Newfoundland’s finest return for their 10th album, this time with producer Hawksley Workman in tow, and though nothing on Fortune’s Favour is unexpected – the band long ago got its act down to a science, if not an art – none of it disappoints, either. Since making its American “breakthrough” in the mid-to-late ‘90s, Great Big Sea has occasionally seemed unsure of which direction to follow – some sets found them tilting a little too heavily toward the pop end of the spectrum at the expense of the trad-folk elements of their sound that make them so unique – but as their U.S. sales have dwindled over the last five or six years, their focus has improved, and this album is as sure-footed as anything they’ve released since Turn. It does present a somewhat mellower picture of the band than some longtime fans may be comfortable with, but that’s appropriate; Great Big Sea’s music has always played on the tension between love of home and love of the road, and if their songs get sweeter and softer with age, it’s probably only par for the course. The album is bookended with a pair of killer cuts (“Love Me Tonight,” “Straight to Hell”), and manages to get through 14 tracks without ever really sagging in between. A no-frills DVD of studio footage is thrown in as a value-added bonus, but unless your idea of fun is watching the band fart around between takes, there’s no reason to buy this other than the music – and thankfully, it’s more than strong enough to stand on its own. (Great Big Sea 2008)
