The Snake

If I Should Fall from Grace - The Shane MacGowan Story As any Pogues fan could've told you, The Shane MacGowan Story was destined to be funny, sad, uplifting, depressing, and utterly irresistible. By the time this engaging documentary was produced in 2000, MacGowan--former Pogues frontman, notorious drinker, and one of the greatest s...	Crock of Gold Import reissue of 1997 solo album by the former leader of The Pogues, his second. Featuring the single 'Lonesome Highway', the album deepens & extends Shane's very personal themes & obsessions and confirms his reputation as one of the most ferociously poetic & powerfully impressi...	The Rare Oul' Stuff The Rare 'Oul Stuff--a compilation of B-sides and key album tracks recorded by Shane MacGowan with post-Pogues backing band the Popes and spanning the years 1994 to 1998--is unlikely to enhance the singer's public profile, but only because it doesn't contain any of the songs that...	Rum Sodomy & the Lash	Across the Broad Atlantic Recorded in New York & Dublin on St. Paddy's Day 2001, features 20 tracks including some Pogues tracks. Eagle Records.
Red Roses for Me	If I Should Fall from Grace with God	Shane MacGowan & The Popes - Live at Montreux 1995 Shane MacGowan first came to prominence as the frontman and principal songwriter of the The Pogues writing huge international hits such as "Fairytale Of New York" and "The Irish Rover". After splitting from the band in 1991 he reappeared with a new band, the Popes, who released t...	Peace and Love	The Ultimate Collection Fusing the spirit of punk rock with traditional Irish folk music, Shane MacGowan and the Pogues created a distinctive musical style and influenced such modern alternative heroes as Dropkick Murphys and the Real McKenzies. MacGowan's songwriting and distinctive vocals have created...

F ya's all
This album proved that Shane does NOT need the Pogues but the Pogues absolutely suck without Shane. The duet with Sinead actually works well. You don't have to like Irish music to absolutely dig this.

I wouldn't call it a classic but...
Shane vocally sounds better than he had since "If I Should Fall from Grace of God" which says a lot because the last two Pogues albums his vocals were really weak. Probally due to the substance abuse that was happening then. There are quite of few excellent songs like Nancy Whisky, Church of the Holly Spook, Donegal Express, Snake With Eyes Of Garnet and so on. He sure missed the mark with the duets with Sinead O'Connor it sounds like her songs that she wrote and arranged with him thrown in as an after thought. Sorry they are trash! nothing like Fairytale of New York which is composed by Shane and is in his style. I also didn't feel comfortable with the "Rock" based songs like I'll Be Your Handbag, Victoria... He always tried to stay away from cliché sounding guitar rock in the Pogues and now he's doing it (is it because his backup band is rock based to begin with). His songs are good but especially on this album his songwriting abilities aren't up to par with his previous albums they seem to be lacking I think without the rest of the Pogues he lost his muse which challenged him to write well. Over all if you trimmed a little off of the edges this would be a great album not anywhere his best but a solid album.

With rare exceptions, this is a good CD
I love the Pogues so I was wary of this CD. However, I am inexplicably drawn to all things Shane McGowan so I took a chance. I'm glad I did. I often laugh (and feel sad) as I listen to some of the songs that are overpowered by what I call the "drunken stylings of Shane McGowan." On one song, "A Mexican funeral in Paris", he is so obviously dead drunk, I don't know how he made it through. But...BUT..songs like "That woman's got me drinking" and "Her father didn't like me" the types of "sing loud as you drive" songs that touch a realistic nerve. Others, like "You're the one" and "Haunted" are so beautifully arranged with words so soulful, it's worth all else. Also, it is rarely mentioned that the Popes are a skillful, talented band. It is a delight to listen to their creative, hard driving instrumentation. This is an interesting CD because I agree with others who say that there are some songs I can strictly do without but the good ones completely eclipse those. And...drunk or not, Shane McGowan is an artist of distinction. That also makes the difference.

As good as anything he did with the Pogues
This was such a rewarding album. The music world got terribly boring after Shane left the Pogues. There was nothing out there to fill that gap. Certainly the two post-Shane Pogues' albums left a lot to be desired, a whole lot! Then, out of the blue, here comes that Shane album that had been rumored forever. The album he was going to make if he did not die first. Silly humans, Shane will never die, the alcohol only makes him stronger. This album has several great tracks (they all are). However, "The Snake (with eyes of Garnet)" and "Donnegal Express" are two of the greatest songs ever penned. This is a truly great album that I feel is superior to not only the last two non-Shane Pogue albums, but the also the last two Shane-Pogue albums.

cheers to Shane
This album proves that the Pogues need Shane a lot more than he needs them. There are a few clunkers on The Snake, but for the most part it is a very strong showing by Shane, especially on such songs as The Snake With Eyes of Garnet, The Song With No Name, Aisling, and Haunted, as well as the covers of traditional songs (Nancy Whiskey, Roddy McCorley, Rising of the Moon). It should not be surprising that this album is not as good as the Pogues' first three studio albums (what is?), but it is miles ahead of the Pogues post-Shane releases (and even Peace & Love and Hell's Ditch, in my opinion). Why? Consistency. This album does not have the patchwork, pot-luck vibe of the Pogues' last few releases. The Pogues ditched Shane partly because of his refusal to move on from Irish-flavored songs (both lyrically and musically). Well, on this album Shane proves he can beat them at their own game, with rockers like Church of the Holy Spook and Mexican Funeral In Paris, while staying true to his roots for the rest of the album. I strongly recommend this album to any Shane/Pogues fan.