Album: Fortune's Favour / Band: Great Big Sea / 14 tracks / Folk Rock
Thirteen years after releasing their debut CD, “Up,” under the Warner banner, Great Big Sea’s first track, “Love Me Tonight,” from their new CD Fortune’s Favour, sounds just as fresh as when the band first appeared on the music scene. The ‘what next,’ sense of anticipation in the lyrics, and the desire to be embraced, reflects a band that has never become complacent, and never taken for granted the careers that they have. That genuine spirit infuses every note and every lyric of their music. A whistle introduces, what promises to be yet another hit song.
I cannot think of a way to improve upon introducing you to one of Canada’s national treasures, Great Big Sea, than to quote directly from their official bio sheet, “Great Big Sea is a bastard. Forged from the loins of Figgy Duff and Ryan’s Fancy, Great Big Sea found its feet on the unforgiving streets of St. John’s, and stood their ground when others faltered. When asked about their unlikely success, founding member Bob Hallett is typically candid: “We weren’t the best musicians in town, we just wanted it more. We were driven by a bloody-minded need to succeed and we were rewarded for our bleeding.”
The real treasure of Canada’s island province is its people, and out of that earthy, gregarious, and fun loving people, sprang a rock band called Great Big Sea, who continue to charm music fans throughout the United States and Canada, with their own special brand of folktales. The CD Fortune’s Favour just adds to the growing legend, of this outstanding group.
If “Love Me Tonight,” is about being spirited and retaining an air of humility, then the second track, “Walk On The Moon,” serves as the inspiration to keep our dreams alive. Lead singer, Alan Doyle co-wrote, “Walk On The Moon,” with Grammy Award winner Gordie Samson. It is a song about taking your best shot at pursuing your dreams. It is about not being afraid to walk through that door or out on that limb. At a time when America is experiencing the most significant economic crisis in my lifetime, Canada and the United States are at war in Afghanistan and Iraq, when healthcare is crumbling in Canada, and in America, it is non-existent, this is the song of hope that we all need to hear. It is about closing our eyes, daring to dream and then doing what we all grew up believing we could do—pursuing our dreams.
These are easy songs to sing along with, because they have contagious melodies and just like Great Big Sea’s monster hit “Consequence Free,” they are fun songs, that do not burden us with heavy doses of , ‘the witch or jerk did this or that to me.’ They are not protest songs, but instead they celebrate life, and anyone who knows the people of Newfoundland, will tell you they know how to do that in fine style!
Alternative rocker Hawksley Workman, who has become somewhat of a folk hero in Canada, produced Fortune’s Favour and he appears on this album playing more instruments than I have room to list in this space. Guest musicians Kris MacFarlane and Murray Foster (bass / vocals); join Great Big Sea regulars, Sean McCann (vocals, guitar, bodhran and banjo) and Bob Hallett (bouzouki, fiddle, banjo, accordion, whistles and harmonica) in creating an album whose music is just as diverse as the instruments that these men play. That by the way begs the question doesn’t anyone play just one instrument anymore?
“Banks of Newfoundland,” paints a stark picture of the dangers faced by the fishermen who brave the storms of the Atlantic Ocean. Think George Clooney’s film The Perfect Storm. “Banks Of Newfoundland,” is a foreboding tale, and not for the weak hearted.
The song, “England,” takes us inside the minds and hearts of the early explorers who first set foot on what would later become Canada, and more specifically Newfoundland. Whether you are talking about Leif Erickson, a Viking who in the year 1001, first set foot on what would later become Newfoundland, or you are talking about Christopher Columbus’ crews who sailed to America in 1492, it is easy to get caught up in what we centuries later have glamorized. We often think of the European explorers as brave, daring and adventuresome men, which certainly they were, but this song reminds us that they traveled thousands of miles, on ships that took years to complete their voyages. In doing so, they left behind, friends and loved ones, thousands of miles away, perhaps children, a wife, a special girl, parents or their best friends.
“Dream To Live,” is another song about immigrants, in search of a better life, on this side of the pond. It is a gentle pub song about missing a girl named Molly, “All I need is a good night’s sleep / in your loving arms tonight.”
While, “Dream To Live,” is more reflective, “Company of Fools,” is anything but serene. This is a rowdy; grab another pint song that finds comfort in, as the song says the “company of fools.” If you are the stuffy sort, you may want to skip this song; actually, if you have the slightest hint of being pretentious you should skip the entire album, because you are going to be on a big guilt trip by the time the fourteenth track stops spinning.
Jeen O’Brien lends her vocals to “Hard Case,” a song which questions what motivates us to make poor choices, and she joins Doyle, Hallett and McCann for the fun loving, upbeat, “Dance Dance.”
We have barely touched upon the musicianship demonstrated on this album, but the use of whistles, fiddles, banjos, harmonicas and accordions, keep things fun and light. The guitars establish good rhythms and the drums and percussion build a strong foundation.
Fortune’s Favour represents what music should be about, lyrics cut from the very fabric of life, shared by good storytellers and supported by very good melodies and bass lines.
Great Big Sea’s Fortune’s Favour hits the digital and retail shelves on June 24th.
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Reviewed June 2008
