WARNERS/RHINO POGUES BOX SET, 2008

[philipchevron]

One minor gripe is that the track listing sheet was stuck to the back so I've had to transfer it to the inside and it's still likely to end up dog-eared in time. A minor moan though.

You have to view the slightly annoying extra sheet of paper as a necessary evil. Most timid buyers quite like to know in advance which tracks they're buying and these people have to be indulged. But I was not prepared to indulge them at the expense of the lovely artwork. Throw it away, tuck it inside.......imagine it's not part of the package for real fans.

Surely it is merely there as protection, to ensure the beautiful art work below does not get scratched on the mantelpiece
where it is proudly on display.

Um..........yes, that's quite right. Yes, why not?

I think the bottom line about the protective sheet/track list/bookmark is that it looks dismayingly temporary. We all know in our heart that it is unlikely to stand the test of time as the rest of the package will. Which is why I have a second copy of "Just Call Me Pogue Mahone", still shrinkwrapped and likely to remain so!

[Smoz]

A day spent travelling on the train from London to Ramsgate and back has given me the opportunity to listen to the first four discs of JLTSITEAS........PM!!


My highlights on a first listen include:

Maggie May (disc 1 version)
Afro-Cuban Be-Bop
Dub Ned of the Hill
Pinned Down/In the Wilderness
Fairytale of NY demos
Rainy Night in Oboe
The Good the Bad & The Ugly
Glued Up & Speeding
Hot Dogs with Everything
Murder Ska

IMHO a great box set, NB not heard the fifth disc yet but as I have either got or previously heard the Kirsty and Joe collaborations and attended both the live shows the only track which could possibly be a let down is the Sexy Bongo track (though I'm sure this will not disappoint me).

Some of the tracks I have previously heard on bootlegs but the versions included on the box set are of much better quality.

Top marks to Phillip for his hard work putting this together and hunting down good quality versions of the tracks, to the studio boffins for polishing the tracks up so they sound great and to everyone else involved in this marvel (which I suspect may be the very apex of human evolution).

[King Brian]

Just got it here in New Jersey!

My brothers and I are having a listening party this Saturday for my birthday.....pints and barbeque as well.

It's awfully tough not to put this thing in the cd player......until Saturday.

Thanks Mr C.........you guys made my summer.

[firehazard]

Oh Christ, if there's one thing I can't stand it's surly incompetence. IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOUR JOB IS TO ENCODE TITLES INTO THE BIG BAD iTUNES MACHINE (not you Firehazard), BUT WHILE YOU'RE WAITING FOR SOMETHING BETTER TO COME ALONG, PLEASE TRY TO DO THIS JOB REASONABLY WELL. IT'S EASIER THAN DOING IT BADLY. Mutter, Grumble, off his food......slams door....feeds ducks in park...etc..

Oh, Mr C, if it wasn't for typos and general writing incompetence much of my gainful employment would be lost. So I do sort of enjoy a good typo, on a good day anyway. On a bad day, or when I know they're the result of wilful incompetence, I will be tempted to scream and hit my head on the desk. But feeding the ducks is always a better idea anyway. One of the strange things about this one is that it's made the title longer, with the resultant need for the said surly iTunes employee to spend (marginally) longer typing.

... I have a second copy of "Just Call Me Pogue Mahone", still shrinkwrapped and likely to remain so!

I am torn between the desire to keep my lovely copy in pristine condition and the desire to enjoy its beauty by poring over it continually. The latter desire is currently winning.

[Cornish Andy]

I've had the lovely new boxed set in my possession for a couple of days now and, thanks to my iPod and dull desk job, have managed a good few hours worth of listening. And do you know what, I couldn't have been happier if the Pogues had released a new studio album, the new set is just amazing.

First up the legendary unreleased tracks that have become something of a holy grail for Pogues fans like myself - Rocky Road to Dublin, NW3, Donegal Express, The Travelling People, Pinned Down etc. Could these live up to the years of anticipation? Hell yes!

Then the rehearsal/demo versions of already familiar tracks. These somehow manage to compliment the album versions of these tracks in such a way that they are more than just 'curios' pandering to my thirst for Pogues history - they come across as raw, stripped down versions of old favourites, the same but different. I already prefer the demo version of Boat Train to the P&L version! All of the other live tracks, guest tracks, soundtracks etc. are just as vital. 100+ tracks and no fillers (well OK, perhaps a couple - what the fuck is The Aria all about??!)

Beautiful packaging too. Thanks personally Philip for all of your hard work in making this release what it is. I'm grateful to the rest of the band for allowing these tracks to see the light of day, but I have no doubt that without you it never would have happened at all.

So, you guys outside of the UK who have to hang on a little bit longer for your box sets to arrive - it's so worth the wait. You're gonna love it!!

[meowhouse]

found myself thinking "Wow! I'm with the Greatest Living Englishman and together we're watching the Other Greatest Living Englishman".

I read that first as "I'm the Greatest Living Englishman" and thought, hmmm that doesn't sound like something PC would say ...

Re iTunes miscoding things: when I put Peace & Love in, straight from the CD, I looked at the track listing that was now appearing in iTunes and on my device and saw "Love You 'Til The End" and two or three other songs that I knew for sure were not on that CD and became very confused at this, like when you have a red-colored but lemon-flavored lollipop: you know something is not right but you can't quite pin it down immediately as to what is not computing. Turns out they were all mistakes from whoever does these things. I guess it's either an idiot somewhere at Apple or a secret test to see who the True Fans™ are.

[philipchevron]

found myself thinking "Wow! I'm with the Greatest Living Englishman and together we're watching the Other Greatest Living Englishman".

I read that first as "I'm the Greatest Living Englishman" and thought, hmmm that doesn't sound like something PC would say ...

Re iTunes miscoding things: when I put Peace & Love in, straight from the CD, I looked at the track listing that was now appearing in iTunes and on my device and saw "Love You 'Til The End" and two or three other songs that I knew for sure were not on that CD and became very confused at this, like when you have a red-colored but lemon-flavored lollipop: you know something is not right but you can't quite pin it down immediately as to what is not computing. Turns out they were all mistakes from whoever does these things. I guess it's either an idiot somewhere at Apple or a secret test to see who the True Fans™ are.

One curious thing that kept happening during the compilation of "Just Call Me Pogue Mahone" - the Elvis tribute track "Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do" kept coming up on the display as by "Paul McCartney", an error imported from the original NME "Last Temptation Of Elvis" CD. To this day, all these months later, as soon as it begins, my first thought is "Ah.......Paul McCartney". These details could drive a person batty.

[firehazard]

... and another strange iTunes thing about "Just... Mahone" (which I noticed while correcting the album title info on my comp, which gave me great joy) is that iTunes seems to have defined the "genre" as "Folk". In contrast to the other Pogues albums, which usually come up as "Alternative", I think. Oh, except the Brixton Live CD, which gets listed as "World". It'd be interesting to know who decides on which genre things are supposed to be, and why.

[Eckhard]

I received it today. Amazing. I managed to already listen to quite a bit of it, annoying my staff and irritating callers by the music in the background.

Thanks as lot to those Pogues involved in the treasure, especially to Phil who kept us informed over all these months and to Spider for adding some songs in advance on the myspace site.

More detailed review later.

[DzM]

Amazon.de seems to have cancelled the Box Set that is linked to at the front page. I had preordered it 2 weeks ago through that link, and two days ago they informed me that it was "extremely hard to obtain" and asked if I still wanted it.
However, they now have a "different" Box Set available with a release date of June 20th. Maybe the Admins want to change the link of the front page, so that it can be ordered through the Medusa web site?

Fixed (for Japan as well). Thanks for the heads up.

Seems Amazon changed the part number/sku after the first listing and took their own sweet time rolling the new part number out to all the regions.

[theCOOP]

RE: Sound Of The City Night, the musical intro.

Follow this link and listen to the bit of music in "Happen Now" after the first set of vocals on the following My Space for Halifax, NS rocker Joel Plaskett (Thrush Hermitt) http://www.myspace.com/joelplaskett1

[Mark_Wafc]

I am fucking blown away by the first Fairytale Demo more and more everytime is listen to it.

[Eckhard]

I am fucking blown away by the first Fairytale Demo more and more everytime is listen to it.

A masterpiece in development.

Yes, the FoNY-demos are excellent. You get the impression to understand the development of a song that finally turns into the greates Christmas song ever.

[scott]

Since I downloaded this album (legitly) I don't have the book or notes, so I don't know why certain songs were left off albums or abandoned, But wow, There Could have been another Studio album or two with how good alot of the outtakes are! My absolute favorite is North Sea Holes, which I have been listening to for years as a crappy bootleg recording, but hearing it now all cleaned up makes me giddy. I also love Doengal express, NW3 and Aishling... almost as much or better than Shane's solo versions, and The demos of Night Train and Boat Train give a better understanding why Steve Lillywhite felt a need to multitrack the vocals for that album.... a decision I'm still not sure was the best, although P&L Is one of the my favorite Pogues Albums in the long run. I must also say, Black Dog's Ditch, if it had actual lyrics, could have been a truly amazing song. I am suprised no one else saw the potential? (again with no box set book I don't know if this is addressed.) So Anyways, This is meeting my expectations nicely I am a bit suprised by how many reggae attempts are taken by the band, and I think I'm glad overall they were not put on albums. Ok thats my 2 cents


scott

[philipchevron]

Since I downloaded this album (legitly) I don't have the book or notes, so I don't know why certain songs were left off albums or abandoned, But wow, There Could have been another Studio album or two with how good alot of the outtakes are! My absolute favorite is North Sea Holes, which I have been listening to for years as a crappy bootleg recording, but hearing it now all cleaned up makes me giddy. I also love Doengal express, NW3 and Aishling... almost as much or better than Shane's solo versions, and The demos of Night Train and Boat Train give a better understanding why Steve Lillywhite felt a need to multitrack the vocals for that album.... a decision I'm still not sure was the best, although P&L Is one of the my favorite Pogues Albums in the long run. I must also say, Black Dog's Ditch, if it had actual lyrics, could have been a truly amazing song. I am suprised no one else saw the potential? (again with no box set book I don't know if this is addressed.) So Anyways, This is meeting my expectations nicely I am a bit suprised by how many reggae attempts are taken by the band, and I think I'm glad overall they were not put on albums. Ok thats my 2 cents


scott

Hmm, perhaps we should upload the sleevenotes here for the benefit of the downloaders. I'll send them to a mod or a janitor and if they can be provided while keeping the fonts, italics, emphases etc of the original, they shall be.

"Black Dogs Ditch" was meant to have lyrics by myself and/or Terry but it became clear that there was not going to be a shortage of finished songs on Hell's Ditch, so the song moved to the back of the line - I hadn't, at any rate, come up with a strong lyric idea I liked.