Rating:
The Toucan Pirates
www.toucans.net

Genre: Traditional inspired, mostly insrumental
Rating: G
Target Audience: All Ages

The Toucan Pirates albums are amongst the most difficult to review. With very few (and very specific) exceptions, their music is entirely instrumental. They also tend to use the same instruments throughout – those being steel drums, banjos, accordians, coconuts, and other “period-ish” instruments found throughout the Caribbean and/or Ireland. Like the instruments, the music is period-ish, hailing largely from jigs and such. So while the albums can vary in pace, style, and tone from track to track, the actual differences can be difficult to convey in words. Continue reading →

Rating:
The Toucan Pirates
www.toucans.net

Genre: Traditional inspired, mostly insrumental
Rating: G
Target Audience: All Ages

A lively CD full of peppy music for dancing a jig. Steel drums, pennywhistles, and banjos all make for old-fashioned Irish music with a hint of the tropics. But it doesn’t really conjure up images of sea battles and storms – this is more like the music you’d hear in the pub after pulling into port. Apparently the Toucan Pirates realized it needed a little something more, which would be why the music is accompanied by cannon blasts, creaking ships, and the occasional yells of “hoist the mainsails” and such. For me these additions were a little much, but easily forgiven. Continue reading →