Search - Pogues :: Dirty Old Town: The Platinum Collection

Some What Flogging A Dead Horse

Pogues Fan | 04/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There have been numerous Pogues "best-of" albums, each containing mostly the same songs on every release. However, this one contains the full version of "A Pair of Brown Eyes," and the original version of "A Rainy Night In Soho." Also some exciting Pogues instrumentals make their appearance for the first time (Dingle Regatta, Metropolis, and Gridlock). Cait O'Riordan's haunting version of "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday," which was originally supposed to be on The Pogues "Ultimate Collection;" but was later omitted finally gets it well deserved place. Other standard highlights include MacGowan's brilliant drunken rave-ups "Streams of Whiskey" and "Sally MacLennane." Philip Chevron's beautiful "Thousands Are Sailing," Terry Woods blistering assault on Oliver Cromwell, "Young Ned of the Hill," and ghost tale epic "Turkish Song of the Damned." However, the biggest surprise is the amount of post-Shane material. Spider Stacy's "Tuesday Morning," and James Fearnley's "Drunken Boat," were all standout tracks on "Waiting For Herb," as was the Spider Stacy and Terry Woods number "Paris St. Germaine," which is now available on the new remastered version of "Waiting For Herb." The Pogues final studio album "Pogue Mahone," even gets its just dues with Darryl Hunt's fantastic "Love You Till the End."



This new release probably can be seen as a purchase of die-hard Pogues fans only, but in the end I love that the album explored the entire career of the band and added some songs that normally wouldn't have been on a standard Pogues "best-of" album.

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