Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version)

There is something to the punk purist's argument that this is not the supercharged punk Pogues of Red Roses. Several tunes are quieter, lusher than anything on that previous LP -- and I'll even agree that one or two tracks have not stood the test of time. But oh my goodness, what great records they BOTH are -- just a little different from each other. This one is just as packed with Pogues classics as the first -- AND no other of their subsequent LPs would come close to the glories of this and Roses, despite a few great songs strayed across them here and there. Just saw a 2012 30th anniversary video. Could it really have been that long? And how was Shane still standing?

This is a great album by one of the best bands. Includes perhaps the finest recording of "I'm a man you don't meet everyday"

Alcohol made legal not because it's good for you , because it lubricates the ear canal

Adultery! Misogyny! Necrophilia! ..... and the lash....... ridiculous, iTunes. Awesome album, though.

I can't think of an LP from the 80s I loved more or played more often. It was their peak, and you knew it at the time if you saw them live and watched Shane destroying himself up there. I love the first LP almost as much, and of course "Fairytale of New York," arguably their best song of all. Even though you knew it was going over a cliff, it was very sad when it did. And even though he's still with us -- sort of -- Shane was in my opinion the greatest rock n roll suicide of them all. I hate when bands continue after their star is gone -- think Genesis without Grabriel, The Who without Keith -- and I really hated the fake-Pogues without Shane.

This album is sorely overrated, at least here on iTunes. If you love their debut (which I do) and If I Should Fall From Grace... and Peace and Love, you'll find few keepers on this set of tunes. Songwriting quality is inferior, MacGowan's vocals sound self-conscious, and, as much as I admire Elvis Costello, the production is way too "clean" for the group's sound. It's partly the miking of MacGowan that makes his singing sound forced and almost cliched. There are still some delights--Sally Maclennane should be part of any good Pogues collection--but it's definitely not worth buying the whole album. I think what happened is that Costello heard their first album, or saw them in concert, and got all hyped up to produce them. It's just that he mucked it up rather badly. Unfortunately, the iTunes album doesn't identify songwriters, but I swear Costello made them sing "London Girl," which sounds very much like something he would have written, but something just not right for the Pogues.

A must have for anyone with heart.

This was the one that put the pogues on the map. elvis costello (real name declan mcmanus) produced it. and shortly thereafter married then pogues bassist cait o'riordain. it has to be remembered that this was nothing less than a complete re-imagination of irish folk music. traditional irish folk met with punk via shane's brilliant instincts and endless imagination. the result is a timeless classic. a true work of genius. not a single weak track. if you call yourself irish you surely already own this.

If It Werent For These Guys Their Wouldnt Be Flogging Molly Or Dropkick Murpheys. It Is Freakin Sweet!

disk is great, but the mix on London Girl (which wasn't part of the original album) is just dead