I keep thinking the whole pirate thing will play out, but it seems it has legs, even if one of them is a peg. A couple of friends of mine started International Talk Like A Pirate Day back in about 1995, but it didn’t become a real internationally known holiday until Dave Barry, the syndicated humor columnist, publicized it in 2002. Still, that’s 12 years and counting, and it’s still a pretty big deal. And then there’s the whole “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, pretty much owned by Mr. Depp. Between the two phenomena, it looks like pirates ARRRR here to stay.
If you need further proof, there’s this second volume of pirate songs, sea chanteys and nautical-themed vulgarities, Son of Rogue’s Gallery, a sequel to Rogue’s Gallery, the successful first volume from 2006. I’m not even going to bother comparing the two, because there’s enough to say about this double CD set with 35 tracks on its own. Except I will say that, good as “General Taylor,” Richard Thompson’s song on this set is, it can’t compare to his fabulous rendition of “Mingulay Boat Song” on the original.
Mr. Depp again is co-executive producer of this collection along with his “Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski, and Hal Willner again had a hand in it. Depp plays on a number sung by the great Patti Smith, a haunting number called “The Mermaid.” The house band again is Jack Shit, a trio comprising drummer Dave Thomas, bassist Davey Faragher and guitarist Val McCallum.
Like a pirate chest dug up on the beach of a desert island, this set has riches galore. One of the best is the opener of the first disc, a rocking reel by Shane McGowan, “Leaving of Liverpool.” Others in this vein include Todd Rundgren’s dance hall take on “Rolling Down to Old Maui,” Thompson’s “General Taylor,” Robyn Hitchcock’s electrified chantey “Sam’s Gone Away,” and a creative version of “Sally Racket” by New Orleans bounce artists Katey Red & Big Freedia with experimental folk rockers Akron/Family.
But the variety of styles is astounding. Ivan Neville and Dr. John bring the laid-back vibe of New Orleans to their contributions. Neville’s is a piano-driven chantey called “Mr. Stormalong,” while Dr. John recites a poetic tall tale called “In Lure of the Tropics” to the accompaniment of little but percussion and an occasional lick from a bass clarinet. Iggy Pop gives an ironic Gilbert & Sullivan treatment to a couple of songs, a sea ballad called “The Dreadnought” and a salacious ditty titled “Asshole Rules the Navy,” accompanied by the neo-Balkan L.A. band A Hawk And A Hacksaw.
There are some pretty big names involved, like Michael Stipe and Courtney Love, who sing a rocking chantey “Rio Grande”; Tom Waits and Keith Richards, a boozy rendition of “Shenandoah”; Macy Gray,” a reggae version of “Off to Sea Once More”; Beth Orton with the lovely folksong “Bamboo (River Come Down)”; and Angelica Houston, who half-sings, half-recites “Missus McGraw.” And there are lesser-known acts like Petra Haden, who does a nice cover of George Harrison’s “Sunshine Life For Me”; Ed Harcourt with a great rootsy song “The Ol’ OG”; Ed Pastorini reciting “Orange Claw Hammer”; and one of my favorites, Chuck E. Weiss’s “Anthem for Old Souls.”
Some of the tracks obviously weren’t recorded for this project, including the puzzling Zappa/Mothers of Invention chestnut “Wedding Dress Song/Handsome Cabin Boy,” an instrumental that sticks out like a sore thumb for its outdated production. But overall, this is another high-quality project from Depp and company, with a little something for anybody who fancies a song or two on a nautical theme.
(Anti-, 2013)
[2025 update: Talk Like A Pirate Day is still going strong every September 19.]
