If I Should Fall From Grace With God [Original recording remastered]

The Pogues | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B000H8SFMK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,476 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #2 in Music > World Music > Celtic > Rock
  • #26 in Music > World Music > Europe > British Isles > Ireland
  • #80 in Music > World Music > Europe > British Isles > Britain

Track Listings

1. If I Should Fall From Grace With God

2. Turkish Song Of The Damned

3. Bottle Of Smoke

4. Fairytale Of New York

5. Metropolis

6. Thousands Are Sailing

7. Fiesta

8. Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant/The Rocky Road To Dublin/The Galway Races

9. Streets Of Sorrow/Birmingham Six

10. Lullaby Of London

11. Sit Down By The Fire

12. The Broad Majestic Shannon

13. Worms

14. The Battle March (Medley)

15. The Irish Rover

16. Mountain Dew

17. Shanne Bradley

18. Sketches Of Spain

19. South Australia

Editorial Reviews

Shane was at a new level of songwriting brilliance when Steve Lillywhite produced this 1988 LP. Fairytale of New York; The Broad Majestic Shannon; Bottle of Smoke this is the Pogues' masterpiece, here with Mountain Dew; Shanne Bradley , and four more bonus rarities.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars In the all-time top twenty 'rock' albums January 29, 2007

By over and under

Format:Audio CD

When they first appeared, people referred to the Pogues as an 'Irish punk' outfit. Since then I've heard them recategorized half a dozen times. But nomenclature aside, there's no disputing what the Pogues brought to music in the eighties and nineties.

Few artists communicate as effectively as Shane MacGowan, few voices in music are as immediately recognizeable as his. His lyrical gifts outpace even our most prolific songwriters. When MacGowan writes for himself, he ultimately writes for all of us.

I'm not one of those hyphenated Americans that need go back eight generations for an identity, but when I hear this music, it calls to something inside of me, something I suspect not even Ellis island can fully erase.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential recording for any fan of truly great music May 27, 2000

By M. Alberts

Format:Audio CD

This was the first Pogues album I ever bought. I had listened to Peace and Love when it came out, but I had (I am embarrassed to admit) dismissed this band as creators of "pirate music". And indeed, they do have a bit of a sea-shanty feel to them at times on their romps. But for me to continue to hold the "pirate" opinion would have been to blindly ignore the tremendous musicality and brilliant poetry of this band.

Most everyone realizes that the drunken delivery of Shane McGowan of poetic lyrics are brilliant. But would the brilliance come through without the tight composition of rollicking Irish music that backs the words? The seven backing musicians, especially on the fast, punk-tinged romps such as "Sit Down By The Fire" and the title track, show of a virtuosity unknown within the realm of punk (the place where most people put the Pogues). Songs such as "Metropolis" are nothing short of amazing. Songs such as "The Broad Majestic Shannon" glisten with a Joycean sheen of Guinness in pubs on a Saturday morning before going off to watch the local rugby club combined with a feeling of a stone house in a heather lea in the mist. Old Ireland meets "London Calling".

I have a collection of almost 1000 cds, and this one is always in the rotation, along with "Rain Dogs" by Tom Waits, David Bowie's "Heroes", and "Workbook" by Bob Mould. While it may take a few listens to really discover what makes this disc tick, it is worth the effort. Nothing short of the most rewarding disc to come out of England in the mid-80s.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pogues Strike Gold Again February 6, 2005

By Pogues Fan

Format:Audio CD

If "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" confirmed the Pogues as no mere novelty act, than "If I Should Fall From Grace With God," is the triumph that they deserved. Shane MacGowan's writing was now at mythical proportions, with such songs as the title track, "Lullaby of London, Bottle of Smoke, and The Broad Majestic Shannon." Phil Chevron's song "Thousands Are Sailing," about the Irish diaspora, proved that MacGowan wasn't the only talented songwriter in the band. This album also contains the best Christmas song ever, the MacGowan/Finer "Fairytale of New York, featuring the late Kristy MacColl. This release also showed the Pogues expanding their boundaries adding jazz ("Metropolis") Spanish flamenco ("Fiesta") and Middle Eastern tunes ("Turkish Song of the Damned") into their rollicking Irish set. "Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six" showed MacGowan tackling political issues for the first time, and if you want to see the Pogues tear through some numbers than "Sit Down By the Fire, and Medley" find them doing just that. Overall, "If I Should Fall From Grace With God," is a brilliant democratically written album from a band at their most creative peak.

The new remastered version contains the Terry Woods instrumental "The Battle March Medley, and the traditional "South Australia." The Pogues and Dubliners duets on the "Irish Rover and Rare Ol' Mountain Dew" are on here as well. Shanne Bradley, a beautiful instrumental by Shane MacGowan, and Jem Finer's "Sketches of Spain," round off the bonus tracks.