Songs From The Son of A Sailor
Sarah Jane Sheppard
He's been a member of the Great Big Sea trifecta since the group first starting performing in their signature, Newfoundland kitchen part style 18 years ago. Sean McCann and his bandmates Bob Hallett and Alan Doyle have become Newfoundland and Labrador's most commercially successful music group, rousing stadiums full of fans to their toe-tapping feet, across Canada and beyond. And although he enjoys putting off a heck of a party, for McCann, there's a quieter, yet equally fulfilling side of singing and music making that comes out when the show is over and the stadium is empty.
Literally hot off his first solo effort Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes, released in early 2010, McCann is back with 10 new tracks on his second solo work, Son of A Sailor. Veering away from the very polished sound and collaborative effort of his first solo project, working with local artists like Mark Bragg, for Son of A Sailor, McCann has stripped away the extras and hopes to take listeners back to a time when music was simply about the story of a song.
The nautical concept of the album, and several of the seafaring songs, came from a source very close to McCann. Although officially a townie, McCann says his family history was shaped in around Conception Bay, Gull Island, and Northern Bay where his family members, particularly his grandfather, with whom he spent many summers, made a living from the sea. “He lived to be 99 and he loomed large in our family stories long after he was gone,” McCann says of his grandfather.
ARTISTIC INSPIRATION
Even the artwork on the album cover, a painting by Newfoundland artist Conrad Furey, served up a welcomed dose of inspiration. McCann, a long time supporter of Newfoundland painters, purchased Furey's painting some 15 years back and hung it in his office and says the image helped inspire the title track, Son of A Sailor, as well as another track on the album, Rather Be A Sailor.
Beyond those close the heart inspirations, McCann purposely worked toward writing songs that felt like Newfoundland or that were reminiscent of an older style of songwriting, akin to music in the old time country vein from artists like Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and Merle Haggard. This required side-stepping the new, perfectly polished, production sound prevalent in music making today, which McCann was happy to do, going so far as to produce the entire album with no drums. “I just wanted to give it a bare bones treatment and focus on the songs. I think in the past that's what people did...nowadays the emphasis is on heavy production and a slickness I was trying to get away from,” he says.
To achieve this, McCann did most of the work on the album, from writing, singing, and playing, only bringing in a few others who understood his vision for the album. One of those people was respected Newfoundland fiddler, Kelly Russell, who learned to play from such greats as Emile Benoit and Rufus Guinchard. “He's probably responsible for carrying on that tradition in Newfoundland,” McCann told the Herald.
He also brought in Craig Young on guitar, a Newfoundlander who recently returned home after 20 years in Nashville, as well as enlisted the help of Boyd MacNeil of the Barra MacNeils, his Great Big Sea bandmates and Murray Foster to help with the background vocals and instrumentation. “In my mind, I set out to make something you'd sit around the fire and listen to or learn to play because they're simple songs,” McCann says.
As for why his first and second solo album are less than a year apart, McCann says the reason is simple. “I was writing a lot of songs.” And in many ways he thinks of Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes as an album that he needed to do, as a stepping stone, to get to Son of A Sailor. McCann describes the first solo album as a busy project with many collaborators moving through, tons of ideas floating around as well as very emotionally and personally tied to his experiences. “This record is more accessible, it's not all about me, it's about bigger things, bigger subjects,” he adds.
McCann also wrote more on this album, along with some co-writing, drawing on his favourite songwriters like Johnny Cash, Bob Marley, and Joe Strummer. He says a good song is not necessarily decided by a good voice. “What I prefer to listen to is a good song. I don't really care if the vocal is that great, played simply on a guitar, or whatever that songwriter's instrument is. I think for the most part if a song is that good, it'll stand up under scrutiny.' This is something he feels is being buried in the ever-changing music business where all the 'bells and whistles” of technology can make a song sound much better than it really is at the core.
NEWFOUNDLAND NARNIA
Keeping Newfoundland close is a given when it comes to music making for McCann and the other members of Great Big Sea. “We wear Newfoundland on our sleeves. We are from Newfoundland and that is the first thing we tell people wherever we are, whether it be Germany or California,” McCann says proudly.
And when it comes to Son of a Sailor, McCann says he wanted the music to reawaken memories of Newfoundland before troubles in the fishery changed so much of the province's cultural fabric. “There was a romantic notion in Newfoundland before the fishery collapsed. I remember growing up with dories and being able to go out on the water at a very young age and jig codfish. It was kind of like a Newfoundland Narnia; my children won't see that,” says McCann. The title track Son of a Sailor evokes those memories for McCann who says every time he sings it, he thinks of his grandparents.
After 18 successful years and still going strong with Great Big Sea, it seems obvious to ask, why the need for solo work? McCann says Great Big Sea has a specific mandate as a party band characterized by music and performances that fit big stadiums and outdoor festivals; there isn't much room for quieter sets and simple instrumentation. “In our world, there wasn't much room for the types of songs I was writing. I love getting out there, screaming my head off and dancing around, but I can't turn off the other side of my brain that has these whispers,” McCann explains.
Overall he says being together as long as Great Big Sea has, requires a democratic setup, a lot of respect and when it comes down to it ideas come and go. This is why McCann says branching out on solo projects contributes to the overall health of the band by allowing members to do exactly what they feel compelled to do. Hallett is currently enjoying Canadian best seller status with his book Writing out the Notes, while Alan has tried his hand at acting, most recently in an episode of Republic of Doyle and will soon start work on his own solo album. McCann says “the reason why we're still together is because we manage to support each other through those things.”
NORWEGIAN DAWN
Son of a Sailor will be officially released aboard the Norwegian Dawn during the fourth annual Ships and Dip cruise, an at sea music festival fronted by the Barenaked Ladies. The album will be available to purchase on February 8, and McCann is looking forward to the opportunity to connect with audiences, at home and abroad on a new level.
“It's great to just sit down with 200 people and a guitar and talk about songs with them and have that intimate contact with an audience. That's something that just can't happen in Great Big Sea world because the shows can go anywhere from 1,000-10,000.”
In a world where dance beats and studio pyrotechnics saturate the music industry, Son of a Sailor is a refreshing reminder of a song's ability to tell a story and McCann's unique voice, combing a warm tone and weathered edge makes for easy listening and believable vulnerability.
(note: this is not in any way mine, just posting it for friends to see :) )
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