Hi all,
Thanks to those who took the time to comment - very much appreciated. Some great feedback and positive comments.
Classic bit of songwriting here, lovely melodic craft and a compelling narrative that pulls you along. The instrumentation develops in a way that it kind of sneaks up on you and all of a sudden there all these subtle layers going on.
Lots of snippets of skilled poetry too - eg bleached bone shores and matchstick mizzen mast, alliteration works well in this kind of song.
Very enjoyable piece, although I did think the fade out to be a little rapid.
@MichaelA Thanks for that. Pleased you spotted the attempts at poetic lyrics.
Beautiful song Alan.
Some great guitars .....and love those harmonics? At the end.
Emotive lyrics, excellent vocals and production.
An enjoyable listen.
Sandeep
@Movin Flavour Thanks Sandeep. They were accordions towards the end. I thought it lent a sea shanty sort of vibe.
Hi Alan,
You were always Mrs D's favourite singer on the forum (sorry everyone else) - so I'm playing it whilst she's out so I don't feel inadequate. 
Great to hear your story telling again, and many of my favourite musical elements you have included over the years in various songs.
Really liked the choice of instrumentation.
Top notch performance.
The song that started up automatically after yours totally killed the mood though - some DJ remix thing.
Digger
@digger72 Thanks for the positive words and very happy to learn that Mrs D is a fan.
Yo Alan.
'smashed the matchstick mizzen mast?' I'd need to do a hundred takes to get that line out,even sober! Brilliant.
Love the slide (dobro) and mandolin addition,they give the song that air of familiarity,as comforting as an open fire on a cold windy night.
I have friends who spent their lives working at sea,so the song resonates with me. Those boys have tales to tell,most of them not suitable for those of a delicate constitution!
Pure quality Alan.
@Skub Your comments are always spot on. Glad you liked the song.
I enjoyed reading the lyrics first, obviously first rate
I wasn't expecting the music and production to be so dynamic, then the solo!
This song has it all.
Excellent work!
@Rightly Pleased that you liked the song. Thanks for commenting.
@montydog I love the concept that is going on here. It's kinda close to home for me having travelled on an amazing sea-faring journey in recent years. I've also encountered the rocks of the 'jagged coast' more than I care too have done so. Anyway, my ship is now safely ashore despite the rough seas!
Seriously, I love the choice of instruments. Especially the accordion and Mandolin/ukelele, married to the slide guitar. Great story telling, lyrically you've done exceptionally well. Maybe I'll be tempted to sail off into the sun again one day, in search of calmer seas and a place where new adventures are to be found.
Quality songwriting my friend.
Paul
@Wicked Deeds Thank you so much for your detailed and personal review.
Awesome job on this Alan!! Wonderful imagery, great music! I really enjoyed it.🎶👊🏻🎶😁👍🏻
@LostBoy That's all I can ask.
This is just great - really engaging story, perfect tempo, and love the instrumentation and the variety (the killing verse really stands out with the instruments dropping out and the ghost vocal on top).
I think I might have ended it with just the drums leading to a definite ending rather than a fade out. But maybe that’s what happens to old sailors... A really listenable song.
@adamfarr Thank your for the positive comments and for spotting the ghost vocal.
It's hard to add to these comments as everyone has said everything. Yes... this is fucking brilliant!
I too loved the lyrics, the melody and that solo... awesome!
The only thing i didn't like was the title! Call it 'North Winds' or something!!!
@dinnerwithgreedo Thanks for commenting. The song title has to tell the story.
This is lovely @montydog - no surprise I guess that I like the folksiness of it. Really love the rhythm of these lines and when they’re repeated later (with that slight tweak):
‘Still I live for days when the anchor weighs
And the sea whispers low’
Really grabbed me. Great story and very well performed and produced. HUGE thumbs up from me. Loved it!
@MonnoDB Great comments. That part you mentioned is what grabbed the attention of the band when I first sang it to them. It's now in the live repertoire.
fine song alan
enjoying the scenes your painting with that velvet walker vocal
mix is refreshing and light with lots of space and the tempo keeps it rolling
thought for a moment we were going to encounter capn ahab..
the mention of nantucket took me back to my whaling days and moby dick..
mountain's nantucket sleighride and the world in action theme ..
do you see what boxes youve opened..!
great bit of writing
@nooms Hey!, thanks for the great comments - it means a lot that you liked it.
Very nice indeed.
I like the extra little kick it has about it...it does a great job of conveying some of the grittier elements of a life at sea that the scurvy land-lubbers amongst us can only imagine
Production sounds really excellent too. A great job all round.
@PaulAds Lovely comments, thanks Paul
Your material just gets better and better Alan..super story telling and liked the uke.. (sounded like one to me) 
best, Kevin 
@shadowfax Thanks for commenting - it was actually an acoustic guitar played high up the neck.
Loved the lyrics, especially the use of lots of place names - cleverly underlines that the narrator has got around. Loved the banjo/mandolin too, and the accordion. It must have been hard not to say “Aaah, Jim-lad” or other pirate-isms at the end. Certainly a salty sea dog top tune this one... very evocative.
@PaulyX Arrrrgh!
I really like this Alan. It reminds me of the time I played the folk-rock circuit - there was a lot of this style about. The melody has a very trad feel to it - it reminds me either of a trad tune or structure but I can´t call it to mind right now, not that that´s important in folk at all anyway
The instrumentation is great - a really nicely layered sound and a guitar solo with attitude. Great piece of work.
@MartynRich The intention was to write it in the folk style which appears to have worked based on the comments I've had.Can be tricky getting a dobro to fit on a folk style song but I think it worked. Thanks for commenting.
You tell a very good story here Alan. Great imagery conjured up. Super playing and production. I like the effect you've got coming in on the beat in V2 (couldn't work out what it was) A bit of accordion thrown in works well. And a bit of murder thrown in there as well. Ooh - Nice solo as well
@pompeyjazz Thanks for the warm words. The effect on V2 is a vibraslap BTW
Alan,
You continue to play to your lyrical and vocals strengths and have added top quality arrangement and production. All sounding present and correct.
Lots to like in this tune. From the story, your vocals and the rhythmic playing, to the neat touches of mandolin, accordion and slide solo.
All sounding effortless, like an organic band should.
Did I say I liked it?
Going to have another listen..
:-)
neil
@Neil C Thanks Neil. Really pleased you liked the song and the production.
It's a nice lyric Alan, reminiscent of GL but the song is a departure from that style which is nice. It is a good job all round for me.
Geoff
@Furry61 Hi Geoff - I was channeling my inner Gordon Lightfoot, particularly "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald".
