Everyone is, by now, familiar with the term "jumping the shark" and its close cousin -- thanks to the giddy antics of everyone's favourite Thetan-buster -- "jumping the couch."

In music there's a comparable phrase to describe careericide -- "going orchestral."

It's that point in a, usually rock, band's existence where they decide/delude themselves into thinking they're serious enough artists to play in a concert hall with full orchestra -- that somehow their music is as timeless as that of Beethoven and Bach.

A prime example is Canadian celtic rock party act Spirit of the West, who made the move and, in doing so, all but lost their grip on the title of ubiquitous campus drinking band, pretty much opening the door for Great Big Sea to take over for the better part of a decade.

When it was announced GBS were going to release an album of all traditional East Coast material, it seemed they might be pulling their own variation on the theme.

But for the most part, said album, The Hard and the Easy, doesn't kill that buzz the boys have given packed rooms across this country.

A large reason is it's not foreign territory for them -- their albums and sets have always featured music from their beloved Newfoundland, so they know how to handle the material.

Another reason The Hard and the Easy works is because, even though these are the songs of the land and its people, they maintain the spirit of Great Big Sea. Or rather the songs themselves represent the spirit of the place the band has always attempted to embody.

From the salty sea shanty The Mermaid to the mournful The River Driver and the historical stomper Captain Kidd, Great Big Sea are at home here.

It also helps that every one of these songs make you thirsty, make you feel as if you were in a noisy neighbourhood pub or draining a bottle at home alone.

Sure the tempo could have been picked up on a tune or two, but that's something surely to be rectified when Great Big Sea hit the road with these songs and their past favourites, and play them how they're meant to be.

Sans orchestra.

Track Listing:

1. Come and I Will Sing You (The Twelve Apostles)
2. Old Polina
3. The River Driver
4. The Mermaid
5. Captain Kidd
6. Graceful & Charming (Sweet Forget-Me-Not)
7. Concerning Charlie Horse
8. Harbour LeCou
9. Tishialuk Girls Set
10. French Shore
11. Cod Liver Oil
12. Tickle Cove Pond