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Picking up where the disappointing Peace And Love left off, Hell's Ditch, the fifth LP from The Pogues in a stormy six-year career, continues the move away from familiar Celtic roots towards a more suitably global perspective. What sets this collection apart, however, is its new-found sense of maturity, its rare restraint, dare one say it, its unashamed mellowness.
The current single, Summer In Siam, is a prime example of just how far The Pogues have travelled since the crazed yelp of their earlier output. An apparently nonsensical lyric is mumbled aloud by Shane MacGowan in his very own inimitable fashion while a piano and sax mourn wistfully somewhere in the background. Best appreciated perhaps with a quart of Black Bush under the belt, this is gentle, small-hours listening yet unmistakably The Pogues-like in its view of from the bottom of the bottle.
Indeed, Shane MacGowan sounds literally world-weary throughout, the inveterate traveller who ends up finding some sort of sense only in the most honest of emotions. Sunnyside Of The Street has him flitting from Rome to Bombay, ending up in Nepal with nothing at all, while The House Of The Gods portrays the protagonist as just a wally hanging out on Pattaya Beach. This globe-trotting is reflected throughout in the final casting off of any lingering fiddle-ay-day tendency, with the musical net instead being cast far and wide to take in the near-flamenco style of the inspired Lorca's Novena, the Middle Eastern strains of the title track and, best of all, the Biko-like chant of the closing Six To Go.
Produced by honorary The Pogues Joe Strummer, Hell's Ditch also signals the development of the less centrestage characters in the band, a natural progression from the internal events of the last two years, with Terry Woods exercising his considerable vocal power on Rainbow Man and multi-instrumentalist Jem Finer having a hand in six of the 12 songs. The other half-dozen, all solo Shane MacGowan compositions, at least suggest the beginning of a welcome return to his very best form if not yet scaling the heights of mid-period The Pogues.
Unlikely to throw up too many stomping live favourites for the annual St. Patrick's Night soiree, this is still an interesting, oddly subdued marker in the history of one of these islands' most consistently entertaining acts. And with the traditional drinking references considerably reduced on this outing, Hell's Ditch perhaps makes most sense if viewed as that inevitable switch from too many nights on the ale to a less crazed, more sober state of grace.
Q Rating: 4