Hell's Ditch continued the group's slow departure from Irish music, giving more emphasis to rock and straight folk rock, and forsaking their earlier staples of traditional compositions almost entirely. MacGowan parted with the band after the release of the album, owing to the decline of his reliability as a performer, which was caused by his abuse of alcohol and drugs.
Several of the songs on the album have Asian themes, in sound or in content, including "Summer in Siam", "The House of Gods" and "Sayonara". The song "Lorca's Novena" draws on MacGowan's affinity for Spain (particularly Almería, which he had discovered years earlier when filming Straight to Hell), and the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. It tells of the poet's murder by Francisco Franco's Nationalist supporters in the Spanish Civil War, and how his body, never having been recovered, was said to have walked away. "The Wake of the Medusa" is a first-person narrative inspired by Théodore Géricault's painting "The Raft of the Medusa", which had appeared on the cover of the band's second album, Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash. The title track is based largely on the life and writings of French author and playwright Jean Genet, in particular The Miracle of the Rose and Our Lady of the Flowers,[5] with its description of squalid prison life.
The album was produced by the Clash's Joe Strummer, who later served as a temporary replacement for MacGowan when the band went on tour. The cover art for the album was designed by Joshua Cheuse, who also designed the cover for the Clash on Broadwaybox set as well as album covers for Strummer and Big Audio Dynamite.[6][7]
Spider Stacy, Terry Woods, Darryl Hunt, Andrew Ranken, John Sheahan, Eamonn Campbell, Paul Verner, Jim Hand, Frank Murray – chorus on "Jack's Heroes"[10]
The Hell's Ditch demos (commonly known as the Falconer demos, after the studio in which they were tracked) were recorded prior to this album. "Murder Ska" and "Redemption Song" are both unreleased tracks featuring Spider Stacy on lead vocals. "Victoria" and "Lust for Vomit" are both instrumental versions of songs that later appeared on Shane MacGowan and the Popes' 1994 debut album The Snake, the latter retitled "A Mexican Funeral in Paris". "NW3" and "Murder Ska" were played live as early as 1988 but never properly recorded. A studio version of "NW3" was recorded for inclusion on Hell's Ditch, but MacGowan was unable to deliver a satisfactory vocal performance, leaving the track as an unfinished instrumental. Thus, "NW3" is an early version of "Mother Mo Chroi", which was released on MacGowan's second solo effort, 1997's The Crock of Gold. "NW3" or "Mother Mo Chroi" appears to be very similar in sound and structure to The Pogues' original song "Rake At The Gates of Hell" (released on the 1987 Straight To Hell soundtrack album).[17]
The Falconer demos are widely available on the Internet, and unlicensed copies occasionally surface on the online auction site eBay. They also appear on the Pogues box set of rare and unreleased material released by Rhino Entertainment on 17 March 2008.
Track listingEdit
"Murder Ska" (unreleased track)
"Ghost of a Smile"
"Bastard Landlord"
"Summer in Siam"
"Wake of the Medusa"
"NW3" (early instrumental version of Shane MacGowan and the Popes' 1997 "Mother Mo Chroi")
"Victoria" (instrumental version)
"Redemption Song" (unreleased track)
"Lust for Vomit" (early instrumental version of Shane MacGowan and the Popes' 1994 "A Mexican Funeral in Paris")
"Five Green Queens & Jean"
ReferencesEdit
^"Pogues Singles". Pogues.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
^"The Pogues - Discography: All Countries". 45cat.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
^"Various – Straight To Hell". www.discogs.com. March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
October 22, 2023
hell, ditch, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february, 2012. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hell s Ditch news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Hell s Ditch is the fifth studio album by The Pogues released on 1 October 1990 4 and the last to feature frontman Shane MacGowan as a member Hell s DitchStudio album by The PoguesReleased1 October 1990StudioRockfield Rockfield Wales GenreCeltic rock folk rockLength41 24LabelIslandProducerJoe StrummerThe Pogues chronologyPeace and Love 1989 Hell s Ditch 1990 The Best of The Pogues 1991 Singles from Hell s Ditch Summer in Siam Released September 1990 Sayonara Released February 1991 1 2 Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic 3 Contents 1 Overview 2 Track listing 2 1 Standard edition 2 2 Bonus tracks 2005 reissue 3 Personnel 4 Charts 5 Certifications 6 Hell s Ditch demos 6 1 Track listing 7 ReferencesOverview EditHell s Ditch continued the group s slow departure from Irish music giving more emphasis to rock and straight folk rock and forsaking their earlier staples of traditional compositions almost entirely MacGowan parted with the band after the release of the album owing to the decline of his reliability as a performer which was caused by his abuse of alcohol and drugs Several of the songs on the album have Asian themes in sound or in content including Summer in Siam The House of Gods and Sayonara The song Lorca s Novena draws on MacGowan s affinity for Spain particularly Almeria which he had discovered years earlier when filming Straight to Hell and the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca It tells of the poet s murder by Francisco Franco s Nationalist supporters in the Spanish Civil War and how his body never having been recovered was said to have walked away The Wake of the Medusa is a first person narrative inspired by Theodore Gericault s painting The Raft of the Medusa which had appeared on the cover of the band s second album Rum Sodomy and the Lash The title track is based largely on the life and writings of French author and playwright Jean Genet in particular The Miracle of the Rose and Our Lady of the Flowers 5 with its description of squalid prison life The album was produced by the Clash s Joe Strummer who later served as a temporary replacement for MacGowan when the band went on tour The cover art for the album was designed by Joshua Cheuse who also designed the cover for the Clash on Broadway box set as well as album covers for Strummer and Big Audio Dynamite 6 7 Track listing EditStandard edition Edit Sunny Side of the Street Shane MacGowan Jem Finer 2 44 Sayonara MacGowan 3 07 The Ghost of a Smile MacGowan 2 58 Hell s Ditch MacGowan Finer 3 03 Lorca s Novena MacGowan 4 40 Summer in Siam MacGowan 4 06 Rain Street MacGowan 4 00 Rainbow Man Terry Woods 2 46 The Wake of the Medusa Finer 3 04 House of the Gods MacGowan 3 46 5 Green Queens amp Jean MacGowan Finer 2 35 Maidrin Rua Traditional 1 47 Six to Go Woods 2 58Bonus tracks 2005 reissue Edit Whiskey in the Jar Traditional B side to Jack s Heroes 2 41 with the Dubliners Bastard Landlord Finer B side to Summer in Siam 3 09 Infinity MacGowan B side to Sayonara 12 2 48 The Curse of Love Finer B side to Sayonara 2 43 Squid Out of Water MacGowan B side to A Rainy Night in Soho 3 47 Jack s Heroes Woods Spider Stacy A side single 3 06 with the Dubliners A Rainy Night in Soho 1991 version MacGowan A side single 4 48Personnel EditCredits are adapted from the album liner notes except where noted 8 The Pogues Shane MacGowan vocals Jem Finer banjo mandola hurdy gurdy saxophone acoustic guitar lap steel guitar shaker Spider Stacy tin whistle harmonica lead vocals on The Wake of the Medusa James Fearnley accordion piano banjo acoustic guitar electric guitar violin electric sitar kalimba Terry Woods mandolin cittern concertina acoustic guitar electric guitar accordion auto harp lead vocals on Rainbow Man Maidrin Rua and Six to Go Philip Chevron acoustic guitar electric guitar accordion backing vocals Darryl Hunt bass guitar bells congas backing vocals Andrew Ranken drums tambourine backing vocalsAdditional musicians The Pogues percussion on Hell s Ditch Maidrin Rua and Six to Go Siobhan Sheahan harp on Summer in Siam Fiachra Trench string arrangement on A Rainy Night in Soho 9 Spider Stacy Terry Woods Darryl Hunt Andrew Ranken John Sheahan Eamonn Campbell Paul Verner Jim Hand Frank Murray chorus on Jack s Heroes 10 Technical Joe Strummer producer Paul Cobbold engineer Joshua Cheuse cover art Dave Jordan producer on Jack s Heroes and Whiskey in the Jar 10 Terry Woods producer on Jack s Heroes and Whiskey in the Jar 10 Steve Lillywhite producer mixing on A Rainy Night in Soho 9 Chris Dickie engineer on Jack s Heroes Whiskey in the Jar 10 and A Rainy Night in Soho 9 Eamonn Campbell mixing on Whiskey in the Jar 10 John Sheahan mixing on Whiskey in the Jar 10 Charts EditChart performance for Hell s Ditch Chart 1990 1991 PeakpositionAustralian Albums ARIA 11 82New Zealand Albums RMNZ 12 41Swedish Albums Sverigetopplistan 13 17Swiss Albums Schweizer Hitparade 14 33UK Albums OCC 15 12Certifications EditRegion Certification Certified units salesUnited Kingdom BPI 16 Silver 60 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone Hell s Ditch demos EditThe Hell s Ditch demos commonly known as the Falconer demos after the studio in which they were tracked were recorded prior to this album Murder Ska and Redemption Song are both unreleased tracks featuring Spider Stacy on lead vocals Victoria and Lust for Vomit are both instrumental versions of songs that later appeared on Shane MacGowan and the Popes 1994 debut album The Snake the latter retitled A Mexican Funeral in Paris NW3 and Murder Ska were played live as early as 1988 but never properly recorded A studio version of NW3 was recorded for inclusion on Hell s Ditch but MacGowan was unable to deliver a satisfactory vocal performance leaving the track as an unfinished instrumental Thus NW3 is an early version of Mother Mo Chroi which was released on MacGowan s second solo effort 1997 s The Crock of Gold NW3 or Mother Mo Chroi appears to be very similar in sound and structure to The Pogues original song Rake At The Gates of Hell released on the 1987 Straight To Hell soundtrack album 17 The Falconer demos are widely available on the Internet and unlicensed copies occasionally surface on the online auction site eBay They also appear on the Pogues box set of rare and unreleased material released by Rhino Entertainment on 17 March 2008 Track listing Edit Murder Ska unreleased track Ghost of a Smile Bastard Landlord Summer in Siam Wake of the Medusa NW3 early instrumental version of Shane MacGowan and the Popes 1997 Mother Mo Chroi Victoria instrumental version Redemption Song unreleased track Lust for Vomit early instrumental version of Shane MacGowan and the Popes 1994 A Mexican Funeral in Paris Five Green Queens amp Jean References Edit Pogues Singles Pogues com Retrieved 12 March 2021 The Pogues Discography All Countries 45cat com Retrieved 12 March 2021 Hell s Ditch The Pogues AllMusic BPI The Parting Glass Hell s Ditch Poguetry com Retrieved 21 February 2012 Hasagawa Mariah Joe Strummer Putting a Scare Into The Hearts of All Things Corporate Post Global 2002 CRCRadio net Archived from the original on 19 August 2002 Retrieved 22 December 2010 Josh Cheuse Credits Discogs Retrieved 12 March 2021 Hell s Ditch Media notes The Pogues Island 1990 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b c A Rainy Night In Soho Discogs Retrieved 12 March 2021 a b c d e f Jack s Heroes Discogs Retrieved 12 March 2021 Ryan Gavin 2011 Australia s Music Charts 1988 2010 PDF ed Mt Martha Victoria Australia Moonlight Publishing p 220 Charts nz The Pogues Hell s Ditch Hung Medien Retrieved 5 September 2022 Swedishcharts com The Pogues Hell s Ditch Hung Medien Retrieved 5 September 2022 Swisscharts com The Pogues Hell s Ditch Hung Medien Retrieved 5 September 2022 Official Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 5 September 2022 British album certifications Pogues Hell s Ditch British Phonographic Industry Retrieved 13 February 2022 Various Straight To Hell www discogs com March 2020 Retrieved 20 March 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hell 27s Ditch amp oldid 1170596990, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
