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The Pogues - Hell's Ditch Audio CD

A fair review of the The Pogues "Hell's Ditch" 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.

The Pogues Band: The Pogues
Title: Hell's Ditch
Rating:
Release Date: 1990-10-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Sunnyside of the Street 2: Sayonara 3: Ghost of a Smile 4: Hell's Ditch 5: Lorca's Novena 6: Summer in Siam 7: Rain Street 8: Rainbow Man 9: Wake of the Medusa 10: House of the Gods 11: 5 Green Queens & Jean 12: Maidrin Rua 13: Six to Go

Elements of interest
God, I loved this when I was 16. Well, for an album with lines like "Genet's feeling Ramon's d***/ The guy in the bunk above gets sick/ In the cell next door the lunatic/ Starts screaming for his mother" and "The years went by and then the killers came/ And took the men and marched them up the hill of pain/ And Lorca the faggot poet they left till last/ Blew his brains out with a pistol up his arse" this is actually a reasonably cheery album, at least musically. It appealed to every fiber in my teenage body. A decade and a half later, I'm less swayed, and appreciate different parts of the album than my younger self did. The central goth horror songs, "Hell's Ditch" and "Lorca's Norvena," hold less appeal today, though they still exhibit a certain dark power, but its the lighter, more folksy songs, some of them almost throwaways, that actually draw me back to the work: "Six to Go," "Maidrin Rain," and the wonderfully oblique "Five Greeen Queens and Jean. " Still, the best song is "Rain Street," an affectionate portrait of being down and out in the United Kingdom. .


Naked howling freedom! Hell's Ditch! - My favorite Pogues album
I enjoy the title track, "Lorca's Novena", "Sunnyside of the Street", "Sayonara", and "Rain Street". This is my favorite Pogues album. I was disappointed to hear of the low regard in which the band, and many of their fans, hold this album, but it's still my favorite nonetheless. I'm attracted to the dark lyrics and bleak storytelling I guess. Shane McGowan seems to be at his most charming on this album, and the production is sparkling. .


Shane goes out in a alcohol fueled haze.
Shane was in an alcoholic stupor as he slurs and stammers over his deep and insightful lyrics, even though he's half lit his passion for his music shines through. Hell's Ditch (1990) was the last recording founder and leader of The Pogues Shane MacGowan made with his band before he left on a very extended leave of absence. About
half of the songs have his vocal and musical input. It's up to
Terry Woods and Spider Stacy to carry the rest of the album.

Brilliantly produced by auxilliary Pogue Joe Strummer, the band manages to carry on without their inebriated leader.
Spider Stacy and Joe Strummer pick up the slack (live) until Waiting for Herb, then it's Spider's turn to shine. A depressing album filled with ditties about lost souls, miserable people, hoplessness all awashed in a sea of despair and liquor.

Highly Recommended.


Not quite good enough.
The bad songs on it, horrible written or unitelligable just outnumber the good songs. For the band, I think that this album was a low point.


The End is Near
After this release, Shane would leave and what was the Pogues died. This was the last great Pogues album. They would release two horrible albums without Shane, but everybody knew they were not real Pogues albums. However, there is no need to be angry at anybody. Shane wanted out of the band and was always drunk. The rest of the boys wanted a stable career. They could not continue the way they were going. When I listen to this album, I hear Shane becoming less involved. The band started to psh more towards a softer, Irish commerical sound. Not a bad sound, just not the rocking insanity of earlier recordings. You still have brilliant songs (primarily Shane's songs), but the album is still kind of tame. However, it is still great stuff and the last album of a legendary band, so props to the boys.


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.

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