Blow Boys Blow

Ewan MacColl & A.L. Lloyd | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: November 30, 1959
• Label: Essential Media Group
• Copyright: Essential Media Group, LLC 2007
• Genres: Country/Alt-Country & Americana, Country/Compilations, Folk/Compilations, Folk/Contemporary Folk, Folk/Traditional British & Celtic Folk, Folk/Traditional Folk, Pop/Singer-Songwriters
• ASIN: B000TPYYS0
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,614 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

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

This review is from: Blow Boys Blow (Audio CD)

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)   

This review is from: Blow Boys Blow (Audio CD)

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.

13 of 14 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 review is from: Blow Boys Blow (Audio CD)

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