Weather Out the Storm is the third album from Figgy Duff, a band largely credited with spear-heading the "modern approach to traditional Newfoundland folk music" that "paralleled a similar development in England when bands like Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and the Albion Band fused English roots with rock 'n' roll," as the liner notes say. Although I almost certainly saw Figgy Duff at the 1980 Edmonton Folk Festival and this album ranked 54th in the 1992 Mar*Star poll, I only really became aware of them in 1999, when they performed at the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival in Bannerman Park, St. John's.
Weather Out the Storm, which was nominated for a Juno award in 1991 and peaked at #54 on the RPM charts, captures the group in transition: the instrumentation is now augmented with electric instruments and drums, and half of the songs are original compositions. Northern Journey: A Guide to Canadian Folk Music on CD gives it three stars (of 4), preferring the earlier, more traditional After the Tempest (four stars and a recommendation for a starter collection) and Figgy Duff (three and a half stars), while AllMusic gives it three stars (of 5), the review, in its entirety, saying "Powerful pop music with Celtic roots."
Although Figgy Duff had no hit singles, I would recommend "Woman of Labrador" and "Henry Martin" as key songs from Weather Out the Storm, while "Rumbolt," "Snowy Night" and the title track are also included on the band's 1995 compilation set.
| Origin: | Newfoundland |
| Label: | Hypnotic, A&M |
| Release Date: | 1990 |
| Producer: | Tom Treumuth, Gary Furniss |
| Style: | Newfoundland folk rock |
| Mar*Star 125: | 54 |
| Mar*Star 150: | 61 |
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Track Listing
Personnel