WILLIAM PINT & FELICIA DALE – Blue Divide (Waterbug Records WBG109) Having performed ‘folk’ music for over thirty years I’ve only in the (perhaps) past two or three years truly appreciated the full worth of a good sea shanty with all its lustiness and let’s face it joy that it brings to its potential audience. Bellowhead, Chris Ricketts and Kimber’s Men have steered my thoughts to this recently and now we can add to that canon the USA based (who also tour the UK) William Pint & Felicia Dale with their excellent new release “Blue Divide”. With a slight departure from their usual recordings, the duo have ‘pushed the boat out’…sorry about that…and include the services of Dan Mohler (bass guitar), T J Morris (drums), Jay Kenney (keyboards), Tania Opland (fiddle) and Sue Tinney (vocals) to create a full-on folk-rock band sound. With the more than capable hands of Patrick Strole in the production chair (also electric guitar & percussion) they have made a good fist of the songs which include; “Whiskey Is The Life Of Man”, “Lowlands”, Windy Weather” and their own “Shanghai Passage”. Personally speaking I can’t recommend the CD highly enough even if you’re a land-lubber! PETE FYFE (UK folk magazine journalist) “On Blue Divide Pint And Dale have added a full drum kit to their already high energy arrangements of traditional nautical music. The result is not merely folk rock, but rather folk that ROCKS!! Playing opposite a drum kit, Felicia has been inspired to reach down deep, find and unleash her inner Eric Clapton with breathtaking results. Her hurdy-gurdy play on “Anchor Song” would leave most rock guitarists gasping for air trying to keep up. In short, Blue Divide is that great rarity- a folk album that demands you play it as loud as possible.” Art Dean, WCNI Radio Suppose you like nautical authenticity well enough, but what you really want is something that rocks? Then I'd recommend William Pint and Felicia Dale's latest release, Blue Divide. As usual, Pint's lead vocals, guitar and octave mandolin are supported beautifully by Dale's sensitive vocal harmonies, whistle and fiddle. Best of all, Dale plays the hurdy-gurdy, a European stringed instrument which can sound like an organ, a bagpipe, or (when she really cuts loose) Jimi Hendrix. Unusually, they're supported on this album by guest musicians on fiddle, electric guitar and keyboards and a muscular rhythm section for extra punch. Their material includes traditional songs ("Whiskey is the Life of Man"), nineteenth-century poetry set to music (Kipling's "Anchor Song"), and modern sea songs (Brian Bedford's "High Ground"). There's an undercurrent of spookiness, with Janie Meneely's ghost ballad "Brigantine" and John Masefield's witch tale "Mother Carey" adding dark, supernatural elements. But there are also lighter, breezier moments, such as the bouncy chantey "Windy Weather." Their version of "Lowlands" even has another version of the "Lot's wife" line, which sums up the disc's no-BS attitude: "Beef as salt as Lot's wife's a**." The following video doesn't have the rhythm section, but it will give you a sense of their taste, energy, and musicianship: Stephen D Winick Folklorist, Music Critic, Editor Huffington Post