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Sam Larner was the living embodiment of the folk tradition. A herring fisherman from the age of twelve, he built an extremely huge repertoire of folk songs and sea chantys that he sang while asea. Larner's reputation as a folk singer spread until his tale was taken up by folksingers Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger and Charles Parker who used him as... [+] Read More

Sam Larner was the living embodiment of the folk tradition. A herring fisherman from the age of twelve, he built an extremely huge repertoire of folk songs and sea chantys that he sang while asea. Larner's reputation as a folk singer spread until his tale was taken up by folksingers Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger and Charles Parker who used him as an inspiration for their radio ballad, "Singing The Fishing," in 1960. Broadcast by the BBC, the story of Larner's life and the songs he collected made him a folk hero in England. The radio ballad became the basis for two albums - Now Is The Time For Fishing, released in 1961 and reissued in 1994, and Singing The Fishing. An album of songs recorded by Larner between 1959 and 1960 was issued as A Garland For Sam. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide [-] Hide

This classic comes from perhaps the finest of all English source singers. Larner (1878-1965) was at sea much of his life, but his repertoire was extremely varied. These recordings from 1959 and 1960 are a wonderful mix of songs both famous and less known, with reminiscence, rhymes and sea lore (once a Folkways LP of the same title). ~ John Storm...

This classic comes from perhaps the finest of all English source singers. Larner (1878-1965) was at sea much of his life, but his repertoire was extremely varied. These recordings from 1959 and 1960 are a wonderful mix of songs both famous and less known, with reminiscence, rhymes and sea lore (once a Folkways LP of the same title). ~ John Storm Roberts, Original Music, All Music Guide [-] Hide

While most folks in the 1960s were being consumed by the unholy flames of rock & roll, a somewhat smaller sect was experiencing the wonders of stereo through the soft baton of Robert Shaw. Unlike Mantovani, Herb Alpert, and the Ray Coniff Singers, who saw the mining of the rock movement as a tool of survival, the Robert Shaw Chorale found... [+] Read More

While most folks in the 1960s were being consumed by the unholy flames of rock & roll, a somewhat smaller sect was experiencing the wonders of stereo through the soft baton of Robert Shaw. Unlike Mantovani, Herb Alpert, and the Ray Coniff Singers, who saw the mining of the rock movement as a tool of survival, the Robert Shaw Chorale found inspiration in the songs of Robert Foster and in the increasingly popular realm of sea shanties and spirituals. Essentially, Shaw did for easy listening what Martin Denny and Esquivel did for exotica. Battle Cry of Freedom is exactly what you'd think it is. Eighteen hammy and meticulously arranged songs of patriotism, from "the Battle Hymn of the Republic" to "Dixie," are impeccably performed and often quite poignantly by the heavenly voices of the R.S.C. As the decades have progressed, 20th century easy listening has acquired a definite "kitsch" tag, however, nestled amid the soft polyphony of Robert Shaw and his Chorale is a hint of "coolness." After all, in the '60s, easy listening was the equivalent of 21st century indie pop. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide [-] Hide