The Pogues Reissued and Rocking the Swedes

Well the weekend is almost upon us again, and what better way to start it than with some Pogues reissue news and a live show from their prime? Rhino keeps impressing me with the choices of their expanded reissues of great albums. This time, they take on the Pogues, with five expanded and remastered albums: Red Roses for Me (their debut), Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash (produced by Elvis Costello), If I Should Fall from Grace with God and Peace & Love (both produced by Steve Lillywhite), and Hell’s Ditch (produced by Joe Strummer).

Each one has 5-6 bonus tracks tacked on to the end. I got my hands on If I Shoul Fall…, which is such a great ride all the way through, highlighted by the great “Fairytale of New York” with Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl, “Turkish Song of the Damned”, and the title track. The bonus tracks are great here too, “Mountain Dew” (with the Dubliners), “Sketches of Spain”, “South Australia”, and the “Battle March Medley”, among others. And who wrote the liner notes? Steve Earle. He recounts 4 straight nights of playing with the Pogues in very entertaining fashion.

So here’s a Pogues set from 1985. It was either soon before or soon after their 1985 album (and second album) Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash was released. Download, grab a pint and enjoy.

The Pogues
May 10, 1985
Orebro, Sweden

(Click here to get the whole show in an incredibly handy zip file. It’s 35 MB.)

1. Repeal Of The Licensing Laws
2. Boys From The County Hell
3. Whiskey You’re The Devil
4. Transmetropolitan
5. A Pair Of Brown Eyes
6. Dark Streets Of London
7. Streams Of Whiskey
8. Sally MacLennane
9. Navigator
10. Dingle Regatta
11. Poor Paddy
12. Waxie’s Dargle
13. Muirshin Durkin

* Links to buy all five reissued albums are above.

The unmistakable Shane MacGowan. Nobody ever said he was the pretty one….