Sea Shanties / The Men Of The Robert Shaw Chorale CD

The songs of the sailor presented on SEA SHANTIES may have gone out with the tall ships, but the traditional song stylings are preserved forever in this remarkable recording from 1960. RCA Victor took great pains in re-releasing this album, maintaining everything from the original "Living Stereo" fidelity to the unmistakable cover art.

The shanties themselves are familiar, due in no small part to the popularity of this recording in its original release. The Men of the Robert Shaw Chorale perform with vigor and machismo. Led primarily by baritones, the songs follow three basic patterns: call and response, ballads and more complex "windlass and capstan" shanties. The best known of the call and response songs, such as "Blow the Man Down" and "What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor," remain popular for their deceptive simplicity. Each part is relatively easy to sing--these were, after all, work songs--but when all the parts are put together, they create a lively and quite enjoyable whole.