Sharks Come Cruisin - I Wish I Was On Gansett Bay
Sharks Come Cruisin, known for their energetic mix of sea shanties and maritime music, have released their newest album “I Wish I Was On Gansett Bay.” The new album is the band’s third full-length record and consists of 12 strikingly dynamic tracks including a rare original composition, “Charts.” This album is the band’s first collection of new music since 2018.
“I Wish I Was On Gansett Bay” is a continuation of Sharks Come Cruisin’s musical progression to a more unplugged, layered sound, which is a departure from the band’s earlier, louder work. While the new album contains some of the earliest shanties that Mark Lambert, the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist, collected when he began researching sea shanty music in the early 2000s, the song arrangements on the new record reflect a dramatically different approach from the band’s first few releases.
The opening track, “Sugar In The Hold” is the inspiration for the record’s title. The album begins with the drone of the accordion, banjo, fiddle, and melodica, before welcoming the listener to the record with the opening line, “I wish I was on Gansett Bay, raising pints in a neighborly way.” Then the bass and drums join in for a familiar-sounding Sharks Come Cruisin gang-vocal chorus. The opening track showcases the musicianship of all six members of the band and finishes with a strong a cappella performance of the chorus.“Charts,” is another example of how the band has carved out a sound that is uniquely their own. The poignantly beautiful, original Sharks Come Cruisin composition features a haunting banjo line that weaves effortlessly around a moving cello performance. The song was previously released on the band’s 2016 recording “Kettle Jane,” but it took another six years before Lambert realized the song needed a key change to be in the right place for his vocal range. “Charts” is track 5 on the new record.
Songs such as “Ten Thousand Miles Away” and “Paddy and the Whale” reflect the energy of the Sharks Come Cruisin’s earlier releases, but the band also demonstrates their musical flexibility with the ballad “Lady Franklin’s Lament,” on track 10. The song begins with Mark’s solitary vocal over a faint acoustic guitar before subtly swelling as the rest of the band segues in. The unexpected tin whistle refrain evokes the emotion of the story being told. The song takes an instrumental break with a beautiful button box accordion solo before the final, heartbreaking verse, “Ten thousand pounds I would freely give, to know on earth my dear Franklin does live.”
“Whup Jamboree,” another song from the 2016 collection “Kettle Jane,” was rerecorded during the “I Wish I Was On Gansett Bay” sessions. Several members of the band had mentioned that they could hear where a pedal steel part could bring the song together. Brian Jablonski (Swamp Birds / The Low Cards) was accordingly brought in on the last day of recording and, with engineer Nick Dussault, added a unique flavor to this traditional tune. “This one sounds very different from most Sharks Come Cruisin’ recordings” says Lambert.