They Are Talking About: "Shipwrecked Whisky" 
Our New Release! 

Ron Getz - Email: Subject: Thanks!
"The CD arrived this morning, Dawn, and went right into the player.  Great variety of styles, themes and instruments, a lovely blend of voices, and there isn't a weak track on it.  I'll send more specific comments once I've had a chance to listen carefully to the lyrics, but for now I'll just say that my favourites are "Walking With Sarah" and "Herschel Island Shanty".  Rousing songs!"

M & D Wooldridge, Re-enactors:  WOW!                       
I have enjoyed your sound from the first time I heard you (about 6 years ago) and...what an evolution!  With every transition of your band, the music has continued to evolve and has been a pleasure to listen to all along the way.... In the Best of Traditions, Too Many Fish in the Sea, Holdin' Down the Fort and now Shipwrecked Whisky!! I look forward to hearing you live (and hopefully chatting) as opportunity presents!  What I think is awesome(and admittedly, unrealized by me up to this point), is the calibre of song-writing talent and ability that exists in the members of G.B.! I sat and actually listened to the words of each and every song (after reading the liner notes). As nobody can sing a song the way the songwriter "feels it", "Shipwrecked" showcases all of your talents in a wonderfully inviting way. Each song begs a further listen!  If you're interested, my favourite songs are: Somewhere in France (this newer release is THE BEST!!), Shipwrecked - wonderfully showcases the vocal talents within G.B. & Selkirk Settlers' Lullaby - well, I'd never heard it. I have heard some of Joe's work & continue to be amazed by his unbelievably incredible talent(s)!!!  

Musician Roger Jame re: Shipwrecked Whisky CD It's a beaut!!! 
I give it three exclaimation points. That's the first I've heard you with Joe Grant. That's a nice chemistry. Great Bodhrán playing, Smuggler's Song was my fav.This Kipling boy is going to go far, I think. Nice drumming in Fuller Brush Man too, sounded like you hired Mel Mercier for that one.

On behalf of her excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean 
L. Bryden conveys: "She was very pleased to recieve this varied collection of Canadian music, so delightfully recorded by you and your fellow band mates".             

J & M. Moenck, Concert Producers: Song by Song WE LOVE IT!  
What a wonderful and varied collection of songs. I've listened through the whole CD at least 5 times, so I nearly know it "by heart." Can't choose a favorite -not ever- but there are dozens of fabulous moments that stand out and echo -- use of flute and whistle in amazing places, like Selkirk Settler's Lullaby and Quand j'etais chez mon pere, the unbelievable percussion (including vocal effects) on Fuller Brush, huge multi-voiced vocal chorale sound on Hershel Island… (Shipwrecked Whisky) The title track opens and showcases what I might call “the basics of Gopher Baroque,” with great story, solid vocal harmonies, guitars, and mandolin. The lyrics are fulsome and fun, while telling of an engaging and true historical oddity, a songwriting coup d'état. Herschel Island Shanty Su belts out the lusty lead on this whaling shanty, with a wonderfully full a cappella chorus, with open chords delivered by what seems like more than three voices. Dawn has a poetic ear that can’t be beat for fitting melody to her words. Let’s all sing along! Songwriter Listen for the strengths of the harmony vocal and Dawn’s clear, clean mandolin accompaniments on this one. The story takes us on a meandering fantasy for a life that reaches for depth, accepts what cannot be, and yet finds satisfaction. With its catchy chorus, Songwriter makes a fine anthem to restless contentment. Fuller Brush This just might be the smartest musical arrangement in all of my listening experience. Synchronized with drum, percussion, harmonica, and three voices, this old-timey fun song makes me want to don a flapper dress and dance! Joe’s harmonica work is bouncy and brilliant, and the vocals delivered with verve. What fun! Donald and the Phantom Piper We should be so lucky as to always hear that phantom piper that can guide us safely when we feel lost at sea. I love this dreamy song with its floating guitar notes and ethereal harmony, all rounded off with the sweet breath of Su’s flute. Somewhere in France Su sings a gorgeous lead on this new arrangement of a Gopher Baroque signature song. The harmonica accompaniment calls up the essence of a village “somewhere in France” during WWI. Beautifully felt and sung. Quand j’étais chez mon père While I have no idea what this lovely French traditional song means, I am easily lifted back 400 years, as if on the flight of a magic carpet. The balance and movement of the rhythm is entrancing. There’s a single verse with Su and Dawn in vocal duet that soars as sweetly as you’ll ever hear! Burn Ye Fiddles Burn Frightfully fun! Again, huge music comes from deceptively simple (but masterful), arrangement, the story of a priest who decides to burn all the evil violins in the parish. The punch line comes at the end, with a rousing round of the traditional Canadian fiddle tune “Cock of the North.” Roll Down the Logs This deep-toned song is a great balancing piece for the CD, dark and tragic, with the reminder of the hazards of the working life. In the end, it’s the woman in this song who lives with the consequences of the men’s dangerous work. Hold Your Fiddle Low, Joe Backwoodsy and droll, and, if you know Joe’s fiddling style, out-rightly endearing, the lyrics offer a manifesto from the grandfather who taught him to play the fiddle held low. Picture the possibility of a square dance followed by a howling original fiddle tune. Smuggler’s Song Dawn delivers this Rudyard Kipling poem with perfect melodious inflection. Fabulous effects in drumming and (clip-clop of horses hooves, --by mouth?) percussion, and the vocal harmony is fine. Selkirk Settler’s Lullaby Tender lullaby painted with the lightest of lovely flute-whistle duet. This new vocal harmony arrangement is perfection, and Joe’s lead vocal is appropriately plain and sweet. Walking with Sarah   I found myself singing this one in the shower. This tribute to the courage of travelers on the Underground Railroad just asks for a sing-along, and is open for endless harmonic variations, gorgeously rounded out here by the Sarah chorus. A perfect ending!