|
|||||
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Purchase a product from the Music Store sold by Amazon.co.uk and receive £1 to use on an album download in our MP3 Store. Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Track Listings
| 1. No Hopers, Jokers & Rogues |
| 2. South Australia |
| 3. Brightly Beams |
| 4. Cadgwith Anthem |
| 5. Bully in the Alley |
| 6. Shenandoah |
| 7. Mingulay Boat Song |
| 8. Johnny Hilo |
| 9. Pay Me My Money Down |
| 10. Sailor ain't a Sailor |
| 11. Ladies of Plymouth |
| 12. Haul Away Joe |
Product Description
Review
"As seen on TV" boasts the sleeve sticker proudly, directly under a helpfully explanatory line about the music we find within: "Hearty sea shanties delivered from the rugged north Cornwall coast." It doesn't initially scream a surefire commercial proposition but–make no mistake–at a point when quirky authenticity seems to be the Holy Grail for major record labels, this is A Serious Marketing Project.
It's easy to be cynical, then, about the £1m budget apparently unleashed to ensure its success. But it's equally difficult not to be seduced by the idea of 10 burly middle-aged blokes from a tiny but spectacularly beautiful village in Cornwall singing primitive sea shanties and getting to share a record label with Lady Gaga.
Only three of them are actually fishermen. But the Friends–eight of whom went to school together–have been belting out soaring harmonies and big choruses in local pubs for 15 years (appearing twice at London's Royal Albert Hall, supporting fellow West Country band Show of Hands), though sales of their previous CDs have primarily been limited either to tourists or mail order customers. That all changed when DJ Johnnie Walker discovered them in Port Isaac, and here they are delivering populist sea anthems like South Australia, Haul Away Joe, Sweet Ladies of Plymouth and The Mingulay Boat Song with endless vigour, if limited sophistication.
It was mostly recorded in a local church, though questions may justifiably be asked about the shiny production gleam that's been strategically added, along with flailing pipes, booming drums and other unnecessary instrumentation to create an irritating artificiality. They flounder completely when tackling more contemporary material like the anthemic lead-off single No Hopers, Jokers and Rogues and the alt-country mess that is The Union of Different Minds.
The simple beauty of the hymn Brightly Beams underlined by a mournful trumpet and the natural richness of their singing on the unaccompanied Cadgwith Anthem illustrate the folly of diluting their raw essence–their magic can't be bottled into something fizzy. As a modern interpretation of shanty songs, the Johnny Depp-inspired 2006 album Rogue's Gallery beats it into a cocked (sailors) hat. --Colin Irwin
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
The Fisherman’s Friends are shanty singers--each of whom are or have been fishermen, lifeboatmen and coastguards (as well as builders, artisans, hoteliers, and shop keepers) in the local area--from Port Isaac on Cornwall’s rugged north coast. At around eight in the evening during the summer months, tourists and locals gather to hear this ten-man group sing a rousing set of shanties and Cornish folk songs. This album, recorded in a 15th-century church in nearby St Kew, features a rich haul of 12 songs from their Port Isaac repertoire, including the classic "South Australia", the haunting Cornish robber ballad "The Cadgwith Anthem" and the beautiful "Brightly Beams".
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it!!!!!!! xx,
By R,K Mac "Rihanna" (Buckinghamshire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends (Audio CD)
Received my cd 2days ago and have been listening to it ever since!!!
The voices and harmonys are just beautiful, the instruments sound fantastic, and there is a song for everyone!! This is a cd for you if you enjoy REAL music, which warms your heart (and if you like a bit of a sing-a-long too!) Well Done Fisherman's Friends!!! xxx
67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jane Willcox.,
By
This review is from: Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends (Audio CD)
Ive been going to Port Isaac on holiday for over 30 years now. First saw the Fishermans Friends, or 'Shanty Men' as my 4 children call them, since 1999. We have loved them ever since.
There music is brilliant, we have there first cd and have played it to death. They sing so well together and have a fantastic sense of humour, you always have a great evening watching them on the Platt throughout the summer. They thoroughly deserve this new found fame, it's long overdue. All of these songs are a delight to listen to. Please buy it.!!
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
missed oportunity,
By
This review is from: Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends (Audio CD)
Having seen these a couple of times, I was looking forward to this (with a little bemusement, it must be said).
The songs are mostly a "greatest hits" collection, and fine for all that. However, the appalling accompanyment completely ruins it. If you're thinking of getting a Fisherman's Friends, get either of their earlier ones - much more satisfying.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
