When members of Great Big Sea suggested they add a second CD of traditional folk songs to their 2004 pop-rock album, "Something Beautiful," Warner Canada label executives were less than encouraging.
"They thought we were nuts," said multi-instrumentalist Séan McCann in a phone interview last week from Chicago. "They didn't see much value in it. From their point of view, it's kind of hard to sell a record when you don't have the tools of radio or video behind you."
The Canada-based trio, due at the Rialto next Thursday, recorded the album anyway on its own time, putting together some of their favorite Newfoundland folk songs.
When Warner execs came looking for a follow-up to the successful "Something Beautiful" the band pitched the idea again.
"They listened to the recordings we had made and said, 'This is a really good. We don't know what's going to happen, but let's just put it out there,' " McCann said.
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The resulting album, "The Hard and the Easy," sold faster than any of Great Big Sea's previous releases and reached gold status in Canada (50,000 sold) in just under three weeks.
"We honestly believed this album might under-perform and sell 20,000, which is a way step backwards for us," he said. "But it has already done extremely well, so we are happy with it."
"The Hard and the Easy" isn't the first time Great Big Sea has recorded folk tunes from its Newfoundland home. Mixing old traditions with contemporary pop has been common practice for the band since forming in the early '90s. But this is the first time the band has dedicated an album entirely to roots music from the region.
On top of the release's abundance of sea shanties — Newfoundland is known for its maritime economy, and Great Big Sea has used them in the past — sit songs about other aspects of Newfoundland culture. Works include the logging tune "The River Driver" and "Tickle Cove Pond," one of two songs about horses falling through ice.
"A lot of people know that Newfoundland is a fishery-resourced place," McCann said. "But we also have a huge forestry industry and are rich in many other natural resources. In the past, our tendency has been to have all the songs about the ocean and sailors. But people who visit our Web site started saying that there are a lot of songs about these other traditions as well. We wanted to give those traditions a voice because they are seldom heard."
In an effort to woo people away from downloading the album for free online, the band also decided to add a DVD featuring the group rehearsing and arranging songs from the album as well as providing background information on the music.
Part of the DVD's charm is its candidness. The rehearsal takes place on a sunny day in band member Alan Doyle's back yard, and the camera keeps rolling through breaks in the song and the occasional cell-phone ring.
"It was genuine," McCann said. "There was no acting there. We had just hired a cameraman and had a rehearsal. He filmed it and sent us an edited copy and we said, 'OK, whatever.' But then there was this huge reaction to it. I didn't really think about it before, but when I went back and looked at it closely I thought it was kind of interesting to watch how we were interacting.
"I could see how it would be interesting to see how people go about arranging songs. I like watching that kind of stuff with other bands."
McCann said the album has been very well-received since its release in the United States under the Zoe Records label.
"I'm glad we did this album," he said. "Since it is all one kind of music, it kind of keeps you focused. We could have easily included a pop radio single that would have charted I'm sure because we have those in our arsenal. But I think that that would have taken away from the whole effect."
QUICK TAKE
Great Big Sea in concert
Where: Rialto Theatre
When: 8 p.m. next Thursday
Cost: $18; 740-1000
