Rhino does it again! Remastered, repackaged and revived editions of the first five Pogues albums were released in America last week (their entire catalog was reissued in the UK in 2005). Supervised by the band, the remastered sound is sterling, and the 29 bonus tracks should satisfy any completist — they include the entire Poguetry in Motion and Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah EP’s. The artwork unearths never-before-seen pictures from the albums’ sessions, and new sleeve notes were provided by some famous fans, including Tom Waits, Steve Earle, and Bob Geldof.
The Pogues pioneered a unique blend of Celtic and Punk that could evoke the Clash, the Chieftains, and the Dubliners in the same breath. They released five CD’s before their chief songwriter, frontman, and heart and soul, Shane MacGowan, departed for personal reasons; the first three of these are classics of the genre and some of my all time favorite albums.
Red Roses for Me
This is the Pogues at their most playful, MacGowan at his most lucid. A spry batch of songs is propelled by frenzied arrangements of a 50-50 mix of traditional tunes and MacGowan originals. Red Roses is a bridge to the band’s subsequent organic brilliance, marking time as MacGowan’s songwriting matured and the group developed its signature sound. My personal favorite.
NOTES: Includes six bonus tracks, three of which appeared on the orginal Enigma CD; the other three are moderately interesting B-sides.
Excerpt: Dark Streets of London
Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Shane MacGowan emerges as a songwiter of the highest order on the second Pogues album. He informs his songs with the rich history of the British Isles, and the line between his originals and the album’s celebrated traditional songs is virtually undetectable — he has an uncanny ability to make his songs sound old and old songs sound new. Not as cohesive as Red Roses for Me, but brilliant nonetheless, the recording sessions resulted in at least a half dozen masterpieces: “A Pair of Brown of Eyes,” “Sally McLenanne,” “The Sickbed of Cuchulainn” and “Dirty Old Town” are to-die-for Pogues tracks. And one of the bonus cuts, “Body of an American,” from the beloved Poguetry in Motion EP, trumps ’em all.
NOTES: Produced by Elvis Costello and featuring contributions from his soon-to-be-wife, soon-to-be-ex, Cait O’Riordan. RSL draws its irreverent title from a glib remark about life in the British Navy, commonly attributed to Winston Churchill.
Excerpt: Body of an American
If I Should Fall from Grace With God
Casual fans of the genre should start here. The Pogues reached a critcal and commercial peak with the release of Fall from Grace. The band’s lineup swelled to eight with the addition of Terry Woods, and the sound of the album is glorious (the coda of “Turkish Song of the Damned” leaves no doubt). MacGowan’s songwriting is still first-rate, but other band members begin to make significant contributions — the Jem Finer/Shane MacGowan composition, “Fairytale of New York,” is one of those songs that knocks you off your feet the first time you hear it. The universally loved ballad is routinely voted the best Christmas song of all time in Ireland and England.
NOTES: The powerful duet with the Dubliners, “The Irish Rover,” is a great bonus addition. For some reason, “South Australia,” an essential cut from the original vinyl release, is also sequenced as a bonus track.
Excerpt: Fairytale of New York
Peace and Love
At the height of their powers, MacGowan’s erratic behavior caused him to gradually withdraw his influence from the band. Without his magic touch, Peace and Love is (to put it kindly) inconsistent. When it’s good (“White City”), it’s really good; when it’s bad (Philip Chevron’s “Blue Heaven” and “Lorelei”), you shake your head and wonder. Only a couple non-Macgowan compositions, Terry Woods’ “Young Ned of the Hill” and “Gartloney Rats,” rise to his level.
NOTES: The bonus tracks aren’t much better — two songs from the stopgap Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah EP and four perfunctory B-sides are included. Look closely at the album cover; the boxer has six fingers on his right hand.
Excerpt: Down All the Days
Hell’s Ditch
Hell’s Ditch is dominated by lyrical and musical references to Spain and the Far East (especially Thailand). This consolidated theme lends the album needed continuity following the ramshackle Peace and Love, and the album’s lead track, the energetic, “Sunnyside of the Street,” hinted that the band had returned to form. Unfortunately, MacGowan’s personal difficulties overwhelm his performances, which are listless and garbled. The band soon parted ways with their mercurial leader and released two middling CD’s; for all intents and purposes, this WAS the last Pogues album.
NOTES: Produced by the Clash’s Joe Strummer. Bonus tracks include the 90’s remake of the fan favorite “Rainy Night in Soho.”
Excerpt: Sunnyside of the Street
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