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Tom Dyer and the True Olympians — Olympia - A True Story
(Green Monkey GMR, 2022, 3CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-12-27

Olympia - A True Story Cover art

The headline on the website of a Seattle news station read “Olympia songwriter releases epic concept album about his hometown,” and that certainly sums up the wonderful curio that is Olympia: A True Story. Those who don’t live in the Northwest might not know that Olympia is the city that serves as capital of the state of Washington, and Tom Dyer grew up there. He lived in the Seattle area for many years, then returned to his hometown in 2016, eventually putting together his band The True Olympians. Dyer’s musical history ranges from avantgarde sound collages to punk, with lots of other stops along the way, and many of those different aspects can be found here and there through the 47 tracks on this triple CD set packaged in a box with an 80-page book. He’s always been proud of his hometown, as evidenced by the name of his band, and during the pandemic, he started writing songs based on the history of the place. Dozens of songs later, he admits, “It really got out of hand, I think is what happened.” To realize his dream, he enlisted over a hundred local musicians. A lot of research went into the project, which highlights many little-known incidents and figures from the city’s past. Like a classic James Michener novel, the scope expands back millions of years to the formation of the region’s geology, and he takes care to include the peoples who lived in the area before white settlers showed up. Given the project’s scope, it’s impossible to go into too much detail, so I’ll just say that it hits a lot of different notes stylistically, from the rough and ready rock of The True Olympians to marching band, innovative choral arrangements, lovely acoustic ballads, sea shanty, skronky punk-jazz, bluegrass, cocktail jazz, jangly folk, and more. The lyrics don’t shy away from the less admirable aspects of history, such as racism, homelessness, and crime, which are related with a combination of matter-of-fact exposition and reflective judgment. What really makes the whole thing work is Dyer’s underlying sense of humor, which suits the somewhat quirky nature of the city and allows him to work all kinds of names, places, and dates into convoluted lyrics and sing them with an obvious smile on his face. He’s totally sincere, but not all serious, and freely admits that some of the local history he relates might be based on rumor or even outright fabrication back in its time. But that too is part of the town’s legacy. One thought that occurs to me as I listen to this monumental collection is that Olympia, Washington, in spite of its obvious qualities which Dyer covers in detail, is really a fairly ordinary American town, and most every other city in the country could easily be the subject of a 3CD box set of songs celebrating its history. One of the main things Olympia has that sets it apart is the presence of a talented songwriter who has the energy and resources to document it. And speaking of resources, the book contains the lyrics and credits as well as descriptive paragraphs and documentation for further reading. Olympia: A True Story is both entertaining and informative, and can hopefully find an audience beyond the town it pays tribute to.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Tom Dyer, Amy Denio

More info
http://greenmonkeyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/olympia-a-true-story

 

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