With special appearances by some of Canada’s most renowned musicians, Ian Tyson’s new DVD release is not lacking in star power.
Produced by Calgary’s Pyramid Productions “Ian Tyson - This is My Sky” features the documentary film “Songs From the Gravel Road” on one disc and a concert performance plus additional documentary material on the other.
Tyson will be joined by a who’s who of Canadian talent on the DVD set including Neil Young, David Wilcox, Gordon Lightfoot as well as his former singing partner, Sylvia Tyson.
“This is My Sky” director Matt Embry and his crew went along with Tyson as he reconnected with many of his pals for the documentary feature. The filmmaker confessed the day they visited Tyson’s former folk singing partner and ex-wife, Sylvia, at her Toronto home was a memorable one.
“It was great,” Embry said. “You can see it in the documentary. That was genuine, her reaction, when we walked up and surprised her at the door.”
While Sylvia was aware Tyson and the filmmaker were coming she didn’t know they would be running cameras as soon as they arrived. After her initial shock Embry said Sylvia settled right into reminiscing with her former husband and joined him in a song.
“It was a very warm reception she gave us,” he said. “To be able to watch their performance, it was magical to be there in the room. To watch them sing together after so many years. We’re really happy with how it came across on film.”
Tyson, who lives on his ranch near Longview, shows no sign of shutting down his music career. At 77 he still slips out to the stone cottage on his ranch to write and rehearse material. Local fans of his music will be glad to hear the cowboy singer/songwriter will be taking to the stage with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.
Tyson seems to be a source of fascination for so many. His autobiographical book “The Long Trail” has sold well and the Under the Sky DVD package has also done well.
The director of the project is not surprised by Tyson’s enduring appeal.
“He’s a fascinating human being,” Embry said. “He’s charming, he’s personable, he’s intelligent. He’s insightful, thoughtful and emotional. His lyrics speak to everyone on some level. He’s constantly adapting and changing his work to meet the times. In my opinion he’s creating some of his best material right now.”
The “This is My Sky” performance disc features an Ian Tyson concert with special guests including acclaimed American singer/songwriter John Hiatt and bluegrass music star Rhonda Vincent. The show was recorded at Knox United Church in Calgary and features performances of such Tyson standards as “Four Strong Winds” and “Someday Soon”.
Embry said Tyson did not have much difficulty dealing with a film crew following him around before, during and after the show. Just like he didn’t have a problem with them running the cameras when he sat down to play music with Gordon Lightfoot, David Wilcox and others for the “Songs From the Gravel Road” film.
“Ian has an incredible amount of television experience and has done a lot of interviews so he knows the game,” Embry said. “As the director, we spent a lot of time together before we started filming. I was fortunate enough to be able to go out to his ranch and talk to him before we got any cameras to roll.”
“Ian Tyson: This is My Sky” is out now and a version of the concert special will air on the CBC and Bold networks later this year.
