Search - Shane Macgowan's Popes :: Across the Broad Atlantic

Of course he is drunk !

SUPERMAN | THE 40 WATT IN ATHENS | 11/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Only a real Pogues novice would be critical of a live Shane recording because he was drunk and out of key. I have the good fortune to have seen Shane with the Pogues and without and he was drunk off his ass every time, that is what made him Shane. He always got a pop from the crowd when he missed that first verse of the night because of his drunken status. This album is shockingly coherent for Shane. He might be down to a single digit number of teeth, but he can still croon some wonderful tunes. Moreover, it is nice getting to hear him sing both Pogues and solo stuff."

One has to make allowances, but the reward is great...

William E. Adams | Midland, Texas USA | 03/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm 63 years old, a lover of Irish music since the Clancy Brothers' heyday 45 years ago. By rights I should not be a fan of Mr. MacGowan, but nearly 20 years ago I heard the Pogue's LP "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" and I fell in love with the group's drunken energy. MacGowan was the heart of the Pogues, and on this live CD with his follow-up band "The Popes" he reprises some Pogue hits which hold up well to the originals. I have a general rule about listening to music: if the song has lyrics, I want to hear each word, enunciated distinctly. If you aren't going to sing the words intelligibly, just do an instrumental version, damn it. Well, I have broken that rule for a few songs in foreign languages, notably Hawaiian music, and I break it for Shane MacGowan. I probably only understand 60 percent of the words he sings, shouts or mumbles, yet I forgive him because of the great energy and love for the act of performing he exhibits. I also don't normally appreciate being in a concert where the artist is drunk or stoned: I saw Leonard Cohen many years ago give a concert at Princeton University in a trance, and the late Tim Buckley appear while impaired as well, and even Gordon Lightfoot seemingly drunk on stage in Albuquerque. I don't know for sure if Shane is really drunk, or just likes to pretend he is, but he is convincing. If you already know some of the traditional songs Shane offers, then not catching every single word is a minor problem. On the ones you never heard before, you have to be willing to do some repeat listening and to fill in the lyrical gaps yourself. This is a good price for a fine hour of fun with a very strange man who just happens to somehow get you to love him in spite of yourself."