This is a glorious version of Paul Simon’s classic, ‘American Tune’. Sunny Ozell’s voice is pure, insistent and resonant. The song came from a recording session at EastWest Studios ready for a live-stream festival. It’s been a busy year for the Reno, Nevada-raised singer-songwriter, who released her acclaimed second album, ‘Overnight Lows’, and a live EP recorded at the Village.
Paul Simon originally wrote the song as a musical response to the uncertainty and unrest of the Nixon years. However, all this time later, in a year that has been so traumatic for so many, Simon’s lyrics have never been more emotionally meaningful: “I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered // I don’t have a friend who feels at ease // I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered // Or driven to its knees // Oh, but it’s alright, it’s alright // For we lived so well so long // Still, when I think of the road we’re traveling on // I wonder what’s gone wrong.” Read those words, listen to Ozell’s fine interpretation and reflect.
At his concert at Hyde park PS talked about the situation that the world is in and his president (he was obviously not a fan) and finished with this song. It was moving.