Customer Reviews

Air Mail Music: Sea Shanties

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some of the songs are a bit too smoothed around the edges for my taste. I prefer the authentic stuff.

But my biggest problem with this album is that it simply combines songs from other recordings I already have, so all I get is to hear them in a different order, plus a small handful of songs that don't show up as ubiquitously as some of the more popular stuff.

And one last point I can't ignore. I bought this album because its title suggested that I might be getting some of the great French shanties, or at least some of the jaunty twists on the English songs that the French developed. Forget it. The only French thing in this album is its title and some blurb about the sea on the back of the album. It doesn't even have an insert with information about the songs, much less the lyrics.

You're better off just buying a Johnny Collins album if you like the rough, simplistic, low-budget stuff, and a Windjammers album if you like the commercialized, mainstream variety. Or, with so many great choices out there, just buy something else.

Two bands, with contrasting styles, both of which are a little too polished to get the right vibe for true sea shanty authenticity. The Irish Rovers-y Windjammers have too many instruments at play, including banjo, guitar and penny whistle, and are far too "folk" overall; the tracks from Johnny Collins, however, are more strictly vocal, and while a bit smooth, are still solidly in the style. As far as I can tell, this French-curated collection reissues material from two out-of-print albums on a pair of obscure (and presumably defunct) labels. Not the world's best shanty album, but it still has great folkloric material. Again, the Johnny Collins songs are worth checking out -- he also has an album out on the Arc Music label that comes highly recommended.

Like the Johnny Collins collection it overlaps with, this is a great collection of sea chanteys sung in an appropriate rough roar and rowdy beat by men who work for a living. Great in their own right, and for singing along with on long drives to keep yourself awake.

Not for those who only like perfect choral voices, but a great delight for those who like work songs with a strong rhythm and an occasional delight in old-fashioned naughtiness.