Customer Reviews

The Very Best of The Pogues

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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The Pogues are one hell of a band. No other Irish folk band that I've heard can actually play as well as these guys. Shane's drunken voice makes you feel like you're in the old green country.

The punk elements on this cd are awesome too. I recommend it to anyone who likes who likes punk such as the Pistols...I've heard Rotten and MacGowan are friends and used to hang out together when they were in the 70's London punk scene.

This cd represents the Pogues very well- it has a great mixture of their music, my personal favs being "Body of an American," "Streams of Whiskey," and "The Old Main Drag," (a grim tale of a young man's early experience of first arriving in London from Ireland). Also worth noting is the fact that Joe Strummer from The Clash produced a bunch of tracks on here.

This is a fairly good representation of the Pogues, for the uninitiated. Their best album 'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash' rightly gets its fair share of songs here. Shane was never at his most evocative and heart-wrenching than on songs such as 'A Pair Of Brown Eyes' and 'Old Main Drag', or at his rowdiest than on 'Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn'. Like any good 'Best Of' compilation, it also gathers together songs that are infuriatingly not available on other albums. The oft talked about 'Rainy Night In Soho', as well as two of their greatest songs 'The Body Of An American' and 'London Girl'. Any group that's managed to be produced by both Elvis Costello and Joe Strummer gives some indication as to the quality of songwriting involved in their work.

The second half of their career seems a bit disjointed on this collection, with only 3 songs from the brilliant 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God' compared to 4 from the above average 'Hell's Ditch'. Some odd choices from the later collection (e.g. Rain Street & Sunnyside of the Street sound like parts one and two of the same song) are picked over better songs from the earlier one. What about the single 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah', surely one of the best Pogues rock songs that's also pretty difficult to come by on albums.

Despite these minor reservations 'The Very Best Of....' is a great place to start.

I think they could have done a better job of picking "Best Of" songs. As much as this costs, do yourself a favor, spend a little more and just buy "Rum Sodomy & the Lash", and "If I Should Fall From Grace with God". I think you'll be much happier, especially if you are new to the Pogues.

We could all sing a sad lament for the tragic fact that the first two Pogues albums are no longer avaialable stateside. They are brilliant, angry, drunken, joyful and perfect works. This compilation (which is a more extensive collection than its predecessor "The Best of...") will console Pogue fans like a bottle of Bushmills whiskey. Along with some of the better cuts from the first two Pogue platters are some fine later selections "If I Should Fall...", "Fairytale of New York" and the startlingly beautiful "Rainy Night in Soho". "Rainy Night in Soho" was previously only available on an EP (remember those?) and then on "The Best of". It is arguably one of their greatest songs. I could lament several omissions like "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" like the ranting lout that I am, but I have only high praise for the songs included on the disc. The disc is a joy from start to finish full of the fury, chaos, tragedy and joy that made the Pogues such a brilliant band. The fact that this is only available as an import in the States is a further testament to the patheticly pedestrian mentality of American record companies. The American Pogues fans will be waiting for you out in the alley. This is music that needs to be more widely available. Enjoy it and revel in it.

This cd is full to the brim of lovely folk sounds.
Traditonal, classic Irish instrumental backing withaccordion, banjo,mandolin and flute are a refreshing change from more conventional instruments.
With Shane MacGowan's strong vocal command, this cd really livens up.
Popular favorites 'The Irish Rover", "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" and great 'Dirty Old Town" are included in this cd,which was why I recommend this cd over the others.
You needn't have a drink to enjoy.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes something different and upbeat.

The Pogues. Can you clasify them? Classic. Always. Timeless: yes. 5 studio albums with Shane & 2 without. So far, 4 "best ofs." But none of them have hit the mark so far. This one comes close, but still misses out on a couple.

Any Pogues fan buying "The Very Best of..." will no doubt have the rest anyway & will argue "why is this one there, but that one not?" But the best bands of all time are all like that - everyone has their favourite.

But take The Pogues & I would argue that 21 songs isn't enough. Half of Red Roses... is missing, and you could include all of ...Fall from Grace with God - the best album of all time. Similarly, Boat Train, Night Train to Lorca & London You're a Lady are missing from Peace and Love and a couple from Hell's Ditch.

But that is the beauty of The Pogues - other Pogues fans will probably disagree with what I have said & recommend another 10 still.

In short, if you are a Pogues fan already, you will own all the albums. If not, and you buy this one - I strongly recommend that you buy If I Should Fall From Grace With God & follow it up with Red Roses For Me & Rum, Sodomy And The Lash. 15 - 20 years on, these songs haven't aged, and Shane's lyrics are timeless still.

I was in love with The Pogues' songs, then read Shane's lyrics & they blew me away. But it wasn't just him - and it's a pity that he's on the front cover of the album, as The Pogues were so much more than Shane. They were almost nothing without him, but The Popes are nothing compared to The Pogues, so Shane needed the Pogues as much as the other way around.

Whatever... Classic. Timeless. Lyrical genius & the fastest songs you will ever hear, mixed in with love songs that are unsurpassed. You'll not be disappointed by the 21 songs, but buy the albums & you'll see what I mean.

Roll on June 8 & the Finsbury Fleadh.

I go back and forth on compilations - depending on the artist, sometimes it's best to have the individual, complete albums, other times a comp will serve just fine. Here, I think with this comp, plus one other album, "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash", you'd have the best of all possible Pogues worlds...

But, all the hot sh-t greatest stuff is here, including hard to find chestnuts, like "Irish Rover", and my own Pogues fave, "Rainy Night in Soho" (apparently not the original EC-produced version, but a string drenched, but still really nice re-make).

From raucus to romantic these 21 tracks really rock. The frenetic Sickbed of Cuchalain and If I should Fall From Grace With God go up against Rainy Night In Soho which is one of the most gentle and loving songs ever written.I'm not singing for the first time, I never think about the last, are lyrics to strike a cord and make one think. If you are a Pogues fan new or old,don't miss this one.

I bought this CD for "The Fairytale of New York" song only and was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the CD. It's so good that I'm buying two more to give as Christmas presents. If you like Irish music with added old punk, then this is for you. Comparable to "The Jam".

One of the classic groups of our time, the Pogues possessed that intangible, instantly memorable "something" that set them apart from all other bands of their era. As a result, their music has not dated a bit. As with Fairport Convention in the `60s, the Pogues deserve much credits for opening ears to Irish folk/Celtic music through their irreverent, high-energy, decidedly non-traditional approach. They started out basically as a bunch of young punks playing Irish drinking songs and gradually evolved into one of the most original and legendary groups of the 1980s. On a good night, they were the best live band on the planet.

The Very Best of the Pogues is the best currently available overview of the band. Although, it definitely is not perfect. Their opus If I Should Fall From Grace is under-represented in favor of too many tracks off the original lineup's weaker, last album Hell's Ditch. Terry Woods' excellent compositions ("Young Ned Of The Hill," "Gatlorey Rats") are ignored as are the band's punkier rebel tunes. And, perhaps most egregiously, the Pogues' most heartbreaking song, "Thousand Are Sailing," is missing. Other than those gripes, this is a decent compilation that provides a much needed crisp remastering of these songs.

There are real benefits to owning this for fans who already have most of the Pogues' records. Three out of four of the songs from the rare Elvis Costello-produced Poguetry In Motion EP (never made available on CD in the US) are here. They are on par in quality with the classic Rum, Sodomy & The Lash. The terrific collaboration with the Dubliners on the Irish pub standard "The Irish Rover" is included as well. This rendition is equivalent to a classic meeting of elder & youthful giants (i.e. "Duke & Coltrane")--that alone makes this worthwhile. All in all, this is a flawed, but excellent intro as you are going to find without going out and buying all the Shane-era Pogues albums.

Now, if we only get a deluxe remastering (with bonus track) of their entire discography!