Customer Reviews

Pogue Mahone

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

By 1995, the Pogues were starting to run out of steam, Shane MacGowan had left in 1991, and in 1993, Terry Woods, Philip Chevron, and James Fearnley also parted ways. Now the only original members Jem Finer, Spider Stacy, and Andrew Ranken, plus Daryl Hunt were left to pick up the slack. As a result "Pogue Mahone," isn't anywhere near as the MacGowan era "Pogues," however it is a vast improvement over the disappointing "Waiting For Herb." The last studio album by the seminal Irish-folk punk rock band, improves on the strain that was left after "Waiting For Herb." This time around Spider Stacy seems more confident as the lead singer and the songs seem more focused on this release than before. Jem Finer steps up to plate again as the principal songwriter and does a noble job with such cuts as "Tosspint," "Point Mirabeau," and "Bright Lights." However, other members of the Pogues come into play as well, particularly Andrew Ranken who brings the lovely "Amadie," and the depressing "Four O'Clock In The Morning." Even Daryl Hunt; my least favorite Pogue, provides the beautiful "Love You Till The End." Bob Dylan's "When The Ship Comes In," makes it mark on the album as well. Overall, "Pogue Mahone," is an improvement over "Waiting For Herb," but still this album like its predecessor is severely missing the songwriting talents of Shane MacGowan.

The new remastered version is very disappointing, only Jem Finer's "Eyes of an Angel," and the Stephen Hague remix "Love You Till the End," are the bonus tracks. I would recommend some of Jem Finer's hardest to find songs like "Who Said Romance Is Dead."

I've heard some songs from the Pogues before, and was very impressed. The Pogues come highly recommended and I absolutely love Shane McGowan's drunken Irish singing. Shane McGowan is a legend. He's a brilliant songwriter. Shane McGowan is the Pogues.

But McGowan is not with the Pogues for this album. And it severely suffers as a result. I was not aware of this when I purchased this album. I was sorely disappointed. The new singer is mediocre, and the music is rather uninspired. Without Shane McGowan, the Pogues simply don't exist.

If you're looking for classic Pogues, don't buy this album. You'd be much better off picking up such classics as "Red Roses For Me" or "Rum, Sodomy, and The Lash". That's what I'll be doing.

I only hope I can forgive myself for wasting money on "Pogue Mahone". Maybe it'll grow on me in time. But I doubt it.

this is a great album to listen while drinking alone or with your girlfriend, if you like flogging molly check it out

Just listen to 'Four O'Clock In The Morning' to see just how desperate for inspiration the Pogues had become by this time. It's no wonder that the best tracks on this album - which could hold their own on any previous Pogues release - are covers: Dylan's "When The Ship Comes In" and the obscure but brilliant Ronnie Lane single, "How Come."

With three new Pogues in the lineup, this album has a level of energy lacking in its predecessor, and it could stand on it's own if one wasn't familiar with the Pogues from '84-'90, but it can't compare to the music this band created in its heyday.

Of course this is the 2nd and last album released by the post-Shane Pogues. "Waiting for Herb" had already given a clear indication that the band was spent. Shane played such a dominant role in the Pogues, that his absence is just glaring. I hate dogging the boys, I mean it was not like them and Shane had this heated split. Shane wanted to leave the band and the guys were tired of dealing with this drunken and erratic behavior. However, that drunkard is perhaps the greatest songwriter of all time and the boys should have tolerated him a little more.