Search - Pogues :: Peace & Love

A step closer to drunken uselessness, but still great.

Greekfreak | 04/14/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Pogues are still one of the only bands I've formes a personal relationship with (the kind whose songs pop into your head during important time sin your life) and this album is the third reason why, ranking just after "Rum..." and "...Grace with God" (both five star classics).Here, a few bona-fide classics (USA, Down All the Days, Night Train to Lorca) are surrounded by some well-played but uninspired tracks that occasionally veer toward the insipid (My Blue Heaven, Cotton Fields).Face it, The Pogues aren't exciting without Shane Mcgowan at the helm. Here, while they sound awful nice, the others that step to the mic seem to adopt a sort of pompous tone. I'll take drunken slobberiness before pomposity any day.Whne McGowan uses his by now-deepening gurgle to good effect, in slow cadence, or in tandem with someone else, the band smokes. When he relinquishes it and passes out on the couch, the album loses steam (notable exception: Lorelei).Still, certain powerful emotions (sadness, anger, fear, longing) are the themes that still drive what these guys were doing. When they pull it off, they created the best Irish-inflected-rock I've ever heard."

Eclectic, Mondial, and yes! It Works!

Greekfreak | Pusan Korea (South) | 07/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Strangely enough, the mix of world music stew you find on this album works rather well, and at a time when they might have been stumped for new material, this is a better album than most critics will admit.For one thing, Jem Finer and Andrew Rankin step up on the songwriting duties; "Misty Morning, Albert Bridge" is a classic Pogues tune that even Shane with his worsening voice could not ruin. Kirsty MacColl is back on board with the beautifully soaring "Lorelei". McGowan himself isn't up to par, but still shows some flashes of classic brilliance--"London, You're A Lady" being one of the best.The Jazz, fusion, and samba beats might jar a few listeners, but it's a pretty cohesive album that slips under your skin in no time at all. Well worth owning, and far better than the follow-up "Hell's Ditch"."

A breath of fresh air from...the Late 80s?

J. Holt | Seattle, WA USA | 08/30/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I listened to the Pogues when I was in college back in the late 80s; although I liked their CDs a lot, the explosion of World Music kinda dissuaded me from listening to them again for almost a decade.I recently found "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" and "Hell's Ditch" and began to listen to them continuously for several weeks before I ordered "Peace and Love" from amazon, wanting to hear more of their stuff.The Pogues really were a great band -- I'm not that much an afficinado to understand why McGowan left -- but I enjoy these 3 CDs for qualities which, to me, are absent in most of the music today: the diversity of their writing, the vibrancy of their musicanship, their gusto, and the emotional impact (like a bombshell) some of their best songs have. On this CD, I find myself drawn into their worlds with songs like "Gridlock", "Down All the Days", "Lorelei", "Cotton Fields" and "Blue Heaven"."If I Should Fall from Grace with God" is probably their best album and one which would merit 4 **** stars from me -- but "Peace and Love" is up with 3."