Customer Reviews

Rum Sodomy & The Lash (Remastered / Expanded)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Awesome album by an awesome band! Magical moment for Elvis costello as well,in this age of remake and re-do's,would b an awesome experience if this treasure was with the original cast.shane??

Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash is a great album. It contains "A Pair of Brown Eyes," arguably Shane MacGowan's first masterpiece. It was recorded long before the album sessions took place, and was released as the band's third single. A slow ballad, it does not tell a story as much as it vividly recreates a depressing encounter in a bar. The singer, trying to drink away the memory of a brown-eyed ex-lover, is subjected to the ramblings of a drunken veteran of the Great War. The old-timer graphically relates how he endured the horrors of battle only to return home and find that his own brown-eyed girl had not waited for him. Following the time honored folk process, MacGowan set his lyrics against a backdrop of traditional Irish music. The album includes two more MacGowan classics: "The Sickbed of Cuchulainn" and "The Old Main Drag."
Replete with allusions to Irish history and culture, "Sick Bed" is a MacGowan tour de force with references to the mythical Irish hero Cuchulainn, Irish singers John McCormack and Richard Tauber, Irish Republican Frank Ryan, and Cloughprior cemetery where many of MacGowan's family are buried. "The Old Main Drag," a slow poignant number, is a seamy slice of life tale of a 16 year-old immigrant's attempts to cope with London's underbelly. MacGowan has claimed that the song isn't autobiographical, not surprising given the teenager's involvement with male prostitution, but the lyrics' power are surely born of experience. Nearly 25 years after its release "The Old Main Drag" had lost none of its power and remained a concert favorite.
Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash contains several other fine tracks. A traditional Scottish song, "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday," featuring Cait O'Riordan's finest recorded vocal, is one. MacGowan's vocals on three cover tunes, however, are even better. "Navigator," an excellent song about immigrants building the railroads was written by the Nips' manager Phillip Gaston. "Dirty Old Town," the Ewan McColl classic, is nearly perfect. But best of all is MacGowan's flawless interpretation of Eric Bogel's anti-war masterpiece, "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda." Otis Redding once said that Aretha Franklin stole his song, "Respect." Indeed, most fans associate the song with Franklin despite Redding's outstanding recording. The same can be said of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda." Bogel's version is fine, but with the release of Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash the song became MacGowan's. No fan of Irish music should be without this album. Rake at the Gates of Hell: Shane Macgowan in Context

Some may be put off by the rough mix of this CD...but the mix actually works for true Pogues listeners. In fact,this is my favorite. Short on the "belt it out boys" bar tunes of the other Pogues CDs, the ballads of this recording actually bear repeated listening much better, esp my favorite, "Waltzing Matilda", which hooked me on the Pogues many years ago when I first heard it on college radio. And "Pair of Brown Eyes" ain't no slouch. The only question I have is, why this remained an "import only" CD for so long ? I can remember scrounging for a copy back in the 80's when it cost $30+...

"wild cats of kilkenney" is one of the best songs ever. i love shane and everyone should get this cd. now!

The Pogues and the Mekons proved that punk was more attitude than anything. Just as the Mekons blended punk with country and produced something that was as edgy as anything that had come out before, so the Pogues, playing what on many levels seemed to be traditional Irish folks music. But unlike much Irish music (which I nonetheless love), there is no nostalgia at work here. There is no longing for a largely demised culture here, but traditional forms expressing contemporary experience. Moreover, the Pogues dealt with subject that more traditional Irish bands were have preferred to ignore: prostitution, dissipation (as opposed to mere drunkenness), and hopelessness. From first to last this album proclaims that life ain't pretty.

Although the Pogues were a great band down to every last member, the heart of the band was Shane MacGowan, who managed to convey a down-and-outer just this side of the DT's and death. His vocals drive every song he sings upon, and he is remarkable for the way he can sound utterly dissipated and yet still sing with remarkable emotion. Although he writes many of the album's songs, his finest moments are on songs written by others, such as their version of Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" and Eric Bogle's "The Band Played Waltzing Maltida." MacColl's version is lovely and only slightly melancholic, sounding almost more like a tin pan alley number than the haunted version that the Pogues would produce. MacGowan doesn't remake Eric Bogle's great anti-war song to the same extent, but the way he passionately tortures every syllable creates one of the most amazingly vocal performances on record. To this day, the Pogues's version of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" remains my favorite version of that great song, as well as my favorite Shane MacGowan performance.

While MacGowan was the heart and soul of the Pogues, it truly was a great band, and not merely a showcase for MacGowan's remarkable vocal talents. He wasn't the only excellent singer in the band, as the remarkable performance of "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday" by Cait O'Riordan, who ceased playing base for them after this album to marry the album's producer, Elvis Costello. While the Pogues may not match the better traditional bands in their instrumental prowess, they nonetheless stood alone in their depiction of the seamier side of life. And no traditional bad possessed a singer with the demonic passion of Shane MacGowan.

I'm on the fence as to whether this album or IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD is my favorite Pogues album. I listen to both often. This one is a bit rawer and is less polished, and might therefore edge the other one, but then there are no epic masterpieces (except for "The Band Played Waltzing Maltida") on RUM, SODOMY, AND THE LASH to match "Fairytale of New York" or "Thousands are Sailing." I'll close by adding that the title of this album could very well be my favorite in the history of rock. The title, in fact, expresses perfectly the spirit of the album.

This album is the Pogues at their best. Every song is great, except for their cover of Eric Bogles' "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", which is bloody disgraceful. They must have felt they had to have a go at it, as it is one of the most often covered modern folk songs ever written (along with "Dirty Old Town", which is also done on "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash", and much more competently). The Bushrangers version of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a much more sympathetic version.

Anyway, apart from the above, this is a damn fine album.

Wow. Thats what i think when I listen to this phenomanal cd. They are different than any other band I have heard. They are the perfect blend of irish music with punk attitude and screeching vocals. There are no words to describe them, you have to listen for yourself. The cd starts off with the riotous fast-paced Sick Bed of Cuchulainn, and gets better from there. The low point for me is Waltzing Matilda. Other people may like it buy I dont. Now, enough of the bad, let's get on with the good. Sally maclellane is a great song with that punk attitude that really gets you excited. A pair of brown eyes is great. Theyre all great. Get out and buy this cd!!!

I'll try not to re-hash the other reviews.

If I had to describe this album in one word, it would be "depth." The only thing "punk-ish" on "Rum, Sodomy" is attitude, and even that is a stretch. While the Pogues' preceding and following albums feature more riotous songs, about half of this album are slow ballads/dirges. Fine by me-- the slower numbers really reveal the infinite beauty and majesty of the Pogues' music, both lyrically and sonically. While all of the slow songs are great, the pinacle has got to be A Pair Of Brown Eyes, which is to emotion what the Parthenon is to architecture. But "Rum, Sodomy" is most definitely not a one-hit wonder. And don't worry-- there are enough raucous bone-crunchers in here too.

Some fans might dislike this album for its less polished feel, as opposed to later Pogues albums. But anyone who prefers "Peace & Love," "Hell's Ditch" (decent albums) and "Pogue Mahone" to this album most likely prefer White Snake to Led Zeppelin, John Mayer to Bob Dylan, and N'Sync to Simon and Garfunkel... ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.

If any one album totally encapsulates the Pogues, this is definitely it.

The best way to describe this great band is The Clash meets The Chieftains.

This album is so great, it almost makes me wish that I drank so that I could enjoy it more.

You will rarely buy a better album than this, truly exceptional.
If you like something a little bit stronger, then this is the cd for you