Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:54 pm
I enjoy listening to Hell's Ditch, it took me awhile to get into it, mainly because I was a bit confused with the musical direction the Pogue were heading in. But after a couple of listens, it is an all around good album. I enjoy the fact that Shane drew on his inspirations in Thailand and Spain, and wrote more of a worldly record than the previous albums. Songs like Sayonara, House of the Gods, Lorca's Novena, Summer In Siam, Rain Street, The Ghost of a Smile, and The Sunnyside of the Street, are all, as I like to say, classic moments of pure Poguerty. On Hell's Ditch, I like the overall relax feel of the album, it has a very pastoral vibe to it. However, it still is my least favorite album of the MacGowan era. I'm the part of the latter that praises much of Peace and Love over Hell's Ditch, mainly because Peace and Love was closer to the Pogues original sound. But, Peace and Love and Hell's Ditch, can't hold a candle to the Pogues first three albums, but the are very good albums indeed.