Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea is an appropriate name for this Celtic-themed band of traditionalists from Newfoundland, whose music conjures pictures of vast bodies of water. This is the group's first album, released in 1992.
Personnel: Alan Doyle (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Séan McCann (vocals, guitar, mandolin, tin whistle, bodhran); Darrell Power (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin); Bob Hallett (vocals, bouzouki, mandolin, fiddle, tin whistle).
Audio Mixer: Paul Janes.
Recording information: Piper Stock Studios, Torbay, Newfoundland, Canada.
Photographer: Ken Taylor.
Arrangers: Great Big Sea; Jim Fidler.
While The Rankin Family may have spurred the interest in Celtic music in Canada, Great Big Sea were the ones to really take the style and run with it, bringing it to a younger audience that previously regarded it as a style more suitable for fishermen and grandparents. This self-titled album is the most traditional of the group's albums, both earnest and upbeat. While it might be tempting to fault the band for playing it too safe (versions of both "I'se the B'y" and "Drunken Sailor" are included here), it's nonetheless a good introduction to a band that would soon bring the traditional Newfoundland sound kicking and screaming onto the Canadian pop charts. ~ Sean Carruthers