is a record that owes a little to the sun-kissed 70’s California folk scene, though considering a number of that scene’s key players were Canadian ex-pats, the sound is quite fitting. The church’s vaguely spiritual stamp is also felt on the album, its excellent acoustics bathing the songs in a distinct, natural reverb. Despite the sunny Sunday vibe, Dekker does not shy away from big questions and themes in his songs. ‘Prayer of the Woods’ is laced with melancholy, a vague unease and insecurity in one’s place in the world. Dekker’s lyrics touch on broad human obsessions such as nature, spirituality and mortality, delivered as an almost desperate plea for greater understanding of the human condition. “Won’t you think of me in a good light?” he sings on ‘Final Song’, which puts Dekker in the role of a man feeling his life drain away, his fear rising as he realises he doesn’t have long left. It all hangs together as a coherent musical story, whether Dekker intended it to or not.
Track Listing:-
1 On My Way Back2 Somewhere Near Thunder Bay
3 Final Song
4 Empty Arms
5 Prayer of the Woods
6 Hearing Voices
7 Under a Magician's Sky
8 Land of the Glass Pinecones
9 Talking In Your Sleep
10 Carefree Highway
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/greatlakeswimmershttp://www.greatlakeswimmers.com/
https://twitter.com/greatlakeswim
Label Links:-
http://www.nettwerk.com/https://www.facebook.com/nettwerkmusicgroup
https://twitter.com/Nettwerkmusic
https://www.youtube.com/user/NettwerkMusic
https://instagram.com/nettwerkmusic/
digital downloads
most viewed articles
current edition
Robby Krieger - Set The Night on Fire, Living, Dying, And Playing Guitar with The DoorsBoomtown Rats - Ten Songs That Made Me Love....
Lida Husik - Interview
Cathal Coughlan - Interview
Rick Wakeman - Interview
Peter Doherty and Frederic Lo - Cavern Club, Liverpool, 27/3/2022
Cliff Richard - Not Fade Away
Simon Bromide - Interview
Candlelight Tribute to Coldplay - Manchester Cathedral, Manchester, 1/4/2022
Wolfgang Flur - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Rupert Wates - For The PeopleBanjo Jen - Fine Line
Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri - The Long Ride Home
Bonham-Bullick - Bonham-Bullick
Dead South - Easy Listening for Jerks Parts 1 and 2
Family - A Song for Me
Loop - Sonancy
Stereophonics - Oochya!
John Mayall - The Sun is Shining Down
Weather Station - How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Adrian P
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Carl Bookstein
Chris O'Toole
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank