Customer Reviews

Sea Shanties 2

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I have been looking for a good CD of traditional sea shanties. This is not it. The songs are too polished for my taste. Although the songs are cleanly performed, they lack any true feeling of authenticity. All songs are accompanied by instruments, none a cappella. Too bad.

Anyone looking for a collection of authentic shanties sung in the traditional salty manner may be disappointed by this collection -- but I still recommend it, because it has a charm all its own. Imagine a crew of familiar sailors in port, drinking at their favorite watering hole, raising their voices in song with a rather saucy barmaid. That's pretty much the atmosphere conveyed by this CD, which has a "live" feel, and includes the talents of a lassie named Heather Mitchell. While it might be jarring to hear a woman's voice mixed in with a chorus cursing the bosun, she positively lights up classics like "Maggie May" and "New York Girls." And Stuart Bougen's no slouch, either, investing the songs with a cheerfully wry spirit. Again, not the most "authentic" recording, but certainly quite festive, and I recommend it if you enjoy traditional folk sessions at your local pub.

I agree with the other reviewer that the performances aren't traditional, but if you want a CD of shanteys that you can just sing along with while stuck in traffic, this one's at least good for that -- most of the songs performed are upbeat singalongs or perky hornpipes. However, if you're interested in learning more traditional versions or in performances that are more historically accurate to the originals, then I'd skip this one.

Compared to Volume 1 of the set, Volume 2 is a sad disappointment. While some songs are done well, they lack the authentic feel of Volume 1, and they just plain butcher a couple of pieces. I've always heard "Spanish Ladies" to the tune we use for "Streets of Larado" - I don't know where they got the one they use. The "Mingulay Boat Song" is traditionally a fo'cle(?sp?)song, sung by sailors in their off-watch time for their own entertainment. These people do it as a work song with a yo-heave-ho! beat. The instrumentals aren't bad, though, and I want to research the story behind "The Catalpa" (still another song done to the tune of "Rosin, the Beau," this time about Irish transportees).