Track Listing

1. Haul Away The Bowline
2. Clear Away The Track
3. Portsmouth/Bonny Kate
4. Bully In The Alley
5. All For Me Grog
6. Ten Thousand Miles Away
7. 24th Of February
8. Weary Whaling Ground
9. Ashley's Hornpipe And Ashley's Flag
10. Nancy Of Yarmouth
11. Paddy Doyle's Boots
12. Bonny Ship The Diamond
13. Candlelight Fisherman
14. Gallant Frigate Amphitrite
15. Go To Sea No More
16. Whitby Lad
17. Sailor's Life
18. Goodbye Fare Ye Well
19. Ruben Ranzo
20. Whisky Is The Life Of Man
21. Roll The Wood Pile Down
22. Fire Maringo
23. Johnny's Gone To Hilo
24. Rolling Down To Old Maui
25. Alabama
26. John Kanaka

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41832 in Music
• Released on: 2002-02-04
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Sea shanties have always had a purpose - to make men work by getting into a rhythm which would help them to carry out the unbelievably physically demanding tasks associated with sailing a large ship. So we have good words, good tunes and good rhythms, the very nature of the repetitions of phrases and melodies building up each shanty into a quite substantial piece of music. The subjects of these songs vary from sad to happy, from funny to tragic, witty to baudy - and often we can hear most of these types in a single song! This is clever stuff; strange stories and concepts are woven into musical patterns, the many verses adding impetus with each repetition.

The shanties have been recorded by some of the leading singers of our generation. Based in Oxford (admittedly far from the sea!) these musicians bring years of experience to bear on wonderfully vivid performances, recorded live in a single day. The atmosphere is electric, the musicianship superb. I hope that you enjoy listening to this album. It was a joy to make.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful antidote to urban, conveyor-belt, muzak.
It doesn't get more evocative than this. Four geezers from Oxford who recorded the whole lot in a day and apparently thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the process.

There's no pretentiousness, no pandering to a more instrument-backed, commercial sound, no focus-group vetted melodies, no inappropriate, airbrushed "Celticism", just a collection of authentic-sounding, working songs from the sea, some pretty, some gritty. Makes me all proud to hail from a seafaring nation.

Highly recommended. Kudos to Ian, John, Jon, Graham and everyone else involved for recording (and helping to preserve) such great music. If we ever meet the beer (presumably the less chilled variety?) is on me. :-)

Spiers & Boden
This CD is a must have for any folkie.

The musicians are Ian Giles, John Spiers, Jon Boden and Graham Metcalfe.

Spiers and Boden do a good version of Old Maui on their 2005 album, "Songs"

Singing rather than music
Good songs, but not much music (which is more my area of interest). The 'heartiness' is very much appreciated, but I would have liked the songs to be a bit more modern and a bit less traditional - I suppose that's why they formed Bellowhead!