Customer Reviews

Streams of Whiskey

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the first time I've ever thrown away a CD. The sound quality is so poor it's painful to listen to these great songs. The music is little more than a series of rhythm beats; all the sublety of the melodies are lost. And McGowan's vocals are pretty much incomprehensible. This recording should never have been allowed to be released.

Recorded at a gig in Leysin, Switzerland on July 12, 1991, this album originally circulated as a bootleg known as "Live on Rain Street" before it was reissued as an "official" album release in 2002. The band members themselves have protested its release, and request that you instead purchase the live CD from their 2001 reunion performance at the Brixton Academy, available as Disc 2 of the Pogues Ultimate Collection.

Amazon reviewers of the 2001 reunion show have praised that disc, while reviewers on this page have been quite harsh to "Streams of Whiskey." Which is the better disc? Are the harsh reviews of this album justified?

For my money this is by far the better disc. It is an absolute gem of a performance that has been unjustly maligned, while the 2001 reunion show has been a little over-hyped. The fact is, The Pogues were an untouchable live act from their inception in 1984 through to their parting with Shane MacGowan later in 1991. While it's nice to see the older, chubbier Pogues get together again and relive past glories, the reunion show simply doesn't capture the band during its 1984-1991 peak. "Streams of Whiskey," despite its sometimes questionable sound quality, does. That makes it essential listening to any Pogues fan and an important document of what this band sounded like while they were still riding that wave where it seemed they could do no wrong.

As for the sound quality: yes, the recording on the 2001 reunion show is much better, while this one seems unprofessionally recorded and sloppily mixed at times. But the messy quality does not detract from the excellent performance the band puts on, and really, what is more important?. I'd rather have a poorly recorded excellent performance any day than a well-recorded lousy performance. Besides, the sound quality isn't *that* bad; critics make much too big a deal over this.

Ignore the naysayers, and indeed the band themselves, you owe it to yourself to get this disc. I put off getting it for a long time because of the bad reviews, but once I heard it I felt foolish for shying away from such a great disc. It's The Pogues in their prime, and you can't go wrong with that.

Okay, so its not the best recording ever, kind of like a really good bootleg, but it does capture the live energy of a Pogues show. So what if you can't make out what Shane is saying?? You never can. But you cannot deny his lyrical genius, or the Pogues musicianship. Captured here are some of the Pogues best. Sayonara blares from the speakers, sounding as if there are a lot more musicians than are really in the band. The Pogues sound is full. If you are worried about the sound quality, then you are really left buying a bootleg (Live on Rain Street, etc.), unless you opt for Shane with the Popes and get Across the Broad Atlantic. If you are a devoted fan, get this. If you are trying to get your first feel for the band, get a studio album, preferably If I Should Fall From Grace with God.

i guess this falls into the same category as the Clash's "Cut The Crap" album. One person says its bad so others will think the same. this is not a bad quality live recording (trust me, you can do worst), but it's not the best. i must admit it has good stuff on it (especially rain street). but then again shane sounds drunk... its not a bad recording, just keep that in mind, but you will probably want to wait for the re-union album.

This is a horrible CD. It was actually released without the permission of The Pogues and they (The Pogues) ask you to please not purchase it.

this has a great selection of stuff, but the quality is weak. buy the studio albums for now, most notably, peace and love and if i should fall....

I avoided this cd for years now because everything I read about it slammed it. Shane's too drunk, duh! That's all part of the charm. The band and Shane sound great and energized. This is my favorite of the 3 live releases I have heard, the others being Brixton 2001 from the Ultimate Collection and Sane and The Popes Across the Broad Atlantic (but I love 'em all). I had to try them all after seeing the Pogues St. Patty's show in NY this year which was awesome wheelchair and all....

This is the Pogues as they were at the time.
I saw them in Konstanz Germany, around the time this concert was recorded, and again in Toronto that fall, after Shane was dumped and Joe Strummer was doing the vocals.
Shane was incomprehensible, incoherent and foul mouthed. Live, you could not make out what he was saying.
I think you can tell that the band is about to start their decline to obscurity. A shame.
But some of the songs are pretty good (see review title).
A must for a true Pogues fan.