The Pirate Band/Nautical By Nature/Rodent Records/2008
Sea shanties meet the San Mateo rock scene. No, really. Members of “Men’s Club”, “Natural Fonzie”, and “The Clap Band” take their hard earned Mateo stripes to bear on covers of classic sea shanties and a few originals. Some are bawdy and are noted below. The live shows are something to behold, the audience lifting tankards, some dressed as pirates, and grasping their songbooks, singing along. American songstress Gillian Welch has been known to sit in when the live shows collide with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. All are fun, Andrea’s favorites are: 2, 5 (but too many FCCs) 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 (Land Ahoy). FCCs: 1 and 3 mild “whores”, 5 whole song is one Giant FCC (pun intended), 12 and 14 mild “whore” and allusions to what one might do with a cabin boy.
1) 1:24 Uptempo fun pirate sing-a-long, mild FCC “whore”.
2) 2:30 Midtempo. Great take on the classic, sing-a-long w/ the chorus if you dare.
3) 3:55 Slow cover of a classic. Mild FCC “whore”.
4) 1:58 Slow original, nice accordion accompaniment on this one.
5) 1:54 Uptempo classic, but sadly too many FCCs to mention…shame, cuz it’s fucking brilliant.
6) 3:04 Slow original, great backing vocals.
7) 2:37 Slow original, nice lyrics and a bit of a departure from the more traditional shanty format.
8) 1:22 Uptempo, hysterical song about the dangers of a flu epidemic at sea. Hacking fun.
9) 1:54 Slow original, again some nice accordion.
10) 2:13 Midtempo terrific cover of the classic, great song! Nice vocals and guitar work on this one.
11) 2:47 Slow original, great melodica and vocals on this track. Dynamic…
12) 2:54 Slow eerie pirate dirge…this one rocks. Mild FCC “whore”
13) 3:31 midtempo a cappella the whole band gets a turn to sing, fun.
14) 12:22 starts with ocean sounds and digging up of buried treasure at 3:00 minutes in Land Ahoy starts eerie, creepy dirge with terrific cello and Martin Jones from the Mermen helping out on percussion. At 6:32 Cabin Boy Midtempo dark. At 9:36 Blow the Man Down Midtempo classic another fabulous sing-a-long. Ends with the closing of the treasure chest.