The Once.

I bought this disc after listening to Sail Away to the Sea on YouTube. I was immediately taken by the soulful sound of Geraldine's voice and the arrangement of this song. It's my favorite song on the album, but I've enjoyed every track.I will be buying more of their albums.

I love this group. This album is a wonderful blend of the traditional songs, from Newfoundland, and other places, and the modern folk sound of today. It makes for some great listening. Recommend!!

These are little known Canadian folk singers with a clear, modern sound and wonderful harmonies. A great mix of upbeat and moody songs, including spectacular covers of two Leonard Cohen songs, Coming Back to You and Anthem.

This album was not at all what I expected. After hearing about this band winning the awards at the Canadian Music Folk Festival (and being a Newfie) I thought I should give it a try.I expected a little more traditional-type music and what I got was much more mellow. The lead singer has a fantastic voice but if you buy this album be prepared for a laid-back experience, not a rouse.

The lead singer has a beautiful voice and their music is folk style without sounding like country music, which I prefer. Also I love the incorporation of Irish folk songs.

This album comes from Newfoundland folk trio, The Once. All lead vocals are by Geraldine Hollett who has a striking voice - crystal clear and self-assured, but not over-powering; and a number of the tracks feature tremendous close harmonies from all three band members. The playing is by multi-instrumentalists Phil Churchill and Andrew Dale (no less than 12 different instruments played between them!), plus guest musicians. Several of the songs have a Celtic influence, and the band have the knack of making contemporary songs sound traditional, and traditional songs sound (slightly) contemporary.On paper, this is a semi-acoustic album, but the non-acoustic instruments (electric guitar, electric bass and organ) are played sparingly as background accompaniment - this, together with 3 songs performed without the playing of any instruments at all, lends the album a strong acoustic character. Acoustic guitar, mandolin and bouzouki are featured most prominently - with violin, banjo and accordion introduced on selected songs. Rhythms are provided by drums/percussion/bodhran, acoustic guitar, bass and tambourine (and .... suitcase?!).Although there are 12 tracks on the album, there are 14 songs because one track is an instrumental medley. 8 songs are by contemporary writers - including Leonard Cohen (2 songs), Tom Waits, Amelia Curran and Dave Cousins; the remainder are traditional English and Gaelic folk songs arranged by the band. 2 songs are sung a cappella with lead vocals and harmonies, 1 song is an a cappella solo by Geraldine, and 1 song is 'semi-a cappella' (lead vocals/harmonies supported by percussion). There's a good range of tempos with many songs having memorable lilting melodies of the 'traditional folksy' kind. I liked all of the songs and it's difficult to choose favourites, but 'Sail Away to the Sea', 'Maid on the Shore', 'Three Fishers', 'The Deserter', 'The Briar and the Rose' and 'Anthem' would definitely be amongst them.Some may find the vocal styles of Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen an acquired taste, but don't let this deter you from checking out this album - they are both fine song-writers and The Once interpret their songs in a manner which is fully consistent with the music on the rest of the album. If you like the kind of music from artists such as The Wailin' Jennys or Cara Dillon, then you should definitely give 'The Once' a listen - this is one of the most enjoyable folk albums that I've heard in recent years.

I received a copy of this CD as a Christmas present from my son who spent quite a bit of time in St. John’s, Newfoundland at Memorial University. The music scene is quite exciting there and he introduced us to many musicians and their work.I am particularly captivated by the ‘sound’ of this group, The Once. The beautiful voice of Geraldine Hollett, the harmonies and musical arrangements - I am always thinking of this music and play it over and over again. I particularly liked the cuts - The Briar and the Rose, Maid on the shore, Marguerite and Coming back to you. I should say that ALL the cuts were favorites.I also like the pictures taken in Model Citizens’ Clothing Shop. Very cool.

Before I received this CD as a Christmas present from my wife, I had never heard of either the group or the Borealis Recording label. But I was pleasantly surprised when we played the CD Christmas afternoon. My wife had heard of the band and CD on Folk Alley, which we both listen to via the Internet. The Once reminds me a bit of the Rankin Family, also Canadians, but they are quite different, and have a unique, very clear sound that evokes the Irish tradition of their native Newfoundland. The band has won numerous Canadian music awards and certainly deserves a more international audience. (If you go to the Borealis Web site, you can preview the tracks.)