Customer Reviews

Away, You Santy!: Traditional Sea Songs And Chanteys

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

 

 

The album is a wonderfully lively treatment of classic sea chanties-- no stodginess turning cheerful songs into monotone dirges on this CD. The light and skillful accompaniment is perfect for the hearty New England voices of Wickford Express, and the selections cover a wide range of styles. Especially appealing to me were the renditions of Spanish Ladies (for American sailors!), the medley of hornpipes, and the treatments of O'Carolan's 'Si Bheg Si Mhor' and 'Lord Inchiquin', which are performed with both style and enthusiasm. In addition to those standards, the CD includes some true 'chanties', sung with obvious appreciation for the wit inherent in the lyrics. All in all, an outstanding recording that will turn your car into a tall ship, and your commute into a voyage to cross the Line.

Landlubber or sailor, this one will have you up on your feet and singing along! "Away You Santy" has to be the benchmark recording of sea shanties and sea songs! This, the trio's first CD, contains honest, straight-forward, non-pretentious, accoustic renditions of sea songs, shanties, and tunes. It is an enthusiastic and lively collection performed with vocals, squeezebox, banjo, guitar, and pennywhistle, creating an authentic maritime sound that one can easily imagine hearing on board a creaky old wooden ship. I've had a copy since it was first released on cassette back in 1982 before it was remastered and released by Delta/LaserLight) and have never grown tired of it - I highly recommend this out-of-print and rare musical gem!

I would have given this CD 5 stars, except 1) I'm not a folk music guru; and 2) I felt that the audio quality was slightly lacking. Elaborating on the first aspect, I found "Away, You Santy!" beautiful having considerable appreciation for the folkish music of Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Grateful Dead, James Taylor and other 60's artists. Many of the tracks were recorded without instrumental accompaniment, but this adds to, rather than subtracts from, those performances. Don't be put off by my comment about the audio; this was from the perspective of someone who likes some spatial effects in recordings. If your audio system can add some reverb, and you want it, you can add the spatial dimensions. If you prefer the unenhanced sound as on the CD, you won't have to hear the spatiality the engineers could have added. This CD, esthetically, is superb.

I'll be honest, I bought this CD because of my last name. I actually enjoy the songs on here. I like the mix of instrumentals, a capella, and accompanied songs.

A good album to have if you're a serious shanty collector. Outstanding value at this price.