Fortune's Favour

I wanted to like this album, I really did. But my husband agrees with me, this is rubbish. We own every GBS CD and DVD, and this CD does not improve with increased play. There are two, maybe three tracks that stand out, and no surprise they are the more "traditional" ones. I can indulge "Rocker Alan" for a couple of songs, but not the whole album, and I hate when Sean sings high-pitched ballads. Bob is excellent, as always. Even some of the harmonies sound weak (miss you Darryl!). This album seems very disjointed, like they took all the songs that were scrapped from prior albums and threw them together in this collection. For more contemporary GBS I'd recommend "Sea of No Cares" or "Something Beautiful" before this one. Hopefully they wise up and bring in Chris Trapper again to write some decent songs for the next release.

I guess in this world of constant evolution from recording artists worth their salt it's no wonder that GBS opt for a transformation to pop music. Only, this isn't their first venture. After a few mediocre trips into popdom with "Sea Of No Cares" and "Something Beautiful" which were passable at best, GBS returned to what they do best on "The Hard And The Easy." The fantastic vintage of that record washed away the heartfelt homogeny that it's predecessors brought in. That being said, I relished the release of "Fortune's Favour", and even moreso that it was produced by wunderkind, Hawksley Workman! How can you lose with GBS and Hawksley Workman? "Fortune's Favour" is how. The opening song "Love Me Tonight" runs the safe, tried and true lines of a typical pop love song with an almost adult contemporary-type production. The traditional instruments are almost absent from this and it's follow-up, the first single, "Walk On The Moon." This is yet another sad attempt by Alan Doyle to bring optimism forth only to have it be another case of 4 minute banality. Sean McCann's vocal arrival at track three with "England," proves that music doesn't have to be important to be important. This, if it isn't a traditional (there are no songwriting credits on the album anywhere), certainly sings like one and is the highlight of the whole disc. Sadly, even "England" could not save this album as what follows from track 4-14 is nothing but one bit of overproduced pop nonsense all run together. I suppose all is not lost, "Company of Fools" is a small bit of fun, and I suppose that if you are looking for something a bit more current in your listening material this might be up your alley. Speaking as a listener well versed in the best GBS has done in the past and could do.... This is certainly not the best they could do and is a limp follow-up to "The Hard And The Easy."

Great Big Sea really did a good job with this album. Similar to their other music, this CD has some fine tunes.

"With Our Hearts as Big as Sails"

You can't keep a good man down, never mind the trio that comprises Great Big Sea. It's no real surprise, after the salt-of-the-earthiness of The Hard and The Easy--an unapologetic excursion into the heart of Newfoundland acoustic traditional--that GBS is shooting sky high with this new release and going supersonic. Oh yeah!

Produced by a fearless Hawksley Workman, Fortune's Favour is the band's 9th studio album in 15 years. I'm honestly surprised and thrilled that GBS continues to conquer new frontiers with unflagging spirit, countless miles and a veritable World's Fair of cities behind them. I'm a loyal fan of 10 years, and if this is to be my review of the album, I figure what the hell's the point of pretending I'm impartial. I'm not. So, there you have it, my deep-rooted bias. The fact is I'm invested--time, money, heart, energy and friendships.

I've been listening to friends talk about Fortune's Favour this week, about cranking it on the open road--windows, sunroofs and hearts wide open. There's no question that with the opening bars of "Love Me Tonight" all hearts shout approval. The album's first single "Walk on the Moon" follows, and while it's not my favourite track, I appreciate and totally enjoy the unexpected treatment Workman gives it. Drifting back to earth for track three, I'm carried far away to McCann's "England", a truly lovely and straightforward nod to the wistful shantys of a sea faring culture, a nod to the forefathers. Now three songs in, and my mind is looking for sign posts. I wonder early on how this album is held together.

Doyle's soulful voice breaks in with "Here and Now". Song 4 has me completely. It's my early favourite--infectious and lyrically rich with an apt allusion to Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gently". Great Big Sea's signature harmonies and fierce male chorus are a sign post, and magic lets loose on the bridge, "walk a little further off the beaten path..." Sure. I'm with you lads.

Fronted by McCann, "Long Lost Love" shifts tempo and flavour again. It's groovy. For me, it's reminiscent of Blue Rodeo, but I've failed to convince anyone else. There's no time to dwell, however, when the unexpected rocker "Oh Yeah" shatters the speed of sound. It's lyrically interesting despite the title. I remember hearing it live several months ago, and, unlike some tunes in production, this one has definitely improved. My initial aversion is a growing appreciation. Truthfully, some of the vocals and lyrics are so cool, I want to jump in. I will be a part of that gang vocal yet.

Bringing up the weak middle position is song 7, the lone traditional track on this album, Banks of Newfoundland. I wish I liked it more. I want to. For me, however, it's a sore thumb. I wish Bob's lead vocals had been put to best use recording the Knack's "Good Girls Don't" instead because his cover is fierce. The vocals a worthy match for his always intense gaze.

Halfway through and I'm still looking for signposts. Two themes are emerging. First there is the explicit 'carpe diem' of songs fronted by Doyle offset by the wistful 'love lost, found & fought for' complexity of the McCann tracks.

Some large part of my gypsy soul grabs hold of song 8, "Dream to Live". It has that most compelling of Great Big Sea benchmarks--an irresistible chorus. I, at least, cannot resist it. It's followed by "Company of Fools", written by Doyle and Russel Crowe years ago when Doyle produced the latest TOFOG album. Crowe's loss is our gain. The other part of my gypsy soul is perfectly at home in this company.

Song 10 and hard at it, some of the lyrics to "Hard Case" puzzle me, but it still hits like a ton of bricks. I dig how the easy groove wraps around the troubled storyline, even if the meaning does leave me confounded. From comfortable confusion to regretful romance, "Rocks of Merasheen" is next. I must be in McCann territory. I am definitely at the mercy of another killer gang chorus.

Cut to 1980 something and "Dance Dance" lead by Doyle Doyle. For those who missed it the first few times, seize the moment, and don't let that lovely lady wander the rocky rocks alone forever...or something like that. I can't wait to enjoy this one live because I will happily do what the title commands and Sing Sing too. What can I say about the achingly beautiful strains of "Heart of Stone" and just how brilliant the bagpipes are in this arrangement? This one tugs hard and lets you live with the ache.

The album wraps unapologetically with "Straight to Hell". Although I don't subscribe to the fire and brimstone school of belief, this slightly apocalyptic return to the live-life-fully mantra works for me.

With Fortune's Favour aptly described in The Telegram as a "coalescence of the band's traditional roots influences, its uppity folk ballads and pop tendencies, injected with Workman's big-sound, big production propensity" some people may wonder how fans will accept the new offering. Idiosyncratic preferences aside, I see fans whole heartedly embracing the album "with our hearts as big as sails", a joyous parade of sail in fact.

Fortune's Favour is the first "pop" oriented album from Great Big Sea since 'Something Beautiful' in 2004 and I personally think it is even better. Four years of focusing on traditional music has done nothing to dampen the pop sensibilities of the band. 'Walk on the Moon' can be a radio hit in the US if there are stations brave enough to try something outside the typical offering. All of the songs are typical of the GBS philosophy, life is good and you better take advantage of life now. So buy the album, see them in a concert venue near you when they tour in the Fall, and get moving and live because you can't hold still when GBS is part of the soundtrack of your life.