Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. A rainy night in Soho
2. Sally MacLennane
3. The Irish rover
4. Dirty old town
5. Fairytale of New York
6. Streams of whiskey
7. If I should fall from grace with God
8. Fiesta
9. Body of an American
10. Misty morning Albert Bridge
11. Repeal of the licensing laws
12. Boys from the county hell
13. Sunnyside of the street
14. A Pair of brown eyes
15. Summer in Siam
16. The sickbed of Cuchulainn
17. London girl
18. Tuesday morning
19. White city
20. Hells ditch
21. Young Ned of the hill
22. I'm a man you don't meet everyday
23. Thousands are sailing

Disc 2:

1. Streams Of Whiskey
2. If I Should Fall From Grace With God
3. Boys From The County Hell
4. The Broad Majestic Shannon
5. Young Ned Of The Hill 06
6. Turkish Song Of The Damned
7. Rainy Night In Soho
8. Tuesday Morning
9. Rain Street
10. A Pair Of Brown Eyes
11. Repeal Of The Licensing Laws
12. The Old Main Drag
13. Thousands Are Sailing
14. Body Of An American
15. Sally MacLennane
16. Lullaby Of London
17. Dirty Old Town
18. Bottle Of Smoke
19. The Sickbed of Cuchulain
20. Fairytale Of new York (with Lila MacMahon )
21. Fiesta
22. The Irish Rover

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18390 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-07
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered

Album Description
Ireland's prodigal son, or whiskey-sodden tragedy case? As frontman for the Pogues, Shane MacGowan always managed to combine the two into one gloriously drunken whole. In the years between 1983 and 1991, the Pogues released five albums marrying the melodies of traditional Irish folk to the energy of punk-rock and rockabilly. The Ultimate Collection comprises a complete compilation of all their essential tunes over 2 CDs. On CD One contains all the chart hits, and CD 2 contains the audio of their legendary concert a Brixton Academy. Standout tracks include "Dirty Old Town", "The Irish Rover" and "Fairytale of New York".

CD Description
Another greatest hits collection from the original hellraising punk-folk outfit. Essentially, this is a rejigged version of 2001's 'The Very Best Of', but this time all the old classics are paired with a disc documenting the band's entire 2001 Brixton Academy reunion show - a great example of theirraucous live performance.

Customer Reviews

Ultimate!!!!! Pogues
This is a wonderful CD, yes there have been previous 'best of' releases in the past but this is the real thing, all the finest Pogues tracks that possess individual greatness from this unique band.

The second CD contains a full set of a (previously unreleased) live gig, this is a superbly mixed / presented example of the 'Pogues experience'.

It has been said that everyone should see (or witness) the Pogues play live at least once in their lifetime. I for one can endorse that, however if you haven't - listen to this, its an experience to behold.

Worth the money for the bonus disk alone.
You can only pity the people in this world who will only know this band for their only top ten hit, "Fairytale of New York". And most of them probably don't realise that The Pogues are indeed a band, not a gap toothed ugly drunken singer with a rough voice.

This CD, like all the other Pogues compilations falls short of showing the Pogues as they were meant to be known, it just doesn't reveal their soul. To really know them buy "Rum, Sodomy & the Lash". The CD does offer a decent selection from various stages of the life of the band, both with Shane MacGowan and without.

Of course, purists will always argue over which tracks should be included and which should be left out. Overall it is as good as any compilation that could be made of this seminal band. There are songs that capture the dazzling musical talent of the musicians, and there are songs that haunt you with the power and pure emotional magic of Shane's lyrics (And when we got back labelled parts one to three, there was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me).... Oh God.

The bonus disk features songs recorded live over two nights at the now legendary reuninion concerts at Brixton Academy. And I was there. The fact that thousands of people sold out venues all over the country to see this bunch of over-the-hill old timers is testament to the power of the music they produced. The live CD captures the Pogues as they are meant to be heard, live and raw. The full spectrum of emotion is presented here, but why did they not include the heart stopping rendition of "A Man You Don't Meet Everyday"? I swear there were tears in my eyes as we sang along to this with all our passion.

Highlights are the pounding "Dirty Old Town", "A Pair of Brown Eyes" and "Thousands are Sailing". Buy this CD and enjoy the greates songwriter of the last century, along with possibly one of the greatest bands.

Better Than The Beatles???
The Pogues, from the early raucos and raw punk folk/punk to the later heartfelt anthems of tragic desperation, never failed to disappoint. Undoubtedly Shane MacGowan is a better lyricist than Lennon and McCartney could ever to be. The homage to the life of Brendan Behan, Streams of Whiskey, was his first ever song and imcapsulates the pure riotness that the early Pogues had. The fact the album kicks off with A Rainy Night In Soho, perhaps MacGowan's finest tune, shows how his reputation for drunken self-destruction is a mere distraction for his sensitive brilliance.

The famous Fairytale Of New York and Irish Rover still sound as good as ever despite being nearly twenty years old. It is also worth noting the writing of the other Pogues, notably Thousands Are Sailing by Phil Chevron, which shows that all the genius in the band was not just down to MacGowan.

However it certainly is MacGowan that made the band what it was, and wrote all the greatest songs, dominating this album with his writing. With songs such as Sunnyside Of The Street we see the way the Pogues changed to a more Eastern style in later years.

Overall this album must rank as one of the greatest compilations of the last few decades, or even ever. The only disappointment is the alck of Sayonara, surely one the great Pogues songs.