Blow Boys Blow

Ewan MacColl, A.L. Lloyd

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 3, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1960
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tradition Records
• ASIN: B0000058QN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #220,922 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the Label
BLOW, BOYS, BLOW is a full and rousing selection from folk heroes Ewan McColl (whose resume included author, playwright, actor, street singer, and laborer) and A.L. Lloyd (who, among other things, sang as the "Shantyman" in the movie version of MOBY DICK). Sung to ease the back-breaking work and fill up the long and lonely nights with rowdy and profane entertainment, the songs are fierce, rough, sublime and full of longing. Detailed liner notes by A.L. Lloyd are included.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Whale of a CD, November 12, 2001

By	otserick (Bordentown, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

I grew up with the record version of this CD and wore out the grooves. It's gutsy, real and sometimes very odd. No wonder Frank Zappa owned a copy (he lent it to Captain Beefhart who never returned it). This what folk music used to be all about --the thoughts and feelings of working people, rarely pretty but always beautiful.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential Ewan MacColl, December 4, 1999

By	Michael C. Molloy - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of my favorite of MacColl's records. Only the fact that about half the songs are by A.L. Lloyd, who I don't like as much, makes this a four-star review, instead of five. A lot of sea-shanty cds are pretty sappy stuff; they sound like they're some guy's idea of what sea shanties should sound like. This record sounds like someone singing excellent songs. Is this an authentic version of sea shanties? Beats me, since I never was on a 19th-Century sailing ship; but it sure is a good cd.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite albums of all time., August 22, 1998

By A Customer

This is one of my favorite albums, ever. It's stood the test of time, rising in my estimation as the years have passed. These are authentic sea chanties, and you can almost feel the lonliness and danger shared by those who put to sea and sang about it. Musically, the ballads are sung solo, with a chorus of several voices, backed by simple instruments. The songs and the delivery by Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd are haunting. My own ecletic musical tastes run from the blues of Lonni Johnson to Janice Joplin, John Coletrane, the New Lost City Ramblers, and Bach. Blow Boys Blow belongs in that company! If you are new to this type music, give it a few listens, and imagine the lives of those who manned whalers and merchant ships in the days before steam power.

--John Blackford