Not Metal Review
Voyage: Album by the longest Johns.
Review By Hannibal.
Good evening, aren’t we lucky to be here right now, and I can’t remember when the sun went down. We’ll be lucky if there’s a bar in town that welcomes us tonight, but there is money in our pockets and the Llandogers in sight.
Introduction.
I have taken some time out of my music listening schedule to not only listen to some music but review it for you all. So, to all seven people that read this, you’re welcome.
Not only that but it isn’t metal. yay not metal.
So, let’s get all relaxed and shit and listen to some Longest Johns.
Information.
Artist: The Longest Johns.
Album: Voyage.
Released: 9th February 2024.
Background.
The Longest Johns are an A Capella folk group from Bristol. They are made up of members JD, Andy and Robbie who all do vocals as well as some instrumentation to different songs.
The album Voyage is the fifth studio album by the group and the first as a 3-piece band.
It was released through a Kickstarter campaign launched in December 2023.
Okay, now that we are all up to speed let’s talk about the album.
Songs.
01: The Llandoger.
“We’ll all be well tonight.”
This song is a perfect way to start the album. It is up beet and has a really fun feel to it.
Robbie is the main vocalist heard on this song with Andy and JD mostly just in the chorus.
It also, like many of the tracks on this album includes a full band, and while quite different to the start of any previous longest johns album, this is without question a fantastic way to get started here.
While normally it is the vocals that hold up Longest Johns songs considering much of their material is A Capella, this is a good example of a song in which the music really stands out as well.
The song itself tells of a bar that is always open and you can always find a place to have a good time.
It is based on a real pub in Bristol which has been open for several hundred years, and the song is named after the real pub.
02: Whisky Is the Life of Man.
We take it down a step in energy for this song with a slower track with Andy as the primary vocalist. This is an old Shanty dating back to at least the 1860’s.
I love the performance on this song and it has some really nice harmonies in the choruses.
It is a simple song, but a good one nonetheless.
I don’t have much more to say. An enjoyable track but nothing truly special.
03: Proud Mary.
This song is another cover. Originally performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival and then covered by Tina Turner. It became a big hit for and was known as one of Tina Turner’s Signature songs. This was originally released on YouTube in 2023 as a tribute to Tina Turner after her death.
I have to admit the original version they released wasn’t a favourite of mine, but this album Version is one I really like. A very nice vocal track with plenty of layers to add depth, with a simple drum clap to keep time actually makes this a really nice cover.
I think they have also added extra layers on certain parts compared to the original version they did. Chances are you have heard this song in some way before. The arrangement they have done here is done very well.
04: Leaving of Liverpool.
Another cover this time with a debated origin. The Longest Johns version is a full band track with JD taking on the main vocals.
This is another song that they had previously released, A version on YouTube does exist and they have also played it many times on Stream. This is a really nice song even if the song is kind of sad. It tells of a sailor leaving England for California. Leaving everything behind including his lover.
But the track is up beet, and the Album version is the nicest version I have heard from this band. I actually think this is one of my favourite songs of the album as well.
The reason I like this song is it is a very fast paced track; JD’s vocals are brilliant and the chorus with all members singing comes together perfectly.
05: Mutiny.
What, what am I listening to? This song is so strange because it is fun and silly. But the song just sounds so odd.
With Robbie as the lead, it tells the story of someone leading a Mutiny on a ship that ends up back firing on the one who leads it.
I will be honest I like this track, but it also sticks out on the album and doesn’t really match the tone of the rest of the songs.
The verses see Robbie singing in a quiet way with the full band coming in for the chorus.
This song has the feel of a track they just want to play live so they can have crowds shouting, “Mutiny, Mutiny!”
Very fun and very silly. Probably why it appeals to me.
06: Skadi’s Hammer.
Another original I love is how this song sounds. Andy main it has some of my favourite sounding harmonies on the entire album.
Some very simple Viking stile drums with several really nice vocal layers over the top.
This song is a farming song. Not entirely sure what it all means, but it is a really beautiful sounding song.
07: John the Red Nose.
Another cover with a debated origin. This Robbie lead song is a track that builds throughout the hole song.
This is probably the most well performed track. It starts with just an acoustic guitar and Robbie singing. As the song builds comes in the other members singing, More layers are added along with other instruments until the song reaches an epic second last verse. It drops right back to the quiet form for the last verse.
This song tells of the old practice of Wren hunting. AS I learned in researching this album, a wren is a bird.
I have to say it takes away from the epic feel of the song to know it is about birds.
08: Greenland Whale Fisheries.
This song is another cover, and this one is a main of Andy.
I love the sound of the choruses of this song, but the verses I find are a little boring.
A sad song about a failed trip that results in the death of several sailors. It isn’t a bad song, but it isn’t anything special.
09: White Frontier.
This song captures such an incredible sound. Led again by Andy, this is such a fantastic sounding track.
It is not based on a specific event but tells of the adventures of explorers first trying to travel to the arctic.
The music in the track captures a very ominous feel while the simple vocals in the verse mixed with the perfect harmonies in the chorus really set a stunning tone in this one.
10: One Hundred Feet.
This is another original that is an incredibly sad song.
It tells the story of a boat that ran aground just 100 feet from safety. The boat was overloaded with passengers and of over the 280 passengers only 79 survived.
This is one of just a few songs on this album that is completely A Capella. The performance on this song is so haunting. It is probably the most emotional track on the entire album.
11: Willie Taylor.
Another cover is one of the oldest songs on the album. The first version of this song appeared in 1710.
This song is really good with JD as the lead and also has a pretty grate story as well.
The song tells of a woman who dresses as a man to become a sailor to follow her husband. She finds him cheating on her with another, so she kills him and his mistress and becomes a captain because of this.
This is another song they have performed before, but this is a really solid version.
12: Maggie’s Ship.
Now this is a hell of a song. With no lead, this song has the 3 vocalist alternating lines.
This is another fast-paced track that is a lot of fun.
It tells the story of a ship run by Maggy. She is a very abusive captain, incredible tough on her sailors but still with some appeal. Probably hot.
13: Shawneetown.
A cover with a fun origin for The Longest Johns. This is an Andy main and has been performed by the group quite a bit before its release.
Originally written in the 1970s, it tells of a trade line that ends at Shawneetown.
Mostly A Capela with just some miner backing drums is short and a perfect track for it.
It was the first single released from the album. It originally started as a sound check song for Andy.
It was performed on quite a number of streams and live shows by the band over the years. It finally got it’s own release here and it is a fantastic version.
14: Paddy West.
We have reached the final track of the album. A cover with JD on lead vocals.
So, interestingly they have previously performed this song with Andy on lead but for this version JD took that job. Honestly, I think it works better and it is a really good sounding song.
This song tells the story of a man named Paddy West who gives people a fake lesson on sailing done on land so they can prove to real sailors they know what they are doing to get jobs on ships.
It is a very fun song and I think has a perfect tone for the closer of the album. Nothing crazy in this song, just a gentle but fun track to finish it out.
Overall.
Having now listen to this album fuck knows how many times, I have to admit I really like it. Having listened to every song about 37000 times in writing the above sections I have found some favourites and over all just love this album.
This I believe is the first album ever released by the band with only 3 members and to me it really shows. Focusing a little more on songs with instrumentation, this album has a very different feel to any previous album.
However, none of this is a bad thing. the end result is probably my favourite album by the group and even the tracks I don’t like as much are still really good.
Overall, it is very cohesive not to mention includes a lot of fun stories in the different songs.
The different leads throughout also add a lot, this isn’t new on their albums, but it is something that is brilliant to hear and is done extremely well.
Not going to nitpick.
I could sit here and pick at a few things I don’t like but the truth is they are all minor. A vocal affect at the start of a song, a strange mix on the vocals in the chorus there, but none of it takes away from the album for me.
This is a really good album and not something I will pick across to find things I don’t like. especially as the more I listen to it, the less I notice the little things and the more I just love the overall sound.
Favourite Tracks!
Before I score it and give my very last thoughts, I just wanted to share some of my favourite songs from the album.
The truth is I could probably throw half the album here, but let’s just pick 3 of my favourites.
The llandoger: Such a perfect way to start this album. It is fun, it is up beet and the refrain of “We will all be Well tonight” just makes me feel happy.
One Hundred feet” Such a fucking sad song and knowing it is based on a true story makes it worse, but it is haunting and performed really well.
Mutiny! Well, shit it is silly and fucking weird, but god damn it that is why I love it. Different is good and this song stands out to me.
You can also just listen to the entire album here.
Final Thoughts.
I love this album. It is everything I could want from something like this. I am mostly into metal, but when I need to just relax this is where I go and dam, they nailed it this time.
9.5 out of 10.
Have you listened to the album? Let me know in the comments below.
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