Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

The Pogues
The Pogues tabs The Pogues discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

The Pogues guitar tabs

CD reviews

Rum Sodomy & the Lash

The Pogues - Rum Sodomy & the Lash Audio CD

A fair review of the The Pogues "Rum Sodomy & the Lash" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Pogues reviews here, or go back to the The Pogues tabs.

Band: The Pogues
Title: Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Rating:

Release Date: 1998-09-29
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Sick Bed of C�chula�nn 2: Old Main Drag 3: Wild Cats of Kilkenny [Instrumental] 4: I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day 5: Pair of Brown Eyes 6: Sally Maclennane 7: Pistol for Paddy Garcia [Instrumental] 8: Dirty Old Town 9: Jesse James 10: Navigator 11: Billy's Bones 12: Gentleman Soldier 13: Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Rum and other beverages
When I last saw him a few years ago on a telly doc. Ah the Thatcher years! Ah, The Pogues, and to think they've reunited, and even more implausible, that Shane is not only alive but still performing. his incoherence shockingly expressed a man in tragic disarray. He defies Rock's archetypal mythology of doomed premature deaths of its incandescent heores. As a friend, known to me for his Punk affiliations rather than his sobriety, confided, The Pogues were a group he avoided at the height of their powers in the London pub scene. They were just too loud. Songs from 'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash' are what he would have heard. Even in the sanctity of your home, its raucous, committed sound, its unique blend of existential angst and Folkish romance, will shake the fabric of walls and ear skins alike. It's just dripping with pathos. And for all the power the band brings to the party, you're left in no doubt about the verve of MacGowan's charasmatic leadership. His writing is superlative and the delivery is straight from the heart, rendering Ewen McColl or Eric Bogle's tearful,'Waltzing Matilda' with the same gritty conviction and eloquence of his own material. Elvis Costello was on board to produce and put his bourgeoning reputation on the line by taking The Pogues on as his supporting band. The result is an unadulterated masterpiece. Costello, who was to marry the female voice you hear singing ,A Man You Don't Meet any day', also wrote and produced that other memorable anti-war song of the Thatcher decade, 'Shipbuilding' which turns up on Rob. Wyatt's,'Nothing Can Stop Us'.

How to sway, mosh, drink, sing and stay happy
The songs are filled with classic, curious, poignant, silly, heart-felt, and bloody jolly lyrics. Years after its release, it still remains one of my favorite discs. Dirges, reels, chants, and poems - all of the music that the Pogues could perform well. The songs differ greatly except in that they have some tradition behind them - whether it lie in some bar somewhere, in the history of Ireland or Australia, or just in the love of another.
A great disc worthy of many listenings.

ARRRR. FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT. YE IRISH DRINKERS....
Being a large percent of Irish myself, it has never been uncommon for some of the elder relatives to get smashed, and role out the drinkin' songs, for some large, sloppy group sing-a-longs. I myself was raised on Irish drinking music from a very small age.
Personally, I like the style. Especially when it gets loud and rowdy, and chaotic. When you assemble a small group at the bars, that manages to scare the rest of the bar, just a little. There is a somewhat popular breed of this music these days ala Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. But these bands did not create this style on their own. They sang along with their elders too, who likely may have been singing along to THE POGUES.
This album was released in 1985, and was back when the band had not completely become a rock and roll band. In later years they would sort of drift away from the solid Irish sound. This album is a lot of traditional style Irish drinkin' music. With all the drunken rage and intensity you should expect. Look at Shane McGowan. He's a filthy bastaaaad. Keeps it real all the way. Songs about fightin' the good fight called life, and sometimes even love and other things. DIRTY OLD TOWN is the one that stands to be the most well known, but just about every song is worthy.
Also as a treat is Cait O' Riordan, who wouldn't stay in the band very long, but was on ship for this voyage. She sings the killer MAN YOU DON'T MEET EVERYDAY, which you may catch me being completely mesmorized by after a few stiff drinks.
The Pougues may not be as heavy as todays popular Irish/punk rock, but you should be sure to realize that they pretty much started the trend, long before it was a trend. Making those rowdy old Irish songs, a little more rowdy, so we can all get down to fightin'.
This pre-dates the POGUES more rockin' stuff, but it has enough fire in it to be a worthy addition to any drinkin' mans collection.

Incredibly fun and interesting Irish drunk music! Who would've known The Pogues were so good?
My dad and some of my friends liked him, but when they described them as drunk Irish singer/songwriters I kind've lost interest. I'll be honest and say that I was always hesitant when it came to The Pogues. One day, however, my dad forced me to listen to this album, and BOY is this awesome! Not only does it sound extremely interesting and unique, but it's great fun! Everything about this album is fantastic - the singer, the lyrics, the instrumentation. . . you'd be hardpressed to find something here that you WON'T like. The songs are usually pretty funny and occasionally are even emotional, but basically it's just a fun album that is good for any occasion. The musicianship here is excellent and the band "sounds" like The Pogues, so I have no idea who else to compare them (I don't have any other album, out of my personal 1,900 ones that I own, that sounds anything like this). The icing on the cake is that the singer himself is extremely likable, and he has a TON of personality. Basically, if you want to hear something different and fun, then The Pogues' "Rum Sodomy & the Lash" is a fantastic album to get! Absolutely recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album!.

Wow!
This isn't an album, it's an experience!
A solid collection of Irish blues-rock, sad, painful, glorious!.

You can see a complete list of all The Pogues discography, or go back to the The Pogues tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.