Album Review: Live on Land

John Kraus and the Goers are one of the newer bands at the Inn so I am quite happy that we have a recent album to review that can help introduce them to all of you. Hailing from the shores of Southern California, the Goers are a group of exceptional musicians from all manner of genres who have come together to give a modern take on traditional sea fairing music. John Kraus himself comes from a family of musicians and legend has it decided upon this route after visiting New Orleans; which should surprise none of my listeners who attend the Pirate Gathering there every April.

Now this is a live recording and since it falls under 40 minutes long Live on Land is considered an EP. A reminder on how we do reviews on the show. I write my thoughts here as I listen to the album; in a sense what you’re reading is a stream of thought from yours truly. I am in no way qualified to give my opinion but as the Proprietor of the Inn I do feel duty bound to do reviews of the bands, for the bands and for our listeners as well.

We start off with “Fire Down Below” and I don’t know if we’ve ever had a pirate album begin with what I think is a ukulele or a Bouzouki. Then again I don’t think we have any other bands who have a tuba in the band either. What I am enjoying is the use of colorful metaphors in this traditional song; it elevates the song to a modern sea shanty as we all tend to swear extensively. Their mixture of instruments definitely gives them a unique sound that differentiates them from any other band. The only live feeling on the track came from the audience at the end, which is interesting decision.

“Cold in the Ocean” already feels a bit more live as we can hear the audience in the background. This may be attributed to the choice of instruments but I do think it adds to the Live portion of the album. I think you definitely feel the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds influence on this song. It feels a bit of a mixture of them and The Decemberists Mariner’s Revenge which I am quite digging. Though not always noticeable I have to take my hat off to the fiddle playing on this song, absolutely stunning.

Up next comes a song we are all very familiar with here at the Inn, “Billy Bones”. Skip Henderson‘s epic song has become a staple in the pirate scene for over a decade now. What I really love about this version is since the band has such an eclectic range of instruments it gives a new feeling to “Billy” that I have never heard. Tim Weed once again kills on the fiddle and in my opinion fills in nicely for Skip’s accordion. The mixture of fiddle and tuba works so much in song. For some reason it feels like Main Street USA and French Quarter at Disney met and decided to make this song and it completely works.

“Fire Marengo” initially gives me a feeling of 50s jazz/beat music and reggae. I know that may not be helpful but it really is a unique sound they have with this song. As it goes on I’m leaning more towards late 80s jazz and reggae. This song may not be for everyone but I can definitely see a section of folks who will rock this song on repeat as they dance on beaches. If Sting wrote pirate songs this may be the output that emerged. Actually as I continue to listen the more I actually feel the Sting influence I think, definitely Ten Summoner’s Tales, would fit right in on that album.

I’m interested to see what “Drunken Boat” is all about. Is it their version of Drunken Sailor? I’m all for something different that your usual Drunken Sailor. It also appears that the audience are big tuba fans, which works since it’s featured here. It however is not a new Drunken Sailor, however it is a story! It appears it might be musical interpretation of  Le Bateau Ivre or The Drunken Boat as I hear some portions from the play in it. We mentioned “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” earlier and that’s what this reminded me of. A fantastic song that keeps the pace up and tells a fascinating story.

“Farewell to Nova Scotia” follows and it’s a bit jarring following “Drunken Boat”; I may have needed a bit of talking to the audience again but that’s just my own feeling towards it. Once we get to the vocals it fits much better, just something about the transition that didn’t work all that well for me. Now “Nova Scotia” really shows John’s vocal abilities nicely. It just feels like the melody and mixture of the instruments are in one place where the vocals are in another; almost as if there are two different stories being told. Everyone is telling the same story, but in their own way if that makes sense.

Now “Liverpool Judies” starts off in possibly the most traditional style of everything we’ve had so far since it’s pure vocals. I should have held off on praising the vocal abilities since this song definitely shows that as well. The entire song is beautifully sung and harmonized and easily as I mentioned the most traditional song so far on the EP. An interesting take I had listening, it felt like an Irish ballad to my ears even though I don’t believe they were singing it in that manner. Something about the cadence and timing just read Irish to me.

We end with “10,000 Miles Away” and as the song starts we are reminded that this is a live album. A real interesting take on “Miles”, the tuba is keeping the pace and as such it feels as if it is faster paced than most other versions I’ve heard even if I’m not sure if it really is. It does once again show their deftness at taking traditional sea fairing songs and making it their own. All these various instruments make for a unique sound, one you definitely won’t find anywhere else. As the song goes on, the longest on the album, I think we may hear every instrument that band plays as I’m hearing more than four men can play by themselves with the tuba being the only constant. It really shows their ability at musicians and I applaud them. After an instrumental break I do have to say when the vocals came back damn if they didn’t remind me of Primus.

Without a doubt Live on Land is a great look and example of who John Kraus and the Goers are as a band. I will always be tainted by KISS by what a live album should sound like, but I do think the band does a fair job at it. No other pirate band out there sounds like them and I would highly recommend you take a listen and purchase the album. I actually think it would work nicely to introduce people to pirate music by giving them that mixture of traditional fair with the modern sound.