Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to post about this amazing five disc Pogues box set lovingly compiled by their own Phil Chevron. After all, it made my best of 2008 list. What better time to rectify the situation than today? This is no mere odds n’ sods set. It includes gleaming gems like “Maggie May” (which I had the good fortune of seeing at The Filmore in 1986), a couple of tracks from Joe Strummer’s stint replacing Shane McGowan (criminally not the haunting version of “Straight To Hell”), and demos galore (including what the band feels is the best song never to make it onto a Pogues record, “NW3,” which would appear as “Mother Mó Chrói” on a Shane solo record. Another favorite of mine is the Sexy Bongo track “Johnny Was.” This comes from a legendary episode in Pogues history where Andrew Ranken, Darryl Hunt, Jem Finer, James Fernly and Phil Chevron formed their own opening act for just one show in Sweden. They wrote all the material at the sound check and performed it that evening, never to be repeated. Phil swears the majority of the crowd had no idea who they were. So here are some of the live highlights for you on this fine Paddy’s day:
From the BBC’s David “Kid” Jensen show, 6/21/84
From the BBC’s Janice Long show, 10/10/86
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
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