The Great White Sea Eagle

The Great White Sea Eagle is a 2023 album by Scottish singer-songwriter James Yorkston, collaborating with Swedish musicians Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra. The album has received positive reviews from critics.

Reception
Editors of AnyDecentMusic? scored this album a 7.7 out of 10, based on eight reviews. The Great White Sea Eagle received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on seven reviews.

Editors at AllMusic chose this and an Album Pick and rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Tim Sendra writing that it is a "loose and lively set of arrangements that felt improvised, while at the same time as intricate as a fine piece of jewelry". In Clash Music, Robin Murray gave The Great White Sea Eagle an 8 out of 10, stating that it "is peppered with jewels". In The Irish Times, Tony Clayton-Lea rated this release 3 out of 5 stars, characterizing it as "odd, beguiling and very good". Glyn Brown of Mojo rated this release 4 out of 5 stars for "emotional heft that'll leave you winded, hidden in deceptively simple arrangements". Writing for musicOMH, Steven Johnson gave this release 4 out of 5 stars, characterizing it as "a special collaboration of tender, gentle moments that results in an enchanting and meditative listen" and summing up that "it's noticeable how familiar the songs already seem to feel, a special quality that confirms the album to be significantly greater than the sum of its individual parts". The Skinny's Alan O'Hare calls Yorkton "a noble artist" for the emotional depth of these lyrics and gives this album 4 out of 5 stars. Nick Halsted of Uncut rated this release an 8 out of 10, praising the vocalists: "Nina Persson adds clean, open vocal optimism to James Yorkston's reedy grain on harmonies, easygoing duets and some leads, on songs crisp as winter sunlight". In Under the Radar, The Great White Sea Eagle was rated 8 out of 10 stars, with critic Ian Rushbury calling it "a beautiful, hand made collection of natural and unforced songs to be treasured".

Editors at AllMusic included this on their list of the best albums of 2023, as well as favorite folk and Americana albums of 2023.

Track listing
All songs written by James Yorkston.
 * 1) "Sam and Jeanie McGreagor" – 1:55
 * 2) "An Upturned Crab" – 2:58
 * 3) "Keeping Up with the Grandchildren, Yeah" – 4:23
 * 4) "The Heavy Lyric Police" – 4:32
 * 5) "A Sweetness in You" – 3:14
 * 6) "A Forestful of Rogues" – 4:13
 * 7) "Peter Paulo Van Der Heyden" – 3:19
 * 8) "Mary" – 3:26
 * 9) "Hold Out for Love" – 3:09
 * 10) "The Harmony" – 4:03
 * 11) "The Great White Sea Eagle" – 3:24
 * 12) "A Hollow Skeleton Lifts a Heavy Wing" – 5:05

Personnel
Sam and Jeannie McGreagor An Upturned Crab Keeping Up with the Grandchildren, Yeah The Heavy Lyric Police A Sweetness in You A Forestful of Rogues Pieter Paulo Van Der Heyden Mary Hold Out for Love The Harmony The Great White Sea Eagle A Hollow Skeleton Lifts a Heavy Wing
 * Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
 * Ulrika Gyllenborg – violin
 * Lina Langendorf – saxophone
 * Peter Morén – guitar
 * Nina Persson – vocals
 * Karl Jonas Winqvist – drums
 * James Yorkston – piano, vocals
 * Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
 * Ulrika Gyllenborg – violin
 * Emma Nordenstam – cello
 * Nina Persson – vocals
 * James Yorkston – piano, vocals
 * Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
 * Ulrika Gyllenborg – violin
 * Lina Langendorf – flute
 * Peter Morén – guitar
 * Nina Persson – vocals
 * Lars Skogland – drums
 * James Yorkston – piano, vocals
 * Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
 * Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
 * Lina Langendorf – saxophone
 * Peter Morén – guitar
 * Emma Nordenstam – cello
 * Lars Skogland – drums
 * Karl Jonas Winqvist – bass harmonica
 * James Yorkston – piano, vocals
 * Lars Skogland – drums
 * James Yorkston – piano, vocals
 * Daniel Bengtson – organ
 * Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
 * Emma Nordenstam – backing vocals
 * James Yorkston – piano, vocals
 * Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
 * Ulrika Gyllenberg – violing
 * Per Lager – drums
 * Lina Langendorf – bass clarinet
 * Peter Morén – guitar, backing vocals
 * Emma Nordenstam – cello, backing vocals
 * Nina Persson – vocals
 * Karl Jonas Winqvist – percussion, vocals
 * James Yorkston – piano, vocals
 * Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
 * Ylva Ceder – English horn
 * Lina Langendorf – saxophone
 * Peter Morén – guitar
 * Nina Persson – vocals
 * James Yorkston – piano, drums, bells
 * Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
 * Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
 * Per Johansson – saxophone
 * Goran Kajfes – trumpet
 * Lina Langendorf – saxophone, flute
 * Peter Morén – guitar
 * Nina Persson – vocals
 * Karl Jonas Winqvist – drums
 * James Yorkston – piano, vocals
 * Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
 * Emma Nordenstam – cello, piano
 * Nina Persson – vocals
 * Karl Jonas Winqvist – Omnichord
 * James Yorkston – guitar, drums, vocals
 * Daniel Bengtson – backing vocals
 * Peter Morén – guitar, backing vocals
 * Emma Nordenstam – cello
 * Nina Persson – backing vocals
 * James Yorkston – Rhodes electric piano, Bookcorder tape, vocals
 * Daniel Bengtson – bass guitar
 * Ylva Ceder – English horn
 * Ulrika Gyllenberg – violin
 * Lina Langendorf – flute
 * Peter Morén – backing vocals
 * Emma Nordenstam – cello, backing vocals
 * Nina Persson – vocals
 * Lars Skoglund – drums
 * James Yorkston – keyboards, vocals

Technical personnel
 * Daniel Bengtson – mixing, production
 * John Broadley – artwork
 * Matthew Cooper – layout
 * Anna Drvnik – photography
 * Sean Magee – mastering
 * Karl-Jonas Winqvist – production
 * James Yorkston – production, liner notes