Well, I haven't listened to any "new" albums in a while, not since Alice Cooper's "Along Came a Spider" that I've liked. However, I always am on the look out for albums I haven't heard before, because new is in the ear of the listener. So I was on iTunes the other day, wanting to waste some money, when whimsy clubbed me over the head and said "You haven't listened to the Pogues in a while. Get a new album." So I looked around, and I was struck by the picture on the front of Peace and Love. I don't know if you've noticed yet, but the boxer on the cover has six fingers on his right hand. Maybe he's the cousin of Count Rogan from Princess Bride, I dunno. So I bought the albums, seeing that it did have an equal amount of Spider Stacy and Shane McGowan singing. While some of my favorite Pogues songs are absent from the album, as an album itself, I think it's my favorite.
To start with, the Pogues, if you don't know, are not just Irish folk. While they're all either Irish or of Irish descent, they play just as many non-Irish songs as Irish ones, especially on Peace and Love. The first song on the album, "Gridlock," seems to be drawn more from Benny Goodman than from the Dubliners. One of my favorite songs on the album, "Blue Heaven," sounds more like reggae than Irish folk. IMAO it's also one of the best songs to partner dance to, but I digress. The album isn't devoid of Irish influence, having the anti-English and pro-Irish song "Young Ned of the Hill," as well as love ballad "Lorelei," which also stands as one of my favorite Pogues songs.
I was somewhat disappointed by the last four tracks of the album, but as is standard for the Pogues, their experimentation with sounds can lead to less than shining results. The songs aren't bad in the slightest, they just didn't strike me, and I don't think it gave the album as strong a finish as I would have liked. However, due to the strength of the songs I liked, I would give this album **** out of ******
Best songs off the album: "Young Ned of the Hill," "Blue Heaven," "Lorelei"
No comments:
Post a Comment