If I Should Fall From Grace With God: Expanded & Remastered [Remaster] (CD - 1988)

The Pogues: Shane MacGowan (vocals, guitar); Philip Chevron (guitar, mandolin, background vocals); Jem Finer (banjo, mandola, saxophone); Terry Woods (guitar, mandola, tenor banjo, dulcimer, cittern, concertina); Spider Stacy (tin whistle, background vocals); James Fearnley (piano, accordion, mandola, dulcimer, percussion, cello); Darryl Hunt (bass, percussion, background vocals); Andrew Ranken (drums, percussion, harmonica, background vocals).

Additional personnel: Kirsty MacColl (vocals); Ron Kavana (mandolin, tenor banjo, spoons, background vocals); Siobhan Sheahan (harp); Brian Clarke (alto saxophone); Joe Cashman (tenor saxophone); Eli Thompson, Chris Lee (trumpet); Paul Taylor (trombone); Fran Byrne (bodhran); Brian Sheridan, John Lawler, Joe Cashman, Paul Verner, Steve Lillywhite, Frank Murray, Paul Scully (background vocals).

Engineers: Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey.

The Pogues: James Fearnley, Jem Finer, Andrew Ranken, Philip Chevron, Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Cait O'Riordan.

Additional personnel: Kirsty MacColl (vocals).

If Rum Sodomy & the Lash captured the Pogues on plastic in all their rough-and-tumble glory, If I Should Fall from Grace with God proved they could learn the rudiments of proper record making and still come up with an album that captured all the sharp edges of their musical personality. Producer Steve Lillywhite imposed a more disciplined approach in the studio than Elvis Costello had, but he had the good sense not to squeeze the life out of the band in the process; as a result, the Pogues sound tighter and more precise than ever, while still summoning up the glorious howling fury that made Rum Sodomy & the Lash so powerful. And Shane MacGowan continued to grow as a songwriter, as his lyrics and melodies captured with brilliant detail his obsession with the finer points of Anglo-Irish culture. "Fairytale of New York," a glorious sweet-and-sour duet with Kirsty MacColl, and "The Broad Majestic Shannon" were subtle in a way many of his previous work was not, "Birmingham Six" found him addressing political issues for the first time (and with all the expected venom), and "Fiesta" and "Turkish Song of the Damned" found him adding (respectively) faux-Spanish and Middle Eastern flavors into the Pogues' heady mix. And if you want to hear the Pogues blaze through some fast ones, "Bottle of Smoke" and the title song find them doing just what they've always done best. Brilliantly mixing passion, street smarts, and musical ambition, If I Should Fall from Grace with God is the best album the Pogues would ever make. ~ Mark Deming

IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD marked an apex for the Pogues--with producer Steve Lillywhite at the helm, their neo-traditional Irish songcraft was given a particularly timeless touch without compromising any of the band's trademark intensity. Adding yet another wrinkle of the Irish experience to his profound, intense lyrical oeuvre, Shane MacGowan touches on the Irish in New York, occasionally conjuring up reminders of George M. Cohan (who even gets name-checked here, on "Thousands Are Sailing"). "Metropolis" is a jazzy, brass-fueled instrumental, while the over-the-top sentimentality and swirling strings of "Fairy Tale of New York" made it an instant Christmas classic.

From the irreverent bravado of the opening title track straight through to the jokey, fatalistic closer, "Worms," IF I SHOULD FALL is a rollicking, sometimes brutally honest document, driven hard by the band's inspiringly tight, masterful playing and propelled by the raspy vocal and compelling lyrical attack of MacGowan. "Bottle Of Smoke" is a breakneck thrill ride about a celebratory victory at the horse races, while "Streets Of Sorrow/Birmingham Six" finds Shane in a rare moment of political rant. minimize