If I Should Fall From Grace With God

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.

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.

What the critics say…

Rolling Stone – 3.5 Stars – Very Good
Uncut (p.158) – 4 stars out of 5 – “There’s no doubting the vaulting musical ambition of their third album…“
Magnet (p.88) – “\[T\]he Pogues’ most musically ambitious release….With multi-instrumentalists Jimmy Fearnley and newcomer Terry Woods propelling the \[group\]…“
Mojo (Publisher) (p.123) – 5 stars out of 5 – “\[A\]n amazingly original, democratically written and ethnically adventurous album…”