So it’s finally here ”Safe upon the Shore” in my living room, but the new Great Big Sea album was well worth the wait!
The pressure have been on with this album, cause not only is it the lads’ tenth studio release, it is also the follow up to the popular amazing Fortune’s Favour the band released in 2008, but this one lives up to my every expectation without a doubt.
The styles of this album are to the untrained ear very changing, but to a GBS fan it is done in best Doyle/Hallett/McCann style. And it’s really truly hard to say which songs poop out at me ‘cause it’s a new one every time I hear the album.
Listen along and see if you agree with my judgement ;D
http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/10Sean McCann kicks the album off with his bodhran and very cool vocal track on Long Life, leaves you wanting for more….
Nothing but a song is the perfect choice of song for the first single and I love the way their voices harmonies together. Beautiful, and I am off course a huge fan of the bodhran, and no one plays it quite like Sean McCann does. Amazing!
Yankee Sailor and Wandering Ways are the two love songs of the album. Done very differently. Alan Doyle mourns the loss of a girl to another man and he sings the song in a way that makes you feel his every emotion. Emotions the beautiful whistles only empathize. Wandering Ways has Sean McCann on lead vocal and to be frank he sounds like an old pirate, which sound very cool. Sean not only mourns the loss of his wife and child, but in a way also the wild life he left to grow up and be a husband and father. A bit autobiographic and awesome… one of the more folk sounding songs on the album!
Which lead me to the traditionally based songs on the album, both of them very different from each other as well. The first one is Over the hill written and song by Bob Hallett but based on a traditional song. Bob sings it very well and I love the bagpipe section. Very cool. The other traditional song is done by Sean MCann and got a rock sound to it, which I love by the way :D Nice to hear Sean do a song in this style and it wouldn’t be a Great Big Sea album if McCann didn’t kill anyone! ;D
The last song which is not written by the lads themselves on this album is a Kinks cover called Have a Cuppa tea. I love the fact that Sean and Alan finally do a song together again.. very nice and hilarious. Almost as funny as Hit the Ground and Run written by Doyle and Russell Crowe at the set of Robin Hood. Alan’s vocal track is so cool in this track.. gotta love the half talking half singing and once again a banjo that sounds cool ;D
Another funny song on the album is Road to Ruin. A very folk sounding song amazingly by Mr. Doyle and the homage to Loch Lomond is done perfectly:
You can take the sunshine
And I can take the moonshine
You can take the high road
And I can take the low
Give the lyrics a whole new meaning, gotta love them for that :D
There are 2 songs that falls a bit outside the usual GBS style though, one is to the better and one is to the worse.
Follow me back song by Bob Hallett is a very pretty song, but it just doesn’t belong on a Great Big Album by a long shot. Sean’s Good people on the other hand somehow hit the gbs style even though it sounds a bit countyish as well. One of my fav songs on the album, and my guess for the next single.
Which lead me to another song that could turn out to be a single, Dear Home Town. A beautiful song about song on the road with a family waiting at home. Alan brings a tear to your eye and the horn section is very beautiful, don’t remember hearing horns on any GBS song since Penelope!
Another song that brought a tear to my eye (maybe more that one) was the title track Safe Upon the Shore and off course the album’s only shanty is done by the shantyman Sean McCann. A beautiful sad song to fit the cover :D
Which only leaves the last song of the album I don’t wanna go Home and I surely don’t want them to either. A very fitting song so sum up the album, song by Alan Doyle. A touching song which is a opposite to most of the songs. This song is about needed the music and loving the life as a musician. Good work lads… 6 stars from me :D
I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite lyric quotes of the album counting down to my fav one ;D
5. The sea just sits silently
But sometimes she does more
And someone weeps as her love sleeps
Safe upon the shore (Safe upon the shore)
4. What in the Lord's name was he thinkin'?
You can't blame this all on drinkin'
You can count the family teeth upon one hand (Hit the ground and run)
3. We were poor,
But I was satisfied
And I thought that you were too
You were pure,
And I was terrified
I wasn't good enough for you (Yankee Sailor)
2. Dreams are to blame
They still linger and remain
In the heart of a child whose been gone (Dear Home Town)
1. Man ain’t nothing if he ain’t got a friend
Down and out without a penny to spend
The bells above will ring in the end
Good people (Good People)
So godnight to all of you good people and if you like what u hear and see you can by the album on
http://www.greatbigsea.com/store/Cheers for now peps <3
