Review: After a singing "voyage" of over twenty years, sea chantey-singing male quartet (originally a quintet) The Boarding Party, Jonathan, Bob, K.C. and Tom have come ashore to treat us to a 17-song collection of their authentic, testosterone-soaked songs of the sea. A couple of the chanteys, like "Comin' Down The C&O," "Hudson River Steamboat" and "The Old Peacock," are lightly, and nicely accompanied by guitar, harmonica and banjo. Some of our favorites are the poignant "Tommy's Gone to Hilo," "Let The Bullgine Run," "Mauling Live Oak," "Come Along Down," "Starbuck's Complaint," "Randy Dandy O," "C'est L'Aviron," "Saltpetre Shanty," "One More Day," "Lowlands Away" and "Survivor Leave." These are rare and wonderful, authentic songs, some of which would have "died in the Folk archives" if the group hadn't discovered them and created music for them. We enjoyed every minute of "Fair Winds and a Following Sea!" 

Songlist: Tommy's Gone to Hilo, The Old Peacock, Let the Bullgine Run, Mauling Live Oak, Soran Bushi, Hudson River Steamboat (Allison), Come Along Down, Go It, Jerry, Starbuck's Complaint (Boarding Party), Randy Dandy O, C'est L'Aviron, Coming Down the C & O (Eberhart), Saltpetre Shanty, Heise, All (Eberhart), One More Day, Lowlands Away, Survivor Leave (Stevens)

Review: A motley crew brings us this collection of sea shanties and ballads, "motley" meaning "of many colors," which describes both the group and their songs. They are Tom McHenry, K.C. King, Bob Hitchcock, Jonathan Eberhart and Dave Diamond, who share a love of singing and the sea. There is a strong folk feeling to this CD, as most sea shanties are working songs, and there's the occasional light guitar or banjo accompaniment. Some of our favorites are: "The Alabama," "The Seaman's Hymn & Eternal Father," "Dead Horse," "Truxton's Victory," "The Sailor's Alphabet," and "Shallow Brown." Well-researched, authentic songs of the sea, vibrantly performed.

Songlist: Bristol Channel Jamboree, Haul Awa', Otho's Song, The Alabama, The Cruiser Baltimore, The Hogeye Man, Solid Fas', The Seaman's Hymn & Eternal Father, Come Down, You Roses, Dead Horse, Johnson Girls, Truxton's Victory, The Sailor's Alphabet, The Shanghaied Dredger, Shallow Brown, The Farewell Shanty

Review: It's been too many years, but now my favorite group of singers/scholars/rowdies has rewarded our patience with another collection of water-songs. And a collection of great variety, too: favorite old chanteys, nautical gospel songs, a couple of original songs, a cable-laying song, a Bengali rowing song, songs from the rivers, lakes and canals, as well as the oceans, high and low. Some are tongue-in-cheek, some just good roaring fun, but most ring with the great dignity of sincerity., Some of these songs would have died in the archives had not Bob and Jonathan made new tunes for them, and many would be lost to us forever without the work and interest of these men. They're scholars and historians, and their big robust voices lift these songs into our present very well.

Songlist: Ten Stone, Heave 'er Up and Bust 'er, Tanqueray Martini-o, Goodbye Old Ship of Mine, Song for the Challenger's Crew, Rosie, Sheep on the Deep, Drifting Too Far From Shore, The Ward Line, Atlantic Cable Line, Down The C and O, 100 Years on the Eastern Shore, Oray Sujon Naiya, Rolling Down to Old Maui, Solar Privateer, Farewell to Grog, Last Cigar