Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski hatched the idea for Rogue's Gallery while filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"--that idea being to cast genteel rock superstars like Bono, Lou Reed, Bryan Ferry, Andre Corr, and Sting to reinterpret gritty seafaring standards for an exhaustive 43-track double-disc set produced by Hal Wilner. Throw in a bunch of credible folk stars (Loudon Wainwright III, Richard Thompson), their offspring (Rufus, Teddy) and a string of other curious characters (Jarvis Cocker, Antony) and what results is one of the strangest compilations in recent memory, if not exactly the most historically authentic or, well, digestible. Nick Cave embraces the role just a little too hard on "Fire Down Below," while Ferry can't help but sound like he's singing for the cast of "The Love Boat," but cut through the chaff and there is some real bootie here: Bono's "Dying Sailor to His Shipmates," Jolie Holland's "The Grey Funnel Line" and "Boney" by a mysterious tramp called Jack Sh**, which must be some kind of anagram for Johnny Depp. --Aidin Vaziri
In no way sea-sickness-inducing
Review date: 2010-02-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
It's good because the tunes are weird and wonderful to the modern ear, because it's a compilation and will both surprise you with artists you've never heard of and the ones you have, because it has two disks of this, because it's beautifully packaged and has entertaining and insight-giving sleeve notes, and because it's kinda macabre, you know.
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Reviews
concept stuff -when it's good it's quality - not authenticReview date: 2009-07-12 Rating: 8 out of 10I love it. It's not all of a standard, difficult to digest in parts for sure.
Never heard any real shanties apart from stuff modern folk guys chose.
The more trad stuff is ALMOST what you'd expect, ALMOST - but it's people like Loudon WIII and Nick Cave playing at being pirates I enjoy most. There's some really out there takes on what being a pirate means on here. When it works it's delightful. Fun. Unlike anything else you'll ever here (though think there's rumours of a second). Skip what you don't.
Get yourself a bottle of good jamaican rum and enjoy singin gruff! (although be warned of classically-trained-singer-next-door-neighbour singing "what shall we do with the drunken sailors" the next morning when you awake with a head like a voodoo shrunken head! - sorry neighbour!)Mostly excellent with odd patchy songsReview date: 2009-02-04 Rating: 8 out of 10Most of the songs are excellent and interesting history or context provided in the sleeve notes. A couple of tracks I find irritating and unlistenable (obviously some people may like tone deaf ramblings)
Overall I would recommend this, as there are some incredibly moving tracks that would stand scrutiny in any situationNot too shabbyReview date: 2007-11-01 Rating: 6 out of 10I can understand some folk purists wanting to hate this before they've even heard it, and it could have ended up as a complete dogs breakfast. Yes if they'd given the whole undertaking to Bellowhead it might have been a classic, but on the whole it's not turned out too bad, and there's something to be said for the eclectic nature of the thing.
I'll have nothing said against Baby Gramps, he's a fine guitarist and that's no affectation, he really does sound like Popeye's drunken brother. Surprisingly of the "Big Names" Sting makes the best fist of his effort. I say surprising because he strikes me as the most unlikeable of people. Unsurprisingly Bono misses the point completely, and confirms that he is now completely and utterly up himself.
The most authentic voice however comes from the incomparable Richard Thompson, but there are quite a few enjoyable tracks on here, CD1 needing a lot less skipping than CD2.A Hearrrrrrrrty Thumbs up for this BeautyReview date: 2007-10-01 Rating: 10 out of 10Nick Cave, Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed, Jarvis Cocker, Antony Hegarty and Loudon Wainwright - all on two fantastic discs - what could be better (even Sting and Bono are bearable) - add to the mix some of the most lurid, dirty, pox-ridden, scum-sucking, keelhauling, timber-shivering songs of the last two hundred years and top off with John C Reilly and Ralph Steadman to have the perfect barrel of salty seadog entertainment this side of the Sargasso. Johnny Depp can now be forgiven for Pirates of the Caribbean 2.
Product Details/Specifications
Artist(s):
Various Artists
Recording label: Anti Manufacturer: AntiEAN: 8714092681727Binding: Audio CDRelease date: 2006-08-21Number of discs: 2Disc 1 Tracks: 1. Cape Cod Girls - Baby Gramps2. Mingulay Boat Song - Thompson, Richard3. My Son John - Reilly, John C.4. Fire Down Below - Cave, Nick5. Turkish Revelry - Wainwright, Loudon III6. Bully In The Alley - Three Pruned Men7. Cruel Ship's Captain - Ferry, Bryan8. Dead Horse - Holcomb, Robin9. Spanish Ladies - Frisell, Bill10. Coast Of High Barbary - Arthur, Joseph11. Haul Away Joe - Thompson, Mark Anthony12. Dan Dan - Thomas, David13. Blood Red Roses - Sting14. Sally Brown - Thompson, Teddy15. Lowlands Away - Wainwright, Rufus & Kate McGarrigle16. Baltimore Whores - Friday, Gavin17. Rolling Sea - Carthy, Eliza18. Haul On The Bowline - Neuwirth, Bob19. Dying Sailor To His Shipmates - Bono20. Bonnie Portmore - Williams, Lucinda21. Mermaid - Carthy, Martin & The UK Group22. Shenandoah - Greene, Richard & Jack Shit23. Cry Of Man - O'Hara, Mary MargaretDisc 2 Tracks: 1. Boney Was A Warrior - Jack Shit2. Good Ship Venus - Wainwright, Loudon III3. Long Time Ago - White Magic4. Pinery Boy - Cave, Nick5. Lowlands Low - Ferry, Bryan & Antony6. One Spring Morning - Akron/Family7. Hog Eye Man - Carthy, Martin & Family8. Fiddler - Jay, Ricky & Richard Greene9. Caroline And Her Young Sailor Bold - Corr, Andrea10. Fathom The Bowl - Reilly, John C.11. What Do We Do With A Drunken Sailor - Thomas, Dave12. Farewell Nancy - Harcourt, Ed13. Hanging Johnny - Ridgway, Stan14. Old Man Of The Sea - Baby Gramps15. Greenland Whale Fisheries - Parks, Van Dyke16. Shallow Brown - Sting17. Grey Funnel Line - Holland, Jolie18. Drop Of Nelson's Blood - Cocker, Jarvis19. Leave Her Johnny - Reed, Lou20. Little Boy Billee - Steadman, RalphPublishers: Anti