Dave Paulson is a music reporter for The Tenneseean and USA Today, as well as a singer and songwriter out of Nashville. He’s also clearly a huge fan of the 1995 Chris Farley/David Spade film, Tommy Boy.
He’s such a huge fan, in fact, that he wrote and recorded an entire album inspired by the film. The album is called Sandusky, Ohio, named after the hometown of Farley’s character, Thomas R. “Tommy” Callahan III, and it was released yesterday and is available on Spotify.
What may be the biggest surprise about Paulson’s album, however, is that it’s more than a novelty record. While the songs are clearly based on the characters and situations in the film, they’re also incredibly well-composed numbers, from the melancholic “My Old Man” (about the death of Tommy’s father) to the upbeat “Golden Child” (about coming home to meet his new family) to “Here It Comes,” a catchy and rousing number about foiling the Rob Lowe character, Paul. The whole things is fantastic — the sound is reminiscent of the more pop-oriented songs of The Jayhawks or Wilco.
Here’s a sampling, set to scenes from the movie.
In addition to Spotify, Sandusky, Ohio can be streamed or purchased on a site Paulson has devoted to the album.
