The Pogues If I Should From Grace With G-d

Another Pogues album. Two years after the classic Rum, Sodomy and the Lash, unlikely pinup Shane MacGowan and the boys (bassist Cait O’ Riordon left to shack up with Elvis Costello) released what was undoubtedly their masterwork. With producer Steve Lilywhite (who previously worked with stadium-ready rockers U2 and Simple Minds) adding a bit of spit and polish to their unique brand of Irish folk-punk, the Pogues expand on, rather than compromise, the principles established on their first two albums.

If I Should From Grace With G-d finds the Pogues work with a broader palette than before: we have a sea shanty with a Middle Eastern twist (Turkish Song of the Damned), a profanity-laced rave-up (Bottle of Smoke), a Flamenco pastiche (Fiesta) and Guitarist Philip Chevron’s epic ode to the Irish diaspora in America (Thousands are Sailing) sharing space with the band’s trademark Celtic stomps.

Along with Lilywhite’s lush production, an important ingredient to the album’s sound is Irish folk veteran Terry Woods, who contributes various instruments throughout, as well as his own flavoursome brogue vocals to two songs: the traditional The Recruiting Sergeant and his own mournful Streets of Sorrow, each of which constitutes the first part of a respective medley. The first is paired with the galloping Galway Races and the second with MacGowan’s angry Birmingham Six: a protest at the incarceration of the six men falsely accused of the Birmingham pub bombings, and one which incidentally landed the Pogues in a bit of poo with the powers that be. Directly after this bitter indictment, the tender ballad Lullaby of London floats in, borne on lyrical accordion lines and ringing mandolins – testament to the versatility of Shane’s writing we got merely a taste of on Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.

In the Pogues’ own fashion, tenderness and bitterness come together on the soaring mini-opera that is Fairytale of New York, a massive hit on its release as a single and probably the band’s most recognisable song. A duet between MacGowan and the late Kirsty McColl – singing as an Irish immigrant couple looking back over the years – the track takes the listener through a minefield of emotions in four and a half minutes. It is undoubtedly the highlight of the album, and the track responsible for its entry at third position on the UK albums chart in 1988.

If I Should Fall From Grace With G-d was one of several Pogues albums reissued with bonus tracks in 2004. The gem of the six on this disc is the MacGowan instrumental Shanne Bradley, a lovely tune that could probably be described as dancing music for fairies (of the female, winged variety). It is a welcome addition to an album that, along with Rum, Sodomy and the Lash, is one 1980s’ most unique and enjoyable music achievements.

This review was published, with minor alterations, in
Craccum, Issue 7, 2006.