Kings of the Sea / Skeleton Crew Pirate Band

First there was Mallory & McCall, a duo who have been performing together for over twenty years. They became a fixture at many events throughout California and they developed quite a following. Always gracious, they invited performer after performer to share the stage with them. Thus was born the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band. The band has developed from a guest musician of the moment sort of an affair into a solid group featuring Patch Patterson and Dennis Gilmore (plus the guest musician of the moment).

That said, there are numerous pirate groups releasing music on a regular basis so one might wonder what makes this CD so special. The answer can only be found by listening to the album, and yes, this is certainly a special disc. Just listening to the opening assures the user that these aren't some kids playing at pirates, the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band is the real deal.

The album begins with a tribute to the days when Mallory & McCall were producing a weekly radio drama. The opening, "Prelude for Cannon and Steel" gives one a feeling of nostalgia for the days of the radio serial. That feeling of nostalgia for days gone by sets the album up well.

Most pirate albums these days suffer from the same taint, being too modern. The albums are often wonderful, but they still miss the true 'pirate' feel. This CD captures several styles, but all of them with an authentic pirate feel. Whether it is the steel drum music in "Fishy Mermaid" or the sweeping grandeur of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirate King", this disc just feels 'real'.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Mallory & McCall CD without a rich assortment of original music. "Kings of the Sea" harkens back to musicals of a century back, rich in both lyrical and musical content, this track certainly doesn't disappoint.

The album is also filled, thanks to the kindness of the people at Disney, with classic favorites that the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band is so well known for. "Shiver me Timbers", from Muppet Treasure Island is a real favorite. Not satisfied to record the song as is, the Skeleton Crew Pirate Band tacks on new verses (perhaps inspired by their time on the red carpet for the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) and the song stands out as a true joy.

The true highlight of the album though, is "the Derelict". The classic, and rather clunky, minor key tune discarded for an original arrangement that is still THE definitive version of this song. While this song was also released on Mallory & McCall's Rough Draft Sampler (reviewed here) this cut so far surpasses that original offering as to wipe all vestiges of the original version from the listener's mind.

The Rough Cut Sampler had a few technical issues, and one might wonder if this album might suffer from the same annoyances. No. Band member Dennis Gilmore did a wonderful job engineering and mixing this CD. There are no technical issues with this CD, the sound quality is sharp and crisp, and the sound levels are consistently rich and steady.

The CD is available from Mallory & McCall's website for $15 and is worth every penny. If you're an old salt or you've recently gone on the account...this is an album you can't afford to miss.

The problem with period music is it sometimes leans towards the dry side. And while non-period music is often more fun, it generally clashes with any sort of authenticity (a problem at times, certainly.) But with their new album "Kings of the Sea," The Skeleton Crew Pirate Band manages to straddle that difficult line and create an album that's fun to listen to, while still lending itself to a period feel. I use the words "period feel" carefully, as not all of these songs are actually authentic. Many, in fact, are culled from a wide variety of movie favorites - Muppet Treasure Island, The Pirates of Penzance, Treasure Island, and Pirates of the Caribbean all lend tunes and lyrics to this album. But while the sources may be modern, the vocals and instruments throughout carry a traditional piratey air, only deviating a bit with some non-traditional vocal styles now and again. And indeed, many of the other songs truly are period (William Kidd, Pirate's Love Song, and Henry Martin, for example) although they too feature some artistic licence with styling (and more power to them!)

"Kings of the Sea" is a packed CD, boasting a full 72 minutes of pirate music. And between the aforementioned tracks and sources, coupled with Fishy Mermaid and Bold Fighting Pirates, the lion's share of the songs are certainly familiar territory for many fans of pirate music. In some cases that might lead to an album of "been there, heard that" types of songs, but The Skeleton Crew has a distinctive character which they inject into each and every song. The vocal styles are fun to the point of being nearly comical (I could easily picture Mallory and Janna McCall doing voices for cartoons or puppets - fitting when you consider that two of this album's tracks were originally sung by Muppets.) And as to the instrumentals, the band puts to use a brilliant mix of vintage pump organs, accordions, autoharps, and recorders and whistles that not only work well with the lyrics, but could practically carry an album by themselves.

All told, "Kings of the Sea" is a fine album. At times it sounds a bit kid-show, but at others it's bloody brilliant. And with a full 21 songs, it can afford to have a song here or there that doesn't ring as true as others. The winners far outweigh the losers, and are well-worth checking out!

(For the complete text of Bilgemunky's review including which songs he liked and which he didn't (Ooo!) visit his website: Bilgemunky.com and hear the great news about his new radio show Monday nights. Thanks, Bilge!)