The Pogues "The Pogues in Paris: 30th Anniversary Concert at the Olympia" (2012) (live)

The Pogues in Paris: 30th Anniversary Concert at the Olympia (live)
release date: 2012
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]

[ playlist ]

2-disc live album by The Pogues for this occasion consisting of Andrew Ranken, Darryl Hunt, James Fearnley, Jem Finer, Philip Chevron, Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, and Terry Woods. It's nice to hear the old guys play together again, playing some of their finest songs but it's also rather evident that Shane MacGowan hasn't put the alcohol behind him. The album has been released as a triple lp, a double cd, and various releases with a dvd-disc of the concert. I really don't know how to rate this. It's nice to hear and see them play but Shane's performance... - he's a legendary singer and composer, his name will live on, but seeing and listening to his singing is almost pathetic.

The Pogues "Pogue Mahone" (1995)

Pogue Mahone
release date: Feb. 27, 1996
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Steve Brown, Stephen Hague
label: WEA Corp. / - nationality: England, UK

7th full studio album by The Pogues. After the last album with founding member Shane MacGowan, Hell's Ditch (1990), the band continued playing with Joe Strummer as a mere temporary substitute, but for the next album Waiting for Herb (1993), Strummer was no longer part of the band. Instead, tin whistle and harmonica player Spider Stacy [aka Peter Stacy] and multi-instrumentalist Terry Woods took over the singing parts, and the album was made up of songs composed by almost all members of the band. I don't have that album on any media, as I find it of little interest and below average. For this, the band has found back to some of the music that gave them their most positive reputation by playing celtic rock, and the title ('Pogue Mahone' is Gaelic for 'Kiss my arse') was actually the name of the band before settling on the shorter version. It's not music to traditionals but still, in that spirit, and that's the most interesting part. I don't find the single songs on level with any of the best by The Pogues with MacGowan but I do think that they regained some of their former status with this album. Founding member guitarist James Fearnley, as well as guitarists Terry Woods and Philip Ranken had all left the band and 3 new band members: David Coulter on guitar, James McNally on guitar and accordion and whistle, and Jamie Clarke on guitar was new replacements in the band. So the only remaining founding members left are Spider Stacy, now on vocals only, and Jem Finer on banjo and guitars. After this, also Jem Finer left the band, and the album remains the last studio album by The Pogues but the band was kept alive as a concerts playing band with a new members list from time to time. 2001 saw many of the former band members re-unite for a Christmas tour, which meant that Shane MacGowan, James Fearley, Andrew Ranken, Terry Woods, and Phillip Chevron were all back together, and they have stayed together, although, MacGowan is often heavily under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

The Pogues "The Best of The Pogues" (1991)

The Best of The Pogues (compilation)
release date: Sep. 1991
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Pogue Mahone / Warner Music - nationality: UK

First best of album by The Pogues containing fourteen tracks.

The Pogues "Hell's Ditch" (1990)

Hell's Ditch
release date: Nov. 6, 1990
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Joe Strummer
label: Island Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Sunnyside of the Street" (5 / 5) (live in 2012) - 2. "Sayonara" - 3. "The Ghost of a Smile" (4 / 5) - 6. "Summer in Siam" (4 / 5) - 7. "Rain Street" - 10. "House of the Gods" (4 / 5) - 11. "5 Green Queens and Jean"

5th full studio album by The Pogues produced by Joe Strummer who had become more and more engaged in the band's activities and from '91 served as official substitute for MacGowan. I have always liked the album more than is easy to explain. I find it better than Peace and Love (1989) but it's also obvious that it's not on the same level as the two great full albums and the ep from 1985-88. My guess is, Hell's Ditch has a considerable amount of Shane MacGowan's signature (9 out of 13 tracks), which easily lifts the album above average. However, the band struggles just to hang on, as MacGowan's alcohol problems are beyond difficult. Apparently, some tracks were more than difficult to record as he was almost never sober but I think Strummer has done a great job finding that "edgy tone" of theirs, which is not just mainstream pop / rock but also a crossover of pub rock and celtic rock with parts of folk punk. The album is the last to feature founding member, vocalist and primary composer Shane MacGowan, who was permanently sacked from the band after this release as he was unable to help promote the album on the following tour, where Strummer substituted on vocals. MacGowan went on making music and in 1994 he released new material with the full studio album The Snake in his new band Shane MacGowan and The Popes.
[ allmusic.com hands it 3 / 5 stars ]

The Pogues "Peace And Love" (1989)

Peace and Love
release date: Jul. 1989
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Steve Lillywhite
label: Island Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Gridlock" - 2. "White City" (4 / 5) - 5. "Cotton Fields" - 7. "Down All the Days" (4 / 5) - 11. "Boat Train" (4 / 5) - 13. "Night Train to Lorca" - 14. "London You're a Lady"

4th full studio album by The Pogues following a great 1988 album is like that produced by Steve Lillywhite. The album is more pop / rock-founded than its predecessors, and it comes out as more mainstream and less wild. A scheduled US-tour of 1988 as follow-up to the band's success with the '88-album was cancelled due to Shane MacGowan's drinking problems, and it's no secret that his drinking habits had become a serious obstacle for the band, which also explains the lack of great songs and why the album turns out as a lesser great studio release as the other band members was forced to carry an bigger burden.

After two great albums, the band seems to have tired somewhat on this one. MacGowan has only written six of the original album's fourteen tracks, which is unusual, and also recognisable. The band's other fine songwriter, Jem Finer has composed three of the songs, and the remaining five tracks mostly just documents how much the band depends on especially MacGowan's ability to produce new material. Still, the best songs undoubtedly carry MacGowan's signature (#2, #7, #11, and #14).

Joe Strummer (of The Clash) started playing with The Pogues in 1987/88 as a substitute on several live concerts when MacGowan was incapable of performing, and later in 1990 Strummer helped producing the band's next album (and for a about a year in '91 he became official member of the band). It's interesting how MacGowan is the only band member credited for vocal performance on this album as it's quite evident that many others should be credited for that.

In retrospect, the album figures among the band's great albums - in contains truly classic songs, although, it also points to the inevitable end, but it's no near a bad album and a must in any collection of contemporary celtic rock.

[ allmusic.com hands it 4 / 5 stars ]

The Pogues "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" (1988)

If I Should Fall From Grace With God
release date: Jan. 18, 1988
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Steve Lillywhite
label: Pogue Mahone / Warner Music Group - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" (4 / 5) - 2. "Turkish Song of the Damned" (4 / 5) - 3. "Bottle of Smoke" (3,5 / 5) - 4. "Fairytale of New York" (feat. Kirsty MacColl) (5 / 5) - 5. "Metropolis" (4 / 5) - 6. "Thousands Are Sailing" (4 / 5) - *7. "South Australia" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Fiesta" (5 / 5) - 9. "Medley" ('The Recruiting Sergeant' / 'The Rocky Road to Dublin' / 'The Galway Races') (4 / 5) - 10. "Streets of Sorrow / Birmingham Six" (3,5 / 5) - 11. "Lullaby of London" (4 / 5) - *12. "The Battle March Medley" (2,5 / 5) - 13. "Sit Down by the Fire" (3,5 / 5) - 14. "The Broad Majestic Shannon" (4,5 / 5) - 15. "Worms"
* Bonus track on cd issue

3rd full studio album by The Pogues marks one of the bigger changes in the members list of the band. Founding member, bassist and backing vocalist Cait O'Riordan left the band after marrying Elvis Costello in 1986. On bass she was replaced by Darryl Hunt, but also multi-instrumentalist Terry Woods was a new member. The band's label Stiff Records was no more and the band founded their own label Pogue Mahone but the distribution part was handled by Warner Music Group in Europe and by Island Records in the US, which launched the album with an entirely different cover. The original vinyl album contains 13 tracks of which two are traditionals, 9 are written by Shane MacGowan, one by Jem Finer, and one by new guitarist Phil Chevron. The original cd version contains 15 tracks and a 2004 reissue 19 tracks. The band now consists of eight members. The album is the band's highest ranked album in the UK making it to number #3 on the national album charts, and it contains its best selling single ever: "Fairytale of New York" (written by Shane MacGowan and Jem Finer), which would turn out as a very popular Christmas song. The album is one of the band's best ever, and it's deservedly included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com hands it 4,5 / 5, Mojo and Sounds 5 / 5, NME 10 / 10, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

The Pogues "Poguetry in Motion" (1986) (ep)

Poguetry on Motion, ep
release date: Feb. 24, 1986
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Elvis Costello
label: Stiff Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "London Girl" (4 / 5) - 2. "Rainy Night in Soho" (4 / 5) - 3. "The Body of an American" (4 / 5) (live) - 4. "Planxty Noel Hill" (3,5 / 5)

4-track studio ep by The Pogues, released after their breakthrough album Rum Sodomy & the Lash from 1985, and like that these tracks were produced by Elvis Costello. The band has been expanded with guitarist Terry Woods, but it was also the last album to feature founding member Cait O'Riordan who married Costello in may '86. Stylistically, this is close to the two great albums of '85 and '88. A song like "Rainy Night in Soho" sounds much like an early blueprint of the band's famous Christmas song "Fairytale of New York", which would appear on the '86 album. The first three tracks are credited MacGowan and the last instrumental track is credited banjo-player Jem Finer.

The Pogues "Rum, Sodomy & the Lash" (1985)

cd version

Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
release date: Aug. 1985
format: cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,33]
producer: Elvis Costello
label: Stiff Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn" (5 / 5) - 2. "The Old Main Drag" (4 / 5) - 3. "Wild Cats of Kilkenny" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "A Pair of Brown Eyes" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Sally MacLennane" (5 / 5) - 7. "Dirty Old Town" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Jesse James" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Navigator" (3,5 / 5) - 10. "Billy's Bones" (4 / 5) - 11. "The Gentleman Soldier" (3 / 5) - 12. "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (4,5 / 5)

2nd studio album by The Pogues following less than a year after the fine debut. By now the band has expanded to a septet with the addition of guitarist Philip Chevron. This is the best combination of folk(lore), celtic rock, and punk rock I have ever come across. If many artists find the follow-up to a promissing debut a hard and difficult move, which has often resulted in poorer albums, The Pogues really got everything right here, as I think it's simply their best ever album. Elvis Costello produced the album and I think, he succeeded pretty good in finding the right combo of Celtic folk tradition and folk punk energy, and then he was perhaps also the right choice for the simple reason that he wasn't a great producer but instead focused on not tampering with what worked so fine. In the end, he made sure to record the music as is - live in the studio without traditional post-production.
Red Roses for Me was interesting and is by no means a bad album but on this one they simply turned up the punk rock element, which was more subdued on the debut paying more attention to folk and celtic rock in a traditional perspective. Shane MacGowan was on top and wrote and sang at the peak of his career also distinguishing this from the debut by having less traditional songs and more tracks composed by MacGowan, who actually had been foreseen as an upcoming author long before making music. Much like the band's music is filled with references to life on the edge, in the shadows, with streams of alcohol and a life at an everlasting party, Shane is infamous for having lived life in the fast lane and soon became notorious for his alcohol abuse as well as his lifestyle with no regrets, or at least that's how it seemed.
This very album remains their manifest and legacy, I think, and it's enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". A 2004 cd-reissue of the album also contains the 4-track ep Poguetry in Motion (1986) as bonus tracks.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Sounds 4,5 / 5, Mojo, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

1985 Favourite releases: 1. Ry Cooder Paris, Texas (OST) - 2. The Smiths Meat Is Murder - 3. The Pogues Rum, Sodomy and the Lash

org. album cover

The Pogues "Red Roses for Me" (1984)

Red Roses for Me [debut]

release date: Oct. 1984

format: cd (2009 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]

producer: Stan Brennan

label: Stiff Records / WEA - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Transmetropolitan" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Battle of Brisbane" - 3. "The Auld Triangle" (4 / 5) - 4. "Waxie's Dargle" (4 / 5) (live) - 5. "Boys From the County Hell" - 6. "Sea Shanty" - 7. "Dark Streets of London" (4 / 5) - 8. "Streams of Whiskey" (4 / 5) - 9. "Poor Paddy" (4 / 5) - 10. "Dingle Regatta" - 11. "Greenland Whale Fisheries" - 12. "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" - 13. "Kitty"

Studio album debut by The Pogues, who at this early stage is a sextet consisting of Shane MacGowan on lead vocals and guitar (only on this album), Jem Finer on banjo, Spider Stacy on tin whistle, James Fearnley on accordion, Cait O'Riordan on bass, and with Andrew Ranken (inserted photo in left bottom corner on the front cover, which flank the members around a photo of J.F. Kennedy!) on drums. At this point the band often played traditional celtic folk songs to their own music played in up-tempo arrangements with a smaller portion of the punk rock element they would become more associated with already from the successive album, except from on the traditional "Waxie's Dargle" and on "Streams of Whiskey" which both sounds more like what may be found on Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985). The band was formed by songwriter Shane MacGowan, who had begun his music career as songwriter and vocalist in the new wave and garage rock band The Nipple Erectors, later The Nips with MacGowan under the alias of 'Shane O'Hooligan'. This band underwent a long row of changing line-ups which also included James Fearnley until MacGowan and Spider Stacy for a period put more energy in the celtic folk group Stacy's Millwall Chainsaws, and also both performed in the New Republicans before they eventually got together with Finer and to form Pogue Mahone. Fearnley was included early on and was then followed by O'Riordan, and drummer Ranken was the last to join before releasing the band's first single "Dark Streets of London" in Jun. '84, which was initially sold at concerts but still ended up as a popular new release. The band was then banned on BBC because of the band's name. 'Pogue mahone' is Irish dialect for 'Kiss my arse!'. Alledgedly, it was a BBC announcer, who enjoyed their music, who then announced them as 'The Pogues' to avoid the ban and appearently that called for a quick name change, and the single was soon re-issued under the new name on Stiff Records.

The TV music programme, The Tube on Channel 4 used a video of The Pogues playing "Waxie's Dargle", apparently a song that brought the band a considerable amount of fame. Five out the album's thirteen tracks are traditionals, seven songs are written by Shane MacGowan, and the last track is music by The Pogues to a poem written by Irish poet Brendan Behan.

I didn't listen to this before after their third album and didn't appreciate it as much as I have come to. In a way, this is like The Dubliners meet The Pogues. The traditional folk is at center and it only takes a small twist to turn it into something really great, and then again, it's also really fine with their touch on folk music and what appears as a genuine love for the genre.

[ allmusic.com and Sounds hand it 3,5 / 5, Mojo and Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

The Pogues LIVE

1985


"Live in Munich, Germany 1985"

"The Pogues Live 1985 - Poor Paddy,Waxies Dargle"


1988


"Live at The Town & Country Club 1988" part 1

Part 2 --- Part 3 --- Part 4





The Pogues and The Dubliners "The Irish Rover" (1988?)



2012

"Fairytale Of New York" (feat. Ella Finer) Olympia, Paris, September, 2012

"Fiesta", Olympia, Paris, September 2012

Part 1 of the full concert in Paris, 2012