Across the Western Ocean

CD-R

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6 ratings

See all 2 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Listen Now with Amazon Music
Across The Western Ocean Amazon Music Unlimited
Price
New from Used from
Audio CD, June 1, 1974
$21.45

Track Listings

1 Introduction
2 New York Girls
3 Captain Samuels on his sailors
4 Blow the Man Down
5 Impressions of a first voyage
6 The Crayfish
7 The Black Cook
8 The Lime Juice Ship
9 The wreck of the Staffordshire
10 The Flying Dutchman
11 Get Up Jack, John Sit Down
12 The Flying Cloud
13 Immigration conditions
14 Heave Away My Johnnies
15 Perils of transatlantic dalliance
16 Maggie May
17 Peter Street
18 The Seamen's Hymn

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The songs sung on board the packet ships can be roughly divided into the categories of shanty and forebitter. The shanty was a work song used exclusively to provide the rhythm for the crew working on deck or up in the rigging. Some jobs were long, slow and arduous but maintained an even rhythm. Here the shantyman would set the tempo with a fairly long shanty, usually telling a coherent story. The shantyman's art was a delicate one; he had to draw the line between the pace the men wanted to work and the speed the mate required. The forebitters were sung in a more relaxed atmosphere, in off-duty hours in the crew's cramped quarters beneath the forecastle head. These were often popular ballads from the shore, and many would have been accompanied with fiddle, banjo or other portable instruments. This recording includes both kinds of song, though the shanties are not sung exactly as they would have been rendered on deck. The sets have been chosen as both typical of the period and relevant to the conditions of the time.

About the Artist

For over 30 years John Roberts and Tony Barrand have been the major ambassadors of English traditional music in North America. With rare wit and humor, they sing the ballads and songs of the sea, of rural pursuits, of social and sociable situations, of industrial toil and strife, and much more. Their trademark unaccompanied two-part vocals are augmented with concertinas, banjo and percussion, revealing the wealth, diversity, and vitality of the English folk tradition.

John Roberts& Tony Barrand with David Jones, Gerret Warner, and Jeff Warner

Product details

  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.84 x 0.39 x 5.14 inches; 3.2 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Swallowtail Records
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 1974
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ February 11, 2007
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Swallowtail Records
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00004VXCD
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
6 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2014
    The choice of songs is great and they're performed with great verve, but what sets Across the Western Ocean apart are the interstitial snippets of journals and news accounts that give us context for these sea shanties and work songs. Prudes need not apply--the bawdy lyrics remind us that the crews of the sailing ships were living in a man's world. Plus, having this material at long last available in a good-sounding format is wonderful--th least time I saw these guys (admittedly, it was probably in the early '90s), all they had at the mercy table was cassette.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2014
    Arrived in a timely manner in the described condition. Bought as a gift for a friend. I am very pleased with this purchase.