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Great Lake Swimmers

Great Lake Swimmers
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews) | More about this product

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Great Lake Swimmers
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Product Details

  • Audio CD (April 5, 2005)
  • Original Release Date: April 5, 2005
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Misra Records
  • ASIN: B0007UDCJO
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #129,811 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.

Samples
Song Title Time Price
listen  1. Moving Pictures Silent Films 5:31$0.89 Buy Track
listen  2. The Man With No Skin 5:26$0.89 Buy Track
listen  3. Moving, Shaking 5:22$0.89 Buy Track
listen  4. Merge, A Vessel, A Harbour 4:44$0.89 Buy Track
listen  5. I Will Never See The Sun 3:35$0.89 Buy Track
listen  6. This Is Not Like Home 3:45$0.89 Buy Track
listen  7. The Animals Of The World 5:31$0.89 Buy Track
listen  8. Faithful Night, Listening 4:08$0.89 Buy Track
listen  9. Three Days At Sea (Three Lost Years) 3:52$0.89 Buy Track
listen10. Great Lake Swimmers 6:45$0.89 Buy Track

Editorial Reviews

Mojo
"Beautiful, bittersweet, drifting, late-summer melancholia."

Product Description
With the buzz of crickets, Great Lake Swimmers’ self-titled debut opens with the subtly intoxicating "Moving Pictures, Silent Films." Plucked acoustic guitar weaves with sparse piano while crickets whisper in the background and songwriter Tony Dekker’s warbling voice hovers overtop; this could easily be the lonely soundtrack to a long-lost silent film. Recorded in an abandoned grain silo in southern Ontario, this haunting album finds its roots in classic folk music, and while mention of Nick Drake is undeniably loaded, it’s an unavoidable comparison. Throw in a pinch of Neil Young’s quieter moments and a touch of Cass McCombs and My Morning Jacket at their most sedate, and the result is the gorgeous sound of Great Lake Swimmers. With subtle colorings of acoustic guitar, piano, lap steel and accordion, it’s Toronto-based songwriter Dekker’s voice that carries the band. The reverby echo of Dekker’s vocals is the perfect accompaniment for a dark night on a moonlit porch or a long drive lit only by the dim glow of headlights. Addictive like the finest narcotics, this debut is an emotional, stirring album that is not just meant to be listened to…it’s meant to be soaked in.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars phenomenal first album, September 20, 2005
After having massively warped my copy of "Bodies & Minds," their newest release, from overuse in my car stereo, I recently caught a GLS show at a small local music café, where tragically there were less than 20 people in attendance, and where I was first introduced to the 10 ethereal, overpowering songs from this album, their first. Tony Dekker, finger-picking a very cello-sounding Seagull guitar, laid waste to the place. His vocals alone were enough to make you put off that bathroom break for painfully long stretches of time, striking a balance between the hushed intimacy of Sam Beam's whispered lullabies and the impressive range of Tim Buckley's operatic tenor. "Moving Pictures, Silent Films," a song in which the chord progression tumbles down the pentatonic scale in 3 sorrowful little movements, put more than a few lumps in the throats of those listening. And if "Merge, A Vessel" didn't leave the entire audience grief-stricken, "This is Not Like Home" left most digging in their pockets and purses for Kleenex, or choking down beer to regain composure. While I might be making their music sound like a trip to the funeral home, consider the monumental difficulty in creating something that has both the emotional and personal resonance as such a deathly event. Then consider whether or not it is time to stop ingesting sugar-coated, sunny pop numbers that deny a dismal reality for songs that look it square in the eye and embrace it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Where have these guys been hiding?, October 9, 2006
By Jeremy P. Durand (Garland, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Or have I just been living in a bubble?

Great Lake Swimmers is one of the better bands I've heard in a long while. A refreshing deviation from the overhyped, mainstream offerings currently playing over the airwaves.

I agree with some that the songs are definitely not going to make you feel like all is sunny and sparkling in the world. They are, however, extremely beautiful and Tony Dekker's voice has a soothing quality about it that is very appealing.

I definitely hear some Neil Young influence. They also remind me a bit of South San Gabriel (specifically, Will Johnson).

If you like Iron & Wine (Sam Beam)or the artists referenced above, you'll likely enjoy this album.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sad and lonely, April 22, 2005
Imagine if you will, a young, mellow Neil Young. He has by the campfire with him: Nick Drake,Gram Nash and hopefully Emmy lou Harris and Hope Sandival. Neil, with these other superb musicians and vocalists creates this melancholy atmosphere. You can almost hear Tony Dekkers heart breaking in his voice. I don't know man, not a musical trip you want to take if you're really down,but there is beauty in sadness,and sadness in beauty. To me, this music epitomizes just that. 5 stars for that alone. Peace.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable beauty...
I am originally from Southern Ontario. I put on this CD to remember my hometown, to feel that world again. Great Lake Swimmer's music is pure Canadiana. Read more
Published 17 months ago by C. Robert Broerse

3.0 out of 5 stars Music For the Comfort Zone.
The sun had already set on the Summer of Love when the apocryphally named,'America' wormed their anthemic mantra,'Horse With No Name' into popular consciousness. Read more
Published on October 16, 2006 by R. J MOSS

5.0 out of 5 stars Sirens songs
A great album for days spent endlessly wondering if she'll ever come back to you - if things will ever be. Read more
Published on July 7, 2005 by Alter Kocker

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Lake Swimmers folk pop debut
If beautiful and haunting is your thing, this self-titled debut is right up your alley. 'Great Lake Swimmers' wallows in brooding introspection, sparse acoustic guitars with... Read more
Published on May 15, 2005 by Wickerlove

5.0 out of 5 stars A very Canadian record
With the execption of a few songs, Tony Dekker is the soul musician behind this very melodic and beautiful CD. Read more
Published on July 12, 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Drenched in reverb, like My Morning Jacket, but much softer and with kick-ass melodies. Definitely worth listening to, especially if you are a fan of After the Gold Rush-era Neil... Read more
Published on June 12, 2004

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