The Great White Sea Eagle
A drawing of an enormous eagle holding a guitar
Studio album by
James Yorkston, featuring Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra
Released13 January 2023 (2023-01-13)
Studio
GenreBaroque pop[1]
Length43:41
LanguageEnglish
LabelDomino Recording Company
Producer
  • Daniel Bengtson
  • Karl-Jonas Winqvist
  • James Yorkston
James Yorkston chronology
The Wide, Wide River
(2021)		 The Great White Sea Eagle
(2023)

The Great White Sea Eagle is a 2023 album by Scottish singer-songwriter James Yorkston, collaborating with Swedish musicians Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra. The album has received positive reviews from critics.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7⁄10[2]
Metacritic86⁄100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Clash Music8⁄10[5]
The Irish Times[6]
Mojo[7]
musicOMH[1]
The Skinny[8]
Uncut8⁄10[9]
Under the Radar8⁄10[10]

Editors of AnyDecentMusic? scored this album a 7.7 out of 10, based on eight reviews.[2] The Great White Sea Eagle received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on seven reviews.[3]

Editors at AllMusic chose this and an Album Pick and rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Tim Sendra writing that it is a "loose and lively set of arrangements that felt improvised, while at the same time as intricate as a fine piece of jewelry".[4] In Clash Music, Robin Murray gave The Great White Sea Eagle an 8 out of 10, stating that it "is peppered with jewels".[5] In The Irish Times, Tony Clayton-Lea rated this release 3 out of 5 stars, characterizing it as "odd, beguiling and very good".[6] Glyn Brown of Mojo rated this release 4 out of 5 stars for "emotional heft that'll leave you winded, hidden in deceptively simple arrangements".[7] Writing for musicOMH, Steven Johnson gave this release 4 out of 5 stars, characterizing it as "a special collaboration of tender, gentle moments that results in an enchanting and meditative listen" and summing up that "it’s noticeable how familiar the songs already seem to feel, a special quality that confirms the album to be significantly greater than the sum of its individual parts".[1] The Skinny's Alan O'Hare calls Yorkton "a noble artist" for the emotional depth of these lyrics and gives this album 4 out of 5 stars.[8] Nick Halsted of Uncut rated this release an 8 out of 10, praising the vocalists: "Nina Persson adds clean, open vocal optimism to James Yorkston’s reedy grain on harmonies, easygoing duets and some leads, on songs crisp as winter sunlight".[9] In Under the Radar, The Great White Sea Eagle was rated 8 out of 10 stars, with critic Ian Rushbury calling it "a beautiful, hand made collection of natural and unforced songs to be treasured".[10]

Editors at AllMusic included this on their list of the best albums of 2023,[11] as well as favorite folk and Americana albums of 2023.[12]

Track listing

All songs written by James Yorkston.

  1. "Sam and Jeanie McGreagor" – 1:55
  2. "An Upturned Crab" – 2:58
  3. "Keeping Up with the Grandchildren, Yeah" – 4:23
  4. "The Heavy Lyric Police" – 4:32
  5. "A Sweetness in You" – 3:14
  6. "A Forestful of Rogues" – 4:13
  7. "Peter Paulo Van Der Heyden" – 3:19
  8. "Mary" – 3:26
  9. "Hold Out for Love" – 3:09
  10. "The Harmony" – 4:03
  11. "The Great White Sea Eagle" – 3:24
  12. "A Hollow Skeleton Lifts a Heavy Wing" – 5:05

Personnel

Sam and Jeannie McGreagor

  • Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
  • Ulrika Gyllenborg – violin
  • Lina Langendorf – saxophone
  • Peter Morén – guitar
  • Nina Persson – vocals
  • Karl Jonas Winqvist – drums
  • James Yorkston – piano, vocals

An Upturned Crab

  • Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
  • Ulrika Gyllenborg – violin
  • Emma Nordenstam – cello
  • Nina Persson – vocals
  • James Yorkston – piano, vocals

Keeping Up with the Grandchildren, Yeah

  • Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
  • Ulrika Gyllenborg – violin
  • Lina Langendorf – flute
  • Peter Morén – guitar
  • Nina Persson – vocals
  • Lars Skogland – drums
  • James Yorkston – piano, vocals

The Heavy Lyric Police

  • Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
  • Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
  • Lina Langendorf – saxophone
  • Peter Morén – guitar
  • Emma Nordenstam – cello
  • Lars Skogland – drums
  • Karl Jonas Winqvist – bass harmonica
  • James Yorkston – piano, vocals

A Sweetness in You

  • Lars Skogland – drums
  • James Yorkston – piano, vocals

A Forestful of Rogues

  • Daniel Bengtson – organ
  • Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
  • Emma Nordenstam – backing vocals
  • James Yorkston – piano, vocals

Pieter Paulo Van Der Heyden

  • Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
  • Ulrika Gyllenberg – violing
  • Per Lager – drums
  • Lina Langendorf – bass clarinet
  • Peter Morén – guitar, backing vocals
  • Emma Nordenstam – cello, backing vocals
  • Nina Persson – vocals
  • Karl Jonas Winqvist – percussion, vocals
  • James Yorkston – piano, vocals

Mary

  • Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
  • Ylva Ceder – English horn
  • Lina Langendorf – saxophone
  • Peter Morén – guitar
  • Nina Persson – vocals
  • James Yorkston – piano, drums, bells

Hold Out for Love

  • Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
  • Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
  • Per Johansson – saxophone
  • Goran Kajfes – trumpet
  • Lina Langendorf – saxophone, flute
  • Peter Morén – guitar
  • Nina Persson – vocals
  • Karl Jonas Winqvist – drums
  • James Yorkston – piano, vocals

The Harmony

  • Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
  • Emma Nordenstam – cello, piano
  • Nina Persson – vocals
  • Karl Jonas Winqvist – Omnichord
  • James Yorkston – guitar, drums, vocals

The Great White Sea Eagle

  • Daniel Bengtson – backing vocals
  • Peter Morén – guitar, backing vocals
  • Emma Nordenstam – cello
  • Nina Persson – backing vocals
  • James Yorkston – Rhodes electric piano, Bookcorder tape, vocals

A Hollow Skeleton Lifts a Heavy Wing

  • Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
  • Ylva Ceder – English horn
  • Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
  • Lina Langendorf – flute
  • Peter Morén – backing vocals
  • Emma Nordenstam – cello, backing vocals
  • Nina Persson – vocals
  • Lars Skoglund – drums
  • James Yorkston – keyboards, vocals

Technical personnel

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johnson, Steven (12 January 2023). "James Yorkston, Nina Persson & The Second Hand Orchestra – The Great White Sea Eagle". Album Reviews. musicOMH. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 "The Great White Sea Eagle by James Yorkston reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. n.d. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 "The Great White Sea Eagle by James Yorkston Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 Sendra, Tim (n.d.). "James Yorkston, Nina Persson, and The Second Hand Orchestra – The Great White Sea Eagle". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 Murray, Robin (12 January 2023). "<title>James Yorkston, Nina Persson and the Second Hand Orchestra – The Great White Sea Eagle". Reviews. Clash Music. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  6. 1 2 Clayton-Lea, Tony (6 January 2023). "James Yorkston & Nina Persson: The Great White Sea Eagle – Odd, beguiling and very good". Music Review. The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  7. 1 2 Brown, Glyn (February 2023). Bulley, Jenny (ed.). "Filter Albums". Mojo Filter. Mojo. No. 351. p. 92. ISSN 1351-0193.
  8. 1 2 O'Hare, Alan (9 January 2023). "James Yorkston, Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra – The Great White Sea Eagle". Arts & Entertainment / Music / Reviews. The Skinny.
  9. 1 2 Halsted, Nick (February 2023). "New Albums". Uncut. p. 36. ISSN 1368-0722.
  10. 1 2 Rushbury, Ian (20 January 2023). "James Yorkston, Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra: The Great White Sea Eagle (Domino)". Music. Under the Radar.
  11. ↑ "AllMusic Best of 2023". AllMusic. RhythmOne. n.d. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "Favorite Folk & Americana Albums". AllMusic. RhythmOne. n.d. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
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