CD Odyssey Disc 374: Great Big Sea

Just home after a long day at the office, I could not motivate to go to the gym, and instead have decided to get a blog entry in. I guess you could say I've sacrificed my arms for my art. Kind of like the Venus de Milo.

Disc 374 is...Up

Artist: Great Big Sea

Year of Release: 1995

What’s Up With The Cover?: A combination of close up photos of the band with generic art that looks like the stuff that comes with your Windows program. Not a good cover, but Great Big Sea covers are never great.

How I Came To Know It: This is the first Great Big Sea album I ever bought, having seen a couple videos on CMT that appealed (I can't remember which songs anymore). I liked it so much I ended up buying four more over years.

How It Stacks Up: If you applied your keen reading comprehension to the previous paragraph, you'll know I have five Great Big Sea albums. "Up" is my absolute favourite.

Rating: 5 stars

If you've ever been in a pub surrounded by Maritimers and Newfoundlanders, singing along to some folk band in full throat, then you know the incredible joy of the experience. "Up" is about as close as recorded music can get to that experience.

This is a fun record, full of sea shanties sung in such vigorous unison it is physical exertion not to sing along. When the penny whistle wails, if you don't want to whistle along then you should immediately see a doctor, because your song-bone is broken.

"Lukey," "Wave Over Wave" and "Rant & Roar" are sing-alongs extraordinaire. Only know the chorus? No problem - just chime in with the rest of the band. Or, if like me you've heard this record hundreds of times, then sing along to the whole song. Don't worry if you're out of tune. Like a vocal boat pilot, Alan Doyle's pure and easy voice'll guide you through any rough parts.

I love all the songs of the sea, but the best sing-a-long is "The Old Black Rum" which is both a celebration and a warning of the sweet siren of dark demarara rum. The chorus is one of the finest images for excessive drinking I've heard:

"The old black rum's got a hold of me
Like a dog wrapped 'round my leg."

Of course, on some songs, Great Big Sea simply must show off, furiously blasting off lyrics with the precision of a rap star on "Mari-Mac" and "Billy Peddle." "Mari-Mac"s chorus is:

"Mari-Mac's mother's makin' Mari-Mac marry me,
My mother's makin' me marry Mari-Mac
Well I'm gonna marry Mari for when Mari's takin' care of me
We'll all be feelin' merry when I marry Mari-Mac."

The song slowly increases tempo, and by the fourth chorus, that tongue twister is delivered in six and a half seconds, in perfectly timed unison. It's an impressive musical display, and what's more it is enjoyable to listen to, not just clever.

As with all of their records, Great Big Sea is more than just a good time, they always take time to cover important social issues. On this album, they address dangerous working conditions, ("The Chemical Worker's Song (Process Man)"), and the poverty on the streets of St. John's ("Nothing Out Of Nothing"). Both songs feature the driving beat of the bodhran, musically grounding their more serious subjects.

I had intended to give this album four stars, and as I listened, I cast about for reasons to knock it back down from five. Did it teach me anything? Well - it teaches me joy every time I hear it, so hard to deny it on that count. Musically, it is perfectly pitched, and the production values are exceptional (and a huge upgrade from their debut).

Finally, I thought I had it when I noted there were 15 songs - one more than my long-established maximum. I immediately set out to find the weakest link. What about the token remake of Slade's "Run Runaway"? Nope - that remake rivals the original. Maybe a schmaltzy love song that hits flat? Nope - "Fast As I Can" is a beautiful expression of a man not ready to say he loves a woman who is growing impatient, and "One More Day" and "Something To It" are poignant 'on the cusp of a break-up' songs.

Finally, I was reduced to looking at other four star albums I had sold short with four stars (e.g. Nick Cave's "The Boatman's Call") but all that did was make me all the more determined not to do that again.

And so I dub this record perfect Canadian folk. In the genre, it is a top 5, desert island type album, and unquestionably the first Great Big Sea album you should buy. Preferably soon.

Best tracks: all tracks