The Pogues – Peace And Love (1989)

The Pogues' first two albums contained a combination of folk classics / traditional songs, with most original songs written by Shane MacGowan. By this fourth album, MacGowan's drinking and drug taking had taken its toll, and only 6 of the 14 songs here are MacGowan compositions, with several of the rest having seemingly no input from MacGowan.

It's clear that the band were getting used to the idea that their front man might not be a reliable basis on which to build a career, and testing the waters for the future. They eventually sacked him from his own band in 1991. As Mark Deming wrote of this album in AllMusic, "It does make clear that MacGowan was hardly the only talented songwriter in the band – though the fact that the set's most memorable songs were written by others did not bode well for the group's future." I'm not wholly in agreement with the most memorable songs being written by others, but MacGowan's decline took the group the same way.

So this album is a bit of a patchwork of MacGowan, not at his best, and others still finding their way.

Opening with a big-band-jazz instrumental, Gridlock, the first song is White City, a solid tune from MacGowan, far more convincing than Terry Woods' Young Ned Of The Hill, which follows.

Misty Morning, Albert Bridge was the hit single from the album, MacGowan doing his best with Jem Finer's sentimental song, but I don't find it convincing. The rockabilly feel in Cotton Fields is bright, and Blue Heaven is OK, without sounding like the Pogues at all. Down All The Days and USA are two sub-standard MacGowan compositions, but the album brightens after this with Lorelei, Phil Chevron's lovely song, helped along well by Kirsty McColl, and the bouncy, fun Gartloney Rats, from Terry Woods. My highlight of the album follows, Boat Train, MacGowan writing and singing about what he did best, drinking - and if there's one thing to get the juices stirring it's a Pogues drinking song. But from then on it's turgid stuff until the finale, London, You're A Lady bringing us to a wistful end.

It's not a bad album, but the energy from previous Pogues outings seems missing, as MacGowan's influence and capability declined.

Link to album tracks

3* - some flashes of the joy which were evident in previous Pogues' records, but they're preparing for life without Shane