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!" |