Song Sung Blue is the true story of Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee based husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act in the 1990’s. It was an enjoyable film, though much heavier than I had expected.
The film was directed by Craig Brewer, and was written by Brewer, based on Greg Kohs’s 2008 documentary Song Sung Blue.
The film begins at the Wisconsin State Fair with a Legends show. Claire Stingl, a divorced mom of two, played by Oscar nominee Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), is portraying Patsy Cline. Mike Sardina, played by Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables), is a Vietnam veteran, mechanic, and alcoholic who has been clean for twenty years and attends AA meetings. He is divorced and the father of a teenage daughter. When Mike, who prefers to portray Elvis, is asked to fill in as Don Ho, he refuses to do so, and quits the show. But he is soon taken by Claire’s performance as Patsy Cline.
I’ve loved Neil Diamond’s Christmas music since his The Christmas Album in 1992. But I have to admit that when I saw the title of this album I wasn’t excited. I generally don’t like stripped down releases. However, I’m happy to admit that I really loved this mostly folk-styled new release!
First of all, the 75 year-old Diamond’s voice sounds great on this Don Was and Jacknife Lee produced record. The pair produced Diamond’s 2014 album Melody Road. It was during those sessions that the idea for this project took shape. Diamond recorded the record with a handful of musicians sitting around a circle of microphones and Christmas lights.
The album features traditional well-known Christmas songs, two new songs and some lesser known songs. For the most part, the songs features piano, acoustic guitar and no backing vocals. The album starts out with “O Holy Night” (my favorite Christmas song), “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and the new Diamond penned “Christmas Prayers”. The latter is a bittersweet song about remembering those close to him who are no longer here to celebrate Christmas with him.
The album continues with “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Mary’s Boy Child” and “Silent Night”, before going into a higher gear with my two favorite songs on the album “Go Tell It On the Mountain” and “Children Go Where I Tell Thee”, which both feature backing vocals from The Blind Boys of Alabama.
The upbeat Irish-inflected “Christmas in Killarney”, best known for Bing Crosby’s version, follows. The album closes with a the joyful three-song “Christmas Medley”, including the upbeat “Almost Day” (written by Pete Seeger and others), the Diamond-penned “Make a Happy Song” and concluding with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.
If I had one critique it would be that the standard ten-song edition goes too quickly. Perhaps a few more songs could have been included. Otherwise, I loved this new Neil Diamond Christmas album. Continue reading →
Song Sung Blue, rated PG-13
Acoustic Christmas –Neil Diamond