Sometimes the randomness of the Odyssey gives
me a brand-new album to discover and sometimes it gives me an old and cherished
favourite. Today it was the latter.
Disc 1231 is… Play
Artist:
Great Big Sea
Year of Release: 1997
What’s up with the
Cover?
A collectible toy from a time in the distant past when toys sucked. Anyone who
says toys were better back in the day is just jealous that they don’t get to
play with the new ones.
Fortunately, as this album proves, old songs are still just as good as
ever!
How I Came To Know
It: I
was already a fan of Great Big Sea and bought this album when it came out
trusting it would be as good as the ones I already had. Back then you couldn’t
Youtube songs first, so you watched a video or two on VH-1 or CMT and if it
sounded promising you took the plunge.
How It Stacks Up: The last time I did a Great Big Sea review (August
of 2015) I had five albums but I’ve recently added a sixth. Of those six, “Play”
comes in at #2.
Ratings: 4 stars
“Play” is an apt title for this record’s role in my music collection
because have I played the living shit out of this record. Part of this is that
when I bought it back in 1997 I only owned so many albums; part of it is also
this is an easy record to love.
Great Big Sea blend traditional Newfoundland folk music with modern pop
anthems to create something that is filled with fun and makes you want to laugh,
dance and sing along. “Play” is them at the height of their powers. Consider
that this is a folk record that went
triple platinum in Canada. Granted, the nineties were very kind to Canadian
folk music (the Rankin Family was also busting up the charts) but it is still quite
an achievement.
Most of the time an album this popular is destined to be terrible, but with
“Play” Great Big Sea beats the trend with music that is played with gusto and
unbounded joy. You hear these guys and you basically want to hang out in a pub
with them all night.
The record is about two-thirds traditional songs and covers, treated with
Great Big Sea’s particular blend of folk-pop. This involves a lot of energy,
singing in unison, and lots of tin whistle, fiddle and accordion to give it whimsy
or a mournful undercurrent as the song demands.
The arrangements tend to be fast and furious, sometimes aided by the only
drum that belongs in music like this – the bodhran. Despite the speed and
intensity the band never feels rushed. They are masters of riding the front of
the pocket, like a surfer hanging ten on a big wave.
The best of the covers is the traditional “Recruiting Sargeant” which tells the tragic story of the Royal Newfoundland
Regiment (aka the Blue Puttees) who fought in World War One. The song’s
narrative takes us from the exhortations of the King’s recruiters through the
terrible tragic losses the regiment encountered at Gallipoli and the Somme. The
song artfully juxtaposes the promised glories of battle, complete with the martial
beat of the bodhran:
“So it's over the mountains, and
over the sea
Come brave Newfoundlanders and
join the Blue Puttees
You'll fight the Hun in Flanders,
and at Galipoli
Enlist you Newfoundlanders and
come follow me”
With the horrible realities of war, underscored by the mournful tin
whistle:
“Then the call came from London,
for the last July drive
To the trenches with the
regiment, prepare yourselves to die
The roll call next morning, just
a handful survived.
Enlist you Newfoundlanders and
come follow me”
This damned song puts a lump in my throat every time.
I also enjoy “Donkey Riding”
which is not about an actual donkey, but rather a steam powered winch used at
the turn of the century in logging and marine industry. It isn’t for riding,
but the song ably captures the fact that young men often do foolhardy things. It’s
a miracle any of us make it to thirty.
While Great Big Sea has always embraced traditional Newfoundland folk
music and history, they write a pretty ditty themselves when they’re of a mind.
The album opens with “Ordinary Day”
which is a song that reminds us “it’s
just an ordinary day/and it’s all your state of mind.” Very true, and when
you hear the song your spirit is inclined to see an ordinary day as pretty damned
fine.
I definitely over-listened this record in the day and as a result I rarely
put it on anymore. Despite this, when the Odyssey gods called its number it
wasn’t boring or tired and even though I feel like I know every note and word
on the record, it didn’t detract in any way from my joy at hearing them all
again.
Best tracks: Ordinary Day, When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down), The
Night Pat Murphy Died, Donkey Riding, Recruiting Sargeant, Jolly Roving Tar
No comments:
Post a Comment