Sea Song Sampler: Ballads, Chanteys & More

After twenty-five years of singing as a chanteyman at Mystic Seaport I decided it was time to put together a collection of my favorite, and my most requested, sea songs. A couple of these selections were part of my youth and a couple of others from coming of age during the folk boom of the 60s, but most have come to me through my immersion in a fascinating maritime music community that stretches across the US and Canada to Europe and beyond, offering me the opportunity to hear, learn from, and work with an amazing array of singers. They are part of a great extended family to whom I owe a great debt, as I do also to the family of fans who have gathered 'round me over the years and given me the strength of their love and joy in the music. Some of these friends appear in the choruses here. On several cuts noted below I couldn't resist bringing my good friends and long-time performing cohorts Craig, David, and Rick from Forebitter. For the rest, I wanted this album to sound like my typical solo performances with my regular audience joining in.