Post by Ginny on Jul 10, 2006 13:38:14 GMT -5
Great Big Sea formed in 1993. Members Sean McCann, Bob Hallett and Darrell Power came from the band "Rankin Street" and Alan Doyle came from the band "Staggering Home". These four decided to form a band, and play some Newfoundland traditional music. Their first CD "Great Big Sea" was released in 1993. The title track (a song about a tidal wave) became the name of the band. This CD features the hit "Excursion around the Bay", one of the few songs sung by Darrell. In 1995, they released their second CD, "Up". Up reached platinum in Canada. . This CD featured concert favourites such as "Run Runaway", "Goin Up", "Mari-Mac" and "Lukey", as well as the beautiful "Fast As I Can" and the ever-popular "Rant and Roar".
In 1997, they released their third CD, "Play", which also went platinum. This CD includes the hits "Ordinary Day", "When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)", "The Night Pat Murphy Died", "Donkey Riding", "End of the World" and "General Taylor". 1998 saw the release of Rant & Roar, which is a collection of songs from Up and Play.
In 1999, GBS released their fourth studio album "Turn", which includes the hits "Consequence Free", "Feel it Turn", "Jack Hinks" and the beautiful love song "Boston and St. John's". In just one month, Turn went platinum in Canada.
Towards the end of 1999, GBS did a cross-Canada tour. They recorded every night, and in 2000, their first ever live recording, "Road Rage" was released. This includes old favourites, plus two new songs - "Everything Shines" and "Hanging Johnny". In 2002, they released "Sea of No Cares" which includes favourites such as "Sea of No Cares", "Penelope","Clearest Indication", "Stumbling In" and "Fortune".
Not long after SONC was released, the band released "The Great Big DVD" which has a full concert, plus music videos, and a 30-minute documentary of the band.
By the end of 2002, GBS was more popular than they had ever been. However, in January 2003, fans around the world were saddened to hear that bassist Darrell Power would be leaving the band. He was replaced by Murray Foster. Around the same time, GBS also decided it was time for a full-time drummer, so along came Kris MacFarlane.
In 2004, GBS released "Something Beautiful". Unlike their other albums, this one only has two traditional songs-"John Barbour" and "Chafe's Cheilidh". The other eleven tracks are all originals. Some of them include "Shines Right Through Me", "When I am King", "Beat the Drum", "Something Beautiful", "Helmethead" and "Lucky Me".
Despite the success of "Something Beautiful", the b'ys of Great Big Sea felt that they had strayed away from their roots. So, in October 2005, they released a follow up CD to Something Beautiful titled "The Hard and the Easy". This is their latest CD, and it also their only CD with no original tracks. Some of the tracks include "Come and I will Sing You", "The Old Polina", "The River Driver", "The Mermaid" and the popular single "Captain Kidd".
As of now, Great Big Sea recently finished a North American tour, promoting The Hard and the Easy. In November 2006, they will release a second DVD, which will feature the songs from their latest tour. Stay tuned!
In 1997, they released their third CD, "Play", which also went platinum. This CD includes the hits "Ordinary Day", "When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)", "The Night Pat Murphy Died", "Donkey Riding", "End of the World" and "General Taylor". 1998 saw the release of Rant & Roar, which is a collection of songs from Up and Play.
In 1999, GBS released their fourth studio album "Turn", which includes the hits "Consequence Free", "Feel it Turn", "Jack Hinks" and the beautiful love song "Boston and St. John's". In just one month, Turn went platinum in Canada.
Towards the end of 1999, GBS did a cross-Canada tour. They recorded every night, and in 2000, their first ever live recording, "Road Rage" was released. This includes old favourites, plus two new songs - "Everything Shines" and "Hanging Johnny". In 2002, they released "Sea of No Cares" which includes favourites such as "Sea of No Cares", "Penelope","Clearest Indication", "Stumbling In" and "Fortune".
Not long after SONC was released, the band released "The Great Big DVD" which has a full concert, plus music videos, and a 30-minute documentary of the band.
By the end of 2002, GBS was more popular than they had ever been. However, in January 2003, fans around the world were saddened to hear that bassist Darrell Power would be leaving the band. He was replaced by Murray Foster. Around the same time, GBS also decided it was time for a full-time drummer, so along came Kris MacFarlane.
In 2004, GBS released "Something Beautiful". Unlike their other albums, this one only has two traditional songs-"John Barbour" and "Chafe's Cheilidh". The other eleven tracks are all originals. Some of them include "Shines Right Through Me", "When I am King", "Beat the Drum", "Something Beautiful", "Helmethead" and "Lucky Me".
Despite the success of "Something Beautiful", the b'ys of Great Big Sea felt that they had strayed away from their roots. So, in October 2005, they released a follow up CD to Something Beautiful titled "The Hard and the Easy". This is their latest CD, and it also their only CD with no original tracks. Some of the tracks include "Come and I will Sing You", "The Old Polina", "The River Driver", "The Mermaid" and the popular single "Captain Kidd".
As of now, Great Big Sea recently finished a North American tour, promoting The Hard and the Easy. In November 2006, they will release a second DVD, which will feature the songs from their latest tour. Stay tuned!
