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 ]
