Tall Ships and Tavern Tales

This double album of songs from their two-part stage show of the same name is described by Devon’s self-styled ‘original buoy band’ (who rejoice in such unlikely monickers as ‘Billy Rollocks’ and ‘Eamon Fyre’) as ‘a voyage in song from the high seas to a dockside ale house.’ Thus, the first disc, Tall Ships, features 17 traditional shanties from the era of the tall ships, while the second, Tavern Tales, boasts songs, some but not all traditional, which they suggest boisterous sailors and their pals could have enjoyed singing in a dockside tavern. As you might expect, there’s not much on the first set that’s likely to be unfamiliar to anyone with more than a passing interest in shanties, but songs like ‘Rollin’ Down to Old Maui’, ‘Billy Boy’ and ‘Leaving of Liverpool’ are delivered with formidable gusto.

On the second CD, they’re briefly joined by the sole female voice, ‘tavern landlady’ Helen Highwater, for opener ‘Heaven’s a Bar,’ and the gender-fluid ‘Handsome Cabin Boy’ but otherwise it’s another sailor-boy romp through such familiar tunes as ‘Shenandoah’ and ‘Pay Me My Money Down’, along with a slightly incongruous version of the spiritual ‘No More Auction Block’.