Rum, Sodomy & the Lash

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Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Studio album by The Pogues

Publication
(s)

5th August 1985

Label (s) Stiff Records
MCA Records

Format (s)

CD , LP , MC

Genre (s)

Irish folk , Celtic rock , folk-punk

Title (number)

12

running time

42:54

occupation

production

Elvis Costello , Philip Chevron ( A Pistol for Paddy Garcia )

chronology
Red Roses for Me
(1984) 		Rum Sodomy & the Lash Poguetry in Motion
(1986)

Rum Sodomy & the Lash is the second studio album by the British folk band The Pogues and was released in 1985. It reached thirteenth place in the UK singles chart.

history

The raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault (1818/19)

The title of the album was taken from a quote from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill : “Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash. ” According to Shane MacGowan , the title was suggested by drummer Andrew Ranken . The cover is based on the painting The Raft of Medusa (Le radeau de la Méduse) by the French painter Théodore Géricault , with the faces of the band members replacing those of the men on the raft.

Rum, Sodomy & the Lash was featured on several best album lists. The Q magazine listed it at number 93 of the best British albums of all time. In 2003, the album ranked 445 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 best albums of all time . Pitchfork Media listed it at # 67 on the Top 100 Albums of the 1980s.

As singles were A Pair of Brown Eyes , Sally MacLennane and Dirty Old Town (with the B-sides Whiskey You're The Devil , Muirshin Durkin , Wild Rover and The Leaving Of Liverpool published). They reached positions 72, 51 and 62 in the British charts.

The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn is based on the Irish legend Serglige Con Chulainn , in the song the tenors John McCormack and Richard Tauber are mentioned. The also occurring Frank Ryan was a member of the IRA ( Irish Republican Army ) and died in Germany. The Old Main Drag was used in the movie My Private Idaho .

I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day is a Scottish traditional sung by bassist Cait O'Riordan . Guest musicians include Henry Benagh on the fiddle and Tommy Keane on the bagpipes .

A Pair of Brown Eyes uses the melody of the traditional Wild Mountain Thyme , the lyrics to which are from MacGowan. The text line "A Thing Called Love" refers to an album by the American country musician Johnny Cash .

Dirty Old Town was written by the Scottish musician Ewan MacColl , there is also a version by the Dubliners . MacColl was the father of Kirsty MacColl , who recorded some songs (e.g. Fairytale of New York ) with the Pogues. The action of the song takes place in the British city of Salford .

Jesse James refers to the raids of the James Younger gang , whose members included Jesse and Frank James , Charly and Robert Ford, and Cole Younger ,among others. The song was also used by z. B. Pete Seeger , Woody Guthrie , Warren Zevon , Chris Barber , Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison . The song was written by Desmond Child and Diane Warren .

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda was written by the Australian folk singer Eric Bogle and z. B.Coveredby the Dubliners and Joan Baez . The version of the Pogues is probably the best known. In the last chorus, a line of text from the Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda is quoted. Dick Cuthell appears as a guest musician on the French horn .

Track list

  1. The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn ( Shane MacGowan ) - 2:59
  2. The Old Main Drag (MacGowan) - 3:19
  3. Wild Cats of Kilkenny (MacGowan, Jem Finer ) - 2:48
  4. I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day (traditional) - 2:55
  5. A Pair of Brown Eyes (MacGowan) - 4:54
  6. Sally MacLennane (MacGowan) - 2:43
  7. A Pistol for Paddy Garcia (1) (Finer) - 2:31
  8. Dirty Old Town ( Ewan MacColl ) - 3:45
  9. Jesse James (traditional) - 2:58
  10. Navigator (Phil Gaston) - 4:12
  11. Billy's Bones (MacGowan) - 2:02
  12. The Gentleman Soldier (traditional) - 2:04
  13. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda ( Eric Bogle ) - 8:10
1 A Pistol for Paddy Garcia was first included in the 1989 re-release and was added as a bonus track in later releases.

Re-release from 2004

  1. The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn ( Shane MacGowan ) - 2:59
  2. The Old Main Drag (MacGowan) - 3:19
  3. Wild Cats of Kilkenny (MacGowan, Jem Finer ) - 2:48
  4. I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day (traditional) - 2:55
  5. A Pair of Brown Eyes (MacGowan) - 4:54
  6. Sally MacLennane (MacGowan) - 2:43
  7. Dirty Old Town ( Ewan MacColl ) - 3:45
  8. Jesse James (traditional) - 2:58
  9. Navigator (Phil Gaston) - 4:12
  10. Billy's Bones (MacGowan) - 2:02
  11. The Gentleman Soldier (traditional) - 2:04
  12. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda ( Eric Bogle ) - 8:10
  13. A Pistol for Paddy Garcia (2) (Finer) - 2:31
  14. London Girl (3) (MacGowan) - 3:05 *
  15. Rainy Night in Soho (3) (MacGowan) - 5:36 *
  16. Body of an American (3) (MacGowan) - 4:49 *
  17. Planxty Noel Hill (3) (Finer) - 3: 12 *
  18. The Parting Glass (2) (traditional) - 2:14
2 Not included on the original version.
3The four songs from the EP Poguetry in Motion (1986) were included in this version of the album .

reception

source rating
Allmusic
Laut.de

Mark Deming wrote in his review for the Allmusic Guide:

“This album captures all the sweat, fire, and angry joy that was lost in the thin, disembodied recording of the band's debut, and the Pogues sound stronger and tighter without losing a bit of their edge in the process. (...) Rum Sodomy & the Lash falls just a bit short of being the Pogues best album, but was the first one to prove that they were a great band, and not just a great idea for a band. "

“This album captures all of the sweat, fire, and angry glee that was lost in the thin, disembodied recording of the band's debut, and the Pogues sound stronger and tighter without losing a bit of their rough edges. (…) Rum Sodomy & the Lash does not get the status of the Pogues' best album, but it was the first to prove that they were a great band, and not just a great idea for a band. "

Deming rated the album four and a half stars out of five.

Robert Christgau wrote in his review:

"Shane MacGowan never lets go of it for a second: he tests the flavor of each word before spitting it out."

"Shane MacGowan doesn't let him (the song 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda') out of sight for a second: he tests the taste of every single word before he spits it out."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Review by Mark Deming on allmusic.com (accessed December 3, 2017)
  2. ↑ Review by Kai Butterweck on laut.de (accessed December 3, 2017)