| PRODUCT DETAILS | | The Ultimate Collection |  | |
The Ultimate Collection
Fusing the spirit of punk rock with traditional Irish folk music, Shane MacGowan and the Pogues created a distinctive musical style and influenced such modern alternative heroes as Dropkick Murphys and the Real McKenzies. MacGowan's songwriting and distinctive vocals have created some great music, both in the studio and live. This fantastic double CD brings you the best of both The Pogues' worlds. Disc 1 features 22 classic singles and album tracks including 'Irish Rover' (with The Dubliners), 'A Pair Of Brown Eyes', 'White City, 'London Girl', 'Fiesta', their unique rendition of Ewan MacColl's 'Dirty Old Town' and 'Fairytale Of New York', which features the incomparable vocal talents of the late Kristy MacColl (Ewan's daughter!). Disc 2 showcases The Pogues live in concert, recorded at the legendary Brixton Academy in 2001. This second disc features an additional 22 blistering performances including 'Turkish Song Of The Damned', 'Sally Maclennane', 'Young Ned Of The Hill' and 'The Sickbed of Cuchulainn' among others. Two discs featuring 44 tracks in all. Warner.
Manufacturer: Warner Classics UK
Price Range: $17.95 - $24.98
 The Ultimate Collection
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| User Reviews |  | Poor Sound Quality
rating: 3
I hate to be the dissenting voice here, but the sound quality on this album just doesn't have the same warmth as that on The Very Best of the Pogues. On the compilation CD, it's overproduced and sounds as though the mixer wanted to emphasize MacGowan's lyrics at the expense of the instruments. The vocals on the studio version of "Young Ned of the Hill," not by MacGowan, are nearly indecipherable.
The live album has its ups and downs. On the first several tracks, one of the stringed instruments has something wrong with its feed and sounds like randomly occurring electronic noise by comparison with the rest of the music. When I first heard the CD, I was so startled that I'd assumed my phone was ringing. Oddly enough, though, on the live album "Young Ned of the Hill" comes out splendidly. "Fairytale of New York" is good, but Kirsty MacColl did it better (not that there's anything that can be done about this). One of my favorites, "If I Should Fall from Grace with God," comes out abysmally.
As for the track choices, I'd have liked to have had the studio version of "Turkish Song of the Damned" added and "Fiesta" or "Summer in Siam" removed, but so be it.
Overall, the album's not bad; the sound quality's just lacking that extra "something" present on The Very Best of the Pogues.
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Great collection from one of the best Irish groups around...
rating: 5
This is a two-disk set comprised of a greatest hits volume and a live CD. Both are very good engineering and the pair is worth the price.
If you saw "PS I love you" you heard the best song of this collection, "Fairytale of New York" was played at the wake and not released on the soundtrack of the movie. Kirsty MacColl is simply an amazing singer and this is one of the best of a wonderful set of songs from both the 'best' and the live' CDs. I'd normally gripe about a repeat, but how can you?
"The Irish Rover" with the Dubliners is another highlight of the live set. The recording was made at Brixton Academy and that's one live set I wish I could have attended! Great engineering, too, for a live CD.
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One Band Two Versions
rating: 5
First, this is a very good Irish band doing both standards and newer songs. Much of their new work is hard-edged, gritty but very honest. They are a very talented group with a voice that you do not want to ignore. This CD is an excellent example of their best work providing two different but similar versions of songs. This duplication is one of the strongest reasons to purchase this set, CD 1 is the studio version, CD 2 is a live performance. You instantly understand the value of having the two songs in one set as you hear the differences in presentation.
On CD 1, The Irish Rover is performed with The Dubliners. This is almost worth the price of the set, being one of the best and most rousing renditions of this song. Fairytale of New York, featuring Kristy MacColl, is one of the bands best songs. The CD two versions are not equal to but are still worth hearing. The rest of the duplicated songs will showcase their talents as a live band, giving you the feel of being there.
The Clancy Brothers, The Irish Rovers, The Dubliners, The Chieftains and The Coors have all drawn on and contributed to the music of Ireland. These contributions have produced an electric lively interesting sound. The Pogues are building on this heritage and expanding the sound. This is a band with something to say and is worth hearing! They have a sound that is a combination of Irish music and punk rock that attracts and beguiles.
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FUN CD
rating: 5
This is a great CD for all festive occasions. The Pogues are a timeless band and this is a great CD if you are new to these amazing Irish Rockers.
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What more can you ask for?
rating: 5
Those beer hall singers and prodigal sons of Ireland have been most excellently packaged into what is indeed an "Ultimate Collection," not only of their greatest hits but of a live performance at Brixton Academy. The songs travel far and wide, with hints of Zydeco, Bluegrass, as well as homages to the old country with the gruff voice of Shane MacGowan. Some called this Anglo-Irish band Celtic Punk, others Celtic Fusion, but whatever you want to call their inimitable style of music, it is just plain fun. The band has been around since 1982, originally known as Pogue Mahone. If you know a little bit of Gaelic, you will figure it out. There is plenty to draw from in this collection. For those new to the Pogues this is the best place to start.
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The Ultimate Collection
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