Jeremy Brown and Jeannie Teal

Several of Gordon Bok's solo albums have stories as their centerpieces- not story-songs, but genuine spoken-word prose stories. They're usually mystical, sometimes gently humorous, and generally involve characters who are trying to wrest a living from the rugged seacoast of northern New England. "Jeremy Brown and Jeannie Teal" is one such story, and, with a brief instrumental prelude and coda, it takes up about 20 minutes at the beginning of this album. I won't reveal too much of the story line itself, but suffice it to say that Jeremy Brown is a Nova Scotia fisherman and the Jeannie Teal is his fairy-infested schooner. The remainder of the program consists of Bok's own lovely "Herring Croon" and a handful of traditional songs and tunes, including an a cappella rendition of "The Schooner Ellen Munn" and an arrangement of "Hook Or Rionn Ohee" in which the guitar imitates gong buoys while Bok sings a lyric of sweet longing in his deep, rolling basso. Very nice.