Song:When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)
Album:XX
If you live outside of Canada, you may have never heard of Great Big Sea. They are from Newfoundland and their energetic mix of rock and folk could be right up your alley. They were known for their live shows. When I'm Up was their biggest hit in Canada in 1997. Darrell Power, Sean McCann and Bob Hallett called themselves Newfoundland Republican Army when they won a 1989 talent contest. The band split up after two gigs. The three reformed as Rankin Street which was where they rehearsed. Alan Doyle joined and that's when they became Great Big Sea. They went on tour and got a record deal with Warner Music Canada. Their debut album Great Big Sea was released in 1993. When I'm Up is from the 1997 album Play. It reached #6 on the Canadian Singles chart. The album was certified 3XPlatinum in Canada. It was produced by recording engineer Danny Greenspoon. He produced several Great Big Sea albums and he also produced similar bands like Spirit of the West. Though Great Big Sea write songs, they liked to do rock covers of traditional folk songs and covers of folk groups. When I'm Up was written by Ian Telfer, Alan Prosser and John Jones of the British folk group Oysterband. It appears on their 1993 album Holy Bandits. Great Big Sea continued to have success in Canada mostly as a live attraction. Power retired in 2003. They didn't replace him. They hired musicians for tours. Great Big Sea last recorded in 2010 and Warner released this 2CD comp in 2012. McCann left in 2013 and Doyle announced Great Big Sea's retirement in 2015. Doyle and McCann have released solo albums. Doyle has worked with Russell Crowe's band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts and he has done some acting. Hallett was music consultant for the Tony winning Broadway musical Come From Away. And he has been music director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival since 2015. And he owns a music management company. So if you aren't familiar with Great Big Sea, you should check them out. Here's the video of When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down) by Great Big Sea.
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