If I Should Fall From Grace With God

Absolutely the most irish / english album of all time

have to listen more of this :)

This genre of music is almost painful to listen to.

не ну вот если окажусь в лондоне в пабе в 15какомнить году, то угарну за это, а так...

Interesting Irish drinking song album. Each song is rather similar, but I don't mind it too much.

The lovely thing about this list is that while I knew about the Pogues (and I have previously been assigned Rum Sodomy & The Lash), I would never have put this on without this exercise. This is better than the other one and their sound, which seems to me truly unique, is this amazing mishmash of cultural styles that keeps entertaining. And their skills are much better since the other album as well. I even made it through the "extended version" of the album before I realized it was coming over.

The Pogues are amazing. Great Celtic prunk

Typical Sound, i can imagine it is a either you love it or you hate it sound, but I can enjoy this type of music!

Banjo music

I feel like I like the idea of this more than I actually like it.

A fun listen with generally toe-tapping rhythm (albeit angry lyrics) but a bit repetitive musically/ vocally

no bueno

It was enjoyable enough to listen to but not something I'd go back to again.

I love the Irish jig sound, and I liked the mix of fast paced songs with slower paced melodies. The album itself got a little redundant for me, and would I listen to it over and over? No.

Exciting and fun. Love the celtic melodies. Couldn't listen to for long stretches without going insane.

I liked some of these Celtic style selections. I'd like to explore further and add some to my playlist.

Bouncy folk-rock with an charming roughness. But I had to skip Fairytale; I've heard that song far too many times and I hate how overexposed it is. It's probably the weakest track on the album as well.

Obviously, Fairytale of New York is an all-time classic, but, this was rough to get through otherwise. I'm sure this album hits the right place for certain people, but, this was not for me.

Clearly inspired flogging Molly and other Irish punk rock. Pretty cool, better than expected!

Very different from everything else, could have done with being a wee bit shorter

A lot better than I had expected

YESSSSSS! The title track sets up this celtic rock masterpiece. Turkish Song of the Damned is a thundering folk piece. Fairy Tale of New York is a ballad of a drunk sung by a drunk. Like quite honestly, his voice is sooooooo bad. Fiesta is a lot of fun. Worms is a great closer.

Maybe 2 is a bit harsh but too many sounded similar. A good energy to it and some obvious high points

An absolute riot! So much fun to listen to and a surprising amount of range for a band who might be considered a pissed up, one-trick pony. From the moment the accordion refrain kicks in, leading the title track, we're on a wild ride into either glory or oblivion, and feeling like either one is deserved. Together with the frenetic tempo, and MacGowan's vocals, the overall feel is jubilant yet jaded, triumphant but angry... all at once. A fantastic way to open an album, and I can't see anybody listening and not wanting to either dance on the table or sink a thousand pints. If that doesn't do it, the following 1-2 of "Turkish Song of the Damned" (that amazing outro jig) and "Bottle of Smoke" certainly will. It's all brilliantly orchestrated, with rich instrumentation from accordion, tin-whistles, banjo, mandolin and cello to some unexpected brass in "Metropolis" and "Fiesta". MacGowan's voice is not going to be to everyone's taste, but it's often sweetened by unison accordion lines or backing vocals. It also suits the material perfectly: he's magnetic as a drunken storyteller from the bottom of someone's glass, in equal measure revelling in chaos, sharing his history, lamenting his situation. Nestled in amongst the frantic knees-ups are songs that feel like moments of lucidity, featuring either down-and-out deadbeats or Irish heritage. "Thousands are Sailing", "Streets of Sorrow" and "Lullaby of London" are heartfelt and sincere, weaving their narratives and characters perfectly into the music. I haven't even mentioned the most famous offering, "Fairytale of New York": for all its bitterness, it somehow (deservedly) broke through to become embedded in UK culture as a favourite Christmas song of all time. But here, it's just one of many brilliant character portraits. I was tempted to mark this down because "Worms" is such an odd, left-field closer, but there's so much greatness elsewhere on the record that one duff minute at the end can be forgiven.

You Irish? You drunk? You Pirates? I got bored after a few songs. Certainly cannot listen to 20 of them in a row. I did like "the Irish Rover" though. There must be hundreds of little bands that aren't any worse or better. Who gave these guys a record deal?

Loved it. So energetic!

This wasn't what I expected. I thought I knew what The Pogues were. I was wrong.

If you want an introduction to the Pogues this probably the album to start with. If you don't like this album you won't like the Pogues. True it does stray from the strictly Irish folk song paradigm and adds some middle-eastern rythms and an Iberian flavour on one song but they maintain their folky feel and traditional acoustic instrumentation, that still feels classic Pogues. Shane still dominates and sounds as gloriously drunk and loose and above all poignant as ever. And, of course, this album contains The Pogues most iconic and perhaps most beautiful (though that's debatable, song; Fairytale of New York. Can you tell that I love this album? 4.5 🌟

The Pogues me suena a la respuesta de "¿como sonarian Los Auténticos Decadentes si fueran irlandeses?". Original en su primera escucha; sin embargo, el sonido "marinero" llega a saturar y la verdad fue un alivio terminar el disco. Eso si, reconocimiento a las originales letras que cuentan una historia como "Turkish Song of the Damned" sobre un pirata que deserta durante un naufragio llevandose el tesoro. Luego los fantasmas de sus compañeros lo vienen a buscar.

Sometimes it sounds like St. Patrick's Day. Other times it sounds like a hangover, which I guess happens when you sing about sleeping off a binge in a drunk tank on Christmas Eve. But "Fairytale Of New York" is actually one of my favorite Christmas songs. Overall the album surprisingly never crosses the border from lubricated to morose, which isn't something I can say about the Dropkick Murphys.

Love the Pogues. Great range of Irish rock, traditional jig, and one favorite Xmas carol. Great vocals and music from winds, accordion, strings and percussion. Bottle of smoke, fairytale, streets of sorrow, Irish rover

It still sounds fresh.

I really like this band, can’t believe I’ve never heard about them before

Amazing album. Just has all the feels. Good one for vinyl.

Enjoyable. I've never given the Pogues much thought outside of Come on Eileen. The Irish flavour gets a bit tiresome by the end. Would listen again.

Really liked Turkish Song of the Damned Metropolis reminds me of Batman for some reason... The Irish Rover, how can you *not* sing along to this cracker!

A neo-folk kinda thing going on.

If I Should Fall From Grace With God is the magnus opum of Shane MacGowan. It a collection of classic songs touching all styles within the Celtic folk rock punk genre. Fairytale of New York and Fiesta sound exactly as the titles predict and show the diversity of this album full of high quality material.

Raw folk poetry of the highest order.

I may have only heard a few tracks from the Pogues, and never a full album. Overall, I think I like the Pogues. "Fairytale of New York" is the track from this album that I've heard several times before, and I like it. "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" and "The Broad Majestic Shannon" were other favorites. To me the Pogues (with their Celtic instrumentation) would fit in well with Great Big Sea, and the first album from the Crash Test Dummies. The Pogues add a punk feel to their delivery, and it was worth checking out the album as a whole.

Mixed folk content from everywhere performed by one band - sounds bad, but it's not bad at all.

Celtic colonialism vibes

Very upbeat.

Interesting album. I was not familiar with any of the music. I will probably never listen to it again but I didn't hate it.

Fuck, thats bordering a 5 So much good energy. Fuck it, it was funny as hell

An absolute classic.

it was really fun and irish! i liked the vibe and i just wanted to be in a little irish pub dancing to this song. i wouldn’t listen to it again because i have no reason to but i thought it was overall really fun !

First/second/third impressions are that this would be a blast to hear live in a smallish pub in Ireland - fun foot-stomping, get the crowd going a bit. On disc though? Doesn't hold much for me - the music is good but tends to get repetitive in sound/pattern and Shane McGowan on vocals gets....old. Recusing myself a bit as this likely has more of a cultural bent to it and they do sound talented but as a collection of songs to listen to I think I could do 2 or 3 at a time but as a full album it's not something I'm likely to return to. 4/10 2 stars.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Turkish song of the damned, Thousands are sailing, Medley,

How to appreciate Celtic music. The fusion of Celtic instrumentation and style with punk music creates a distinctive identity that carries the spirit of Irish music to a more accessible audience. It's danceable, upbeat, full of some amazing and creative tracks, not to mention that the tracks flow perfectly well from one to the next. "Metropolis" sounds like James Bond infiltrating the IRA. Love how the albums retains the spirit but slows down like an after-party following the medley. Favorite tracks: Thousands are Sailing, Fiesta

Nope.

Excellent album, so good I listened twice back-to-back.

Favs: If I Should Fall from Grace with God, Fiesta, Lullaby of London, Sit Down by the Fire, Thousands Are Sailing Mehs: No mehs. Irish rabble-rousing tunes: guts, soul, and dancing. Great fun. Only The Pogues sound like The Pogues.

OK but I wouldn’t seek it out except Fairy Tale of New York which you can’t avoid at a certain time of year! 2*

Good stuff.

3/5 nice irish sounds, but not ultimate.

Ska en clave de música folk, estilo punk y algo de música celta. Divertido de escuchar. Optimista e instrumental a partes iguales. Un género muy digno de escuchar.

It’s a unique sound for sure. But the whole time listening to the album I kept thinking “This song would be great in a movie, but not so much by itself”.

i liked this!!! childhood memories

A fun, celtic punk album that was fun to listen to. Kind of reminds me of songs you'd play at a pub/bar with your best friends. 7/10.

Good instrumental playing….

As this album played I got both excited and annoyed. Excited because I have a very soft spot for this type of music, kind of like Dropkick Murphys or some other irish band of misfits. The people who live out in the sticks in the show Outerbanks call themselves the Pogues so that was a nice call out as well. But I'm annoyed because while this album is fine, and has one reallllllly good song, Turkish Song of the Damned (holy cow love the beat), this does not need to be on this list. Throw this album up against Miles Davis or ACDC or Fleetwood and it just crumbles.

Pretty hilarious that we get this within a week of the Waterboys album. From Irish folk-tinged rock to rock-tinged Irish folk. I find this one decidedly less enjoyable than the previous album. The Waterboys had great, earworm melodies and this one serves more as a punk-y spin on traditional tunes. I can't say this is bad, and this style of music certainly has a place, but that place is not my ear canals. I love hearing traditional music from around the world, but the '80s revival context that this represents doesn't sit the same with me. I struggled to find any songs here worth saving. Thank god for the Popeye ass vocals on "Mountain Dew." Favorite tracks: Mountain Dew. Album art: Just a band photo of these disgruntled lads. Glancing about, I spy Morrissey, Justin Timberlake, Pokey Lafarge, even Elon Musk. Eh, couldn't be pricked. 2/5

Welp, here we are again, with a Celtic album by a Celtic band. There's plenty on this album to like, and I do like it. At the same time, it doesn't resonate at a higher frequency for me. 3 stars.

This is why I love this album a day thing. This album

I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. This is very emotional musically, sometimes uplifting and full of joy and life, and other times full of woe and sadness. I feel I should have got into The Pogues many years ago but something always stopped me diving right in. I think I might be ready to take the leap now.

Some iconic songs, but not huge amounts of variation IMO

August 3, 2021 I really enjoyed this! Again this one fuses two different styles of music I already enjoy. Looking forward to more of this.

This was actually a lot of fun!

This albums fun as hell

4/5. First listen to this album but I do know a few of the songs already. And their style is unmistakable. Favorites: If I Should Fall From the Grace of God Fairytale of New York South Australia, Fiesta Streets of Sorrow Lullaby of London

Really dig this, I'd heard of the Pogues and I must have heard a song or two in the past since it's very familiar. It's Punk, it's Irish folk, it's Polka, lots of surly vocals and lyrics with a solid accompaniment using all kinds of instruments. Metropolis is almost like an orchestral piece. Definitely adding to my playlist. They cover a lot of ground in this album but it all lands.

Jag hoppar på tåget direkt när musiken börjar, och det känns som jag hoppar på tåget när det är i rörelse. För det är snabbt, mycket instrument och jag tycker mig kunna känna smaken av irländsk glädje. Dom har helt enkelt inte tid att stanna för att plocka upp mig. Det är något med instrumenten som känns väldigt festligt. Ett dragspel som ligger och myser i bakgrunden, lite sköna banjo-riffs som ligger fint i öronen och den där lilla flöjten, det är den som tar hårdast grepp om mig. Bäst: "Fairytale of New York"

Fun. Clearly influental. Great upbeat punk'ish irish folk.

Not the best Pouges album but a lot of bangers

Come for the punk, stay for the Irish folk.

Love it, celtic punk. Very Piratey

Not for me

Music to jig to.

Not all what I was expecting when I started to listen. I was pleasantly surprised by the album. Sone really great Celtic rock.

Está bien. Me sirve para ver de donde sacaron los Dropkick Murphys la inspiracion, basicamente hacen punk de esto. No soy el mas fan de la musica irish, pero no me parece un disco malo. Quizás envejeció mal. Bottle of smoke y Thousands are sailing son mis favoritos del disco pero overall está muy bien.

Otra de las sorpresas que tuve con esta lista. Este es un género que no escucho at all: música bien irlandés y de momentos... SKA? (no sé, capaz estoy tirando fruta). Para cuando pensás que el álbum va a ser todo igual encontrás cosas hermosas como "Streets of Sorrow". 3/5 bien merecidos

I hate to rate some of these albums with less than 3 stars because they aren't bad, necessarily, they're just not my thing. But since we can't give 1/2 stars... Irish folk-punk music is NOT my thing. LOL

Only one song

Fairytale of New York!

Another great album, raucous, energetic and rich, with full steam song like The tile track and Fiesta mixed with really moments over beauty and the classic ballad fo Fairytale of New york.

I had only ever heard fairytale of New York by this band, which I don't love, bit the rest of this album was great!

I think I have heard fairytale of New York way too many times and that may have negatively influenced my opinion of the entire album

Very clearly the inspiration for Flogging Molly, sounds like a lot of Flogging Molly's more ballad-ish stuff. Really enjoyable, wish i would have discovered this a long time ago.

This is some interesting Irish music for sure. I can see how it influenced other irish bands in the future like Flogging Molly, etc.

Love the Christmas song but all the others sounded the same.

Pogues appear as first repeat artists to my knowledge.... Not sure this album is unique to qualify as 'must hear'. Good but.....

Irish Got second vaccination

In Manhatten’s desert twilight in the death of afternoon, we stepped hand in hand on Broadway, like the first man on the moon. And a blackbird broke the silence as you whistled it so sweet, and in Brendan Behan’s footsteps I danced up and down the street. Adios!

A little patchy but overall a great listen. The energy on this record is incredible. Fantastic arrangements set against Shane MacGowan’s unique vocals. Hairs on end stuff.

Very Irish, very good.

The verse and musicianship are great.

false

This was a real treat to come back to from a brief holiday-enforced hiatus (would you believe there are other things than listening to old albums on a list someone made up?). The Pogues have such a singular sound in popular music; lyrical, filthy, raucous, tender and always always stories stories stories. Reaching into the past for comment on the present, and into the present for comment on the past. Compared to Rum, Sodomy and the Lash (it’s only fair that we compare them, right?) I feel like the expanded musical palette on show here didn’t quite allow for the same eternal quality that the earlier album has. Still hella good though. God I can’t remember how these review things work. Is this thing on??

Had to listen to it on the day I had my biggest fuc*ing hangover in years. I think it's good at what it does which is unfortunately not my taste

Not bad, although not really my thing

A shift towards songs that can be danced to, sung anthemically or otherwise accessed instantly. A bigger sound, brassy and jubilantly rhythmic, that's as pleasing as it's designed to be but which out of necessity, carelessness or something else sacrifices the detailed, Dickensian, grand mythical effect of Rum, Sodomy and the Lash. No disputing these are good stories, but they're vehicles for inducing a pleasurable kind of ribaldry rather than carefully-crafted stories of ribaldry that transport the listener into their tumultuous scenes.

if i should fall from grace with god: q verga es esto, sounds a lil racist / turkish song of the damned: q mal suenan posta / bottle of smoke: :///// / fairytale of new york: la verdad q es raro q una canción de navidad no me guste pero esta se lució / metropolis: suficiente tortura por hoy no escucho más

no hay comentario de cada canción porque todas están todas horribles. postdata: el q está en el medio del album parece el john shelby

That was fun!

WHO’S FOR REN FEST?!!

Before diving into this record, the only song I was familiar with was the Christmas classic duet “Fairytale of New York” with Kirsty MacColl. I’ve always been aware of The Pogues as a sort of Irish version of The Replacements but never listened to them despite my love for their American counterparts. From the first note of the title track, I feel like I should be drinking a Guinness or an Irish whiskey. Accordions and banjos are flying recklessly over this track. “Turkish Song of the Damned” adds a middle eastern influence to the band's heavy Irish sound. The band pushes the pedal to the metal on “Bottle of Smoke” as Shane MacGowan spits out lyrics at a feverish pace while adding howls between the verses. Flutes, horns, and a throbbing bass drum propel the instrumental “Metropolis.” This song completely threw me for a loop. It's a curveball I didn't see coming. The party atmosphere comes to a brief halt with “Thousands Are Sailing.” A tale of immigration that adds a hint of melancholy to the Irish stew. Despite its boozy opening, the party atmosphere returns with “Fiesta.” Horns and McGowan’s howl make this song irresistible. For their next trick, The Pogues pull out an Irish medley of “The Recruiting Sergeant/The Rocky Road to London/Galway Races.” I love the band’s ambition, and they wholly lean into this with abandon. But wait, there’s another medley. Featuring a quiet acoustic guitar, “Streets of Sorrow” is the first hint of a ballad before doing a 180 with “Birmingham Six.” Bagpipes welcome “Lullaby of London.” Although it's hardly a lull in The Pouges’ hands, it's about as close as they get on this record. Accordions and relentless percussion on “Sit Down By The Fire” will hardly have anyone sitting. “The Broad Majestic Shannon” sounds like a retread of “Fairytale of New York” and seems to be the record's first misstep. Unfortunately, the album ends on a whimper with “Worms.” The minute-long track is about as bunch fun as knowing you just finished your last Guinness. This is not a Monday night album. It's strictly for the weekends after a few drinks have been consumed. As my wife said, “it’s rowdy.” I have no idea why I have avoided The Pogues for so long. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, this record is the drunken brother to their fellow Irishmen The Waterboys “Fisherman’s Blues” which was released the same year. Definitely two sides to the coin.

Nesta vida deparamo-nos com combinações estranhas, este álbum é uma dessas combinações estranhas que são tão difíceis de conjugar. De que mistura trata-se? Então eles pegam em música folk irlandesa e mesclam com punk. Funciona, talvez para alguns, para mim é um não. Em defesa do álbum quero referir que já não consigo ouvir música folk irlandesa é um género do qual me encontro saturado devido a visitas excessivas a Casa do Fauno, onde todos os santos sábados tocam música folk irlandesa ao vivo. Existem algumas ressalvas que necessito de fazer, como a voz tão Punk Rock do vocalista que roça quase uma incapacidade de cantar, nada mais punk do que isto, cantar bem é demasiado conformista para o nosso vocalista. Isto seria verdade se ele nas cantigas mais calmas não conseguisse vocalizar as coisas em condições, coisa que consegue, dai a voz completamente desafinada provém de uma escolha artística dele. O álbum é relativamente longo tem 19 músicas e uma duração total de 1 hora e 4 minutos, o que aplicado a uma baixa diversidade musical, sendo o caso deste álbum, torna-se cansativo. Existem variações como é o Fiesta, mas quanto mais adentramos no álbum menos punk fica e muito mais folk. Musicalmente isto tem muito folk por vezes o que me causa cansaço, não vou mentir. Das músicas que mais apreciei deste álbum estranhamente tem muito esta conotação de folk, falo do Thousands are Sailing. No geral é um álbum que não tenciono voltar a ouvir, mas tenho de lhe dar um 5, eu não gostei dele muito por motivos de gosto pessoal, por isso irei dar uma nota de 5. Nota: 5/10 Data: 10/01/2025

Good fun, excellent poetry, poignant ballads. Very listenable.

Brings back so much childhood nostalgia for me. Used to ask my dad to play this album in the car and always loved it. Some pretty mediocre album tracks in there amongst the gems so 3/5 it is for me. Tin Whistle makes me want to drink Guinness with mates in an Irish pub. Also find it mad that the Pogues & Kirsty wrote a Christmas song so ridiculously good that you can enjoy it in mid-February.

diddly dee done by the diddly dee masters. 19 songs is far too much diddly dee. my tolerance to diddly dee is about 3 songs, at that point i look for a different pub.

Some absolutely wildcard tunes in here (some miss, some bang), but actually quite impressed that the album doesn't just fade into a cloud of Irish jigs. Happy with it.

Not my cup of tea.

A little patchy but great verse and musicianship and overall a great listen. The energy on this record is incredible. Fantastic arrangements set against Shane MacGowan’s unique vocals. Hairs on end stuff.

funny

In your face and annoying as all fuck. Couldn't wait for it to end. A stinking pile of shite from a genre I abhore.

Wonderful stuff

Not even a strong example from within the “genre” - take out fairytale and it’s an easy 1 star

Great album, really enjoyed that

Tiocfiadh alright

It's a good album, but none of the songs really grab me like those from rum, sodomy, and the lash. Still a very fun genre to listen to, and the Christmas song is quickly growing on me Saved: Turkish Song of the Damned, Fairytale of New York

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: If I Should Fall From Grace With God, Metropolis, Thousands Are Sailing, Fiesta, The Broad Majestic Shannon Cutting Edge: Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant/The Rocky Road to Dublin/The Galway Races Overall Notes: This was probably a better and more varied album than the other Pogues album on here (Rum Sodomy and the Lash) but I preferred the punkier punchier sound of the older one. That being said, I'm still going to round this 3.5 up to a 4. Also The Pogues scoring an "All I Want For Christmas Is You" level smash Christmas hit with a full f-slur in the lyrics is hilarious.

What the

I think this is pretty good, but I don't really like Celtic Punk very much.

Pure nostalgie. Alleen metropolis was nogal een kakafonie.

Een album puur amusement! Maakt vaak niet uit wie de groep is, maar dit genre is gewoon 100% m'n ding

On of my all time favourites.

Very Irish.

Me encanta este estilo

A continuation of form from the first 2 albums. The same punky drive as the first two but with a developing knack of a poppier tune. Clearly the timeless classic that is Fairy Tale of New York sits centre stage but is accompanied by a fine array of other songs ranging from Turkish Song of the Damned to Thousands are Sailing.

Jaunty

Booze-soaked Irish fighting music plus one improbable Christmas smash and one God awful novelty hit.

Don't understand.

pleasant folksy ska-y times. A relatively clean sound compared to Dayz n Daze or something.

Quite enjoyed it actually

How many Pogues albums are gonna be in here 🙄

My Irish connections won't be pleased about this, but I'm not a huge fan of this. 6/10

I think this was the first album by The Pogues I've listened to. It was good, but as expected. Didn't know Fiesta was one of their songs so that was a nice surprise, but nothing there to push this above a 3.

Not something i would listen too normally. But I would definitely watch them at a festival of ever given a chance. Overall I did enjoy it. It’s a high 2

Less punk than previous efforts, still pretty good.

really enjoyable

2.2 - A mixed bag - some interesting surprises, some atrocious. It started off with some Irish type ditties but with profuse swearing and grunty, confrontational vocals. Think soccer hooligans. Along the way, there are some interesting instrumental tracks that blend disparate influences, particularly from American easy listening and Broadway. Some of the more traditional Irish/Welsh folk songs sound vital and upbeat.

Very funny!!!

Really isn't any different than the other album on this list. Why both are needed is beyond me. There's too many conditions you need in order to like this: be drunk, be drunk with friends, your friends have to be drunk, you have to be at a pub, you have to be at an Irish pub, you have to be in the mood to sing Irish folk punk, then you can enjoy this. Since there's so many conditions needed you probably don't need both these Pogues albums. Choose one and you're ok.

Takes me back to Sunday arvos at Duggan’s. The diversity in the tone of this album make these go up the order of favourite songs, and rustle my inner Irish Jimmies

Raucous. Experimental. Joyful. Melancholy. Some missteps but probably my favourite so far.

After going through it and relistening to a couple songs I think in the end I really enjoyed this album. Very wild and fun at times but also hit on someone serious topics Favorite Tracks: “Fairytale of New York,” “Medley:...,” and “The Irish Rover”

Some solid stuff on this album, though this isn’t typically what I go out of my way to listen to. Still an enjoyable experience

I have a hard time taking it seriously, but it sure is fun. Vocals are horribly sibilant at times which can be an annoyance.

Folk. Celta

Dropkick vibes

was alright

"Fairytale of New York" remains The Pogues' best known and best-selling single. It was named after J.P. Donleavy's 1973 novel A Fairy Tale of New York which Finer had been reading in the studio when the song was first written.[8] The song dated back to 1985 when Finer had written the original melody and lyrics, about a sailor looking out over the ocean, but he admitted that his lyrics had been terrible and MacGowan had come up with a better storyline of a couple arguing in New York City at Christmas time.[6] MacGowan had always intended the song to be sung as a duet, originally with O'Riordan providing the female vocal part, but despite attempts to record "Fairytale of New York" in January 1986 during the sessions for Poguetry in Motion, the band were unhappy with the results and abandoned the song.[9] During the sessions for the third album at RAK in May 1987, MacGowan recorded new guide vocals for the song but with O'Riordan's departure it now had no female vocalist. Lillywhite took the tapes home and recorded his singer-songwriter wife Kirsty MacColl singing the female lines: when he brought them back to the studio The Pogues were so impressed that the song was re-recorded with MacColl as the replacement singing partner for MacGowan.[8] "Fairytale of New York" was released as the album's lead single in November 1987 in the run-up to Christmas and reached number one in Ireland and number two in the UK. Its enduring popularity has seen it re-enter the charts several times since 1987, eventually going on to sell over a million copies in the UK[10] and being voted the most popular Christmas-themed song of all time.

Really good album, none of the songs were bad. Celtic folk punk, sea shanty vibes. Fairytale of New York, Turkish Song of the Damned, Streets of Sorrow, The Recruiting Sergeant and Thousands Are Sailing are the best.

Fun album! Love the Celtic Punk.

Ehhhhhh happy Saint patty’s couldn’t finish 2.1

once again not for me, but i understand why people would like it.

i will always love the pogues, especially in their earlier days. there's hardly a poet out there who measures up to shane, and i hope the music always hits me right in the heart. i still love rum, sodomy & the lash more than this one, but they're both 7-star albums in my book.

I was pretty blown away by this. I expected to like it, but I was not expecting the level of quality and diversity of the music. I was thinking the Pogues were just a bunch of drunken punks, but they are really good musicians as well. 4 stars.

Irish ska. Feels like it could be the soundtrack to Mario party

Irish classic feel good mixed with some American blue swing- love fiesta. Great fun and energy

Classic Irish album, for the right setting. Highlights: Fairytale of New York Streets of Sorrow Lullaby of London Ballad of March Medley Irish Rover Shanne Bradley

It’s not that it is bad but you have to really be in the mood for Irish rock

Brilliant

Bijzondere ierse muziek, niet mijn ding maar snap de intentie

Fun, folk music

The Folk completely kills all the excitement of the Punk. Pretty boring.

It's fine but Irish music is not really my jam. I liked the song with all the fucks. 2.5 rounded up.

Wasn't looking forward to it but again pleasantly surprised. Hasn't cured my aversion to fiddles or banjos but didn't hate it. Loved the Dubliners bits

A fun, varied, and at times emotional album. Competent musicianship meets clever arranging and songwriting. Reminds me of the Levelers a bit.

No thanks

Breads enjoyed this. Cheese did not.

One of my all time favorite albums.

I actually really enjoyed this album!

yesss

A bunch of really great musicians playing trad Irish stuff...and Shane McGowan is also there.

This is just a completely classic album in every respect, with some absolutely historic songs. It's intensely replayable, and I really liked some of the deep cuts, like South Australia and Thousands are Sailing. Just completely HITS the Irish Diaspora that one. Some weird choices with the Spanish-themed tracks? But I dig it all.

обязательное 5!

Great Irish folk-punk. I should have listened to this long ago since I love fairytale of New York

Loved this!

Irish rock... man the early 90s/late 80s were a weird time. Hard to imagine people getting amped about this music the present day. This record gave us Fairytale of New York, one of my Xmas classics

I'm obligated culturally to give this at least three stars, but the extra two stars are for its incredible quality as a piece of music.

På vei til butikken for å kjøpe fløyte, mandolin, banjo og trekkspill

Lovely album. lots of variety All good

1 of the greatest Christmas songs, 2 other good songs the rest is a mixed bag

Punk roots! Grass roots!

Parempi kuin edellinen listalla ollut levy, mutta edelleen kalpenee tämän vuosituhannen vastaaville.

Nice little album with a real range of songs. Worms is a strange ending, but 'The Broad Majestic Shannon' and 'The Streets of Sorrow' are great along with, of course, the timeless 'Fairytale of New York'. A interesting insight into Irish (folk?) music, but not quite enough clicking with me on this album to give it a 4.

Ilosta irkkuilua, mut ei mitään erikoista

I've seen Flogging Molly a bunch but never listened to the Pogues. Can see the evolution. Good stuff, sounds like it would be fun drunk, disappointed I got this in dry January. Favorite tracks: "Fairytale of New York", "Thousands are Sailing", "Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant"

folk şov ilgilenmiorum

This is a tough one. The songs are all great, and I can see why it would be an all-timer for some, but this isn’t a type of music I would search out very often. But as an album, it is fantastic. Obv Fairytale, but Lullaby and Majestic Shannon are almost as timeless. Solid 4, and a 4.5 on some days.

Excellent Irish folk. 7/10 FT: Thousands are sailing

this was pleasantly surprising! can’t beat fairytale of new york

i like the celts