All Time Favorite Pirate Songs

Scottish-born folksinger Carl Peterson is a bit of an anomaly. After emigrating to Canada in the 1960s to play in both folk and rock groups, he settled in the U.S. in the '80s, where he began releasing folk albums at a dizzying pace. Largely working within the traditional Celtic vein, he has self-released dozens of Scottish and Irish-themed albums, and even an unusual collection of old American ballads from the Texas Alamo which were inspired by Scottish music. On his 2014 collection, All Time Favorite Pirate Songs, he dips into the well of maritime music and sea shanteys. With his deep, resonant voice, Peterson is a perfect match for the material and his 12-string guitar playing is picked in an easy, familiar style. Although it is billed as a new album, it is obvious by the sound of the recordings that this is a compilation from his wide body of work. Dark and slightly lo-fi in tone, most of the recordings come across as vintage until the strange, Casio-keyboard accordion comes in, su