Rum Sodomy & the Lash

Last updated

Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Rum sodomy and the lash.jpg
Studio album by
Released5 August 1985
StudioElephant Studios, Wapping, London
Genre
Length42:55
Label Stiff (UK & Europe)
MCA (US & Canada)
Producer Elvis Costello
The Pogues chronology
Red Roses for Me
(1984)
Rum Sodomy & the Lash
(1985)
Poguetry in Motion
(1986)
Singles from Rum Sodomy & the Lash
  1. "A Pair of Brown Eyes"
    Released: 18 March 1985
  2. "Sally MacLennane"
    Released: 10 June 1985
  3. "Dirty Old Town"
    Released: 19 August 1985

Rum Sodomy & the Lash is the second studio album by the London-based, Irish folk punk band the Pogues, released on 5 August 1985. [2] The album reached number 13 on the UK charts. The track "A Pair of Brown Eyes", based on an older Irish tune, reached number 72 on the UK singles chart. "The Old Main Drag" later appeared on the soundtrack to the film My Own Private Idaho .

Contents

Title

The album's title is taken from a quotation attributed [3] to Winston Churchill: [4] "Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash." The title was suggested by drummer Andrew Ranken, who said "it seemed to sum up life in our band". [4]

Artwork

The cover artwork is an altered version of The Raft of the Medusa , a Romantic-era painting by Theodore Géricault, with the band members' heads, painted by Peter Mennim, [5] replacing those of various figures on the raft. [6]

Recording

Elvis Costello, whose manager Jake Riviera approached the band, was originally employed to produce two songs for a single, "A Pair of Brown Eyes" and "Sally MacLennane", but after recording at Elephant Studios in Wapping was extended Costello agreed to record the entire album. [7] Chevron later said, "The Pogues needed, more than anything, not to be not so much as produced as facilitated. Recording the band as live as possible, but with a great deal of natural acoustic presence in the instruments – was quite a revolutionary thing to do 1985." Costello said, "I saw my task was to capture them in their dilapidated glory before some more professional producer fucked them up." [8]

Critical reception and accolades

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [9]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [10]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [11]
Pitchfork 9.5/10 [12]
Record Mirror 4/5 [13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Sounds Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [15]
Spin Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [17]
The Village Voice A [18]

Rum Sodomy & the Lash received very positive reviews from critics. Melody Maker 's Adam Sweeting said, "The brightest, most intense moments of Rum ... aren't about particularities of style or delivery. This is, apart from anything else, music to hang on to other people by to stave off brutal fact and the weight of history. While The Pogues make music for drunks as well, probably, as anyone has they're also dragging an oft-ignored folk tradition into the daylight with an altogether improbable potency ... Rum ... has soul, if not a great deal of innovation, and somewhere among the glasses and the ashtrays lie a few home truths." [19] Sounds ' Jane Simon called Rum Sodomy & the Lash "the finest slice of story-telling your heart could wish for". [15] David Quantick of NME described the record as "a collection of free-ranging stuff to be sure; from the funereal folk ballad to the near spaghetti-western instrumental, raucous celebration to brown study, cheerful melody to downright strangeness. It's never sentimental, it's rarely polite, and it's certainly not ordinary ... Rum Sodomy and the Lash is more than the best record The Pogues could be expected to make at this time. It's more than a brilliant example of a band using its resources in an imaginative manner. It's probably the best LP of 1985." [20] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that "none of it would mean much without the songs—some borrowed, some traditional, and some proof that MacGowan can roll out bitter blarney with the best of his role models." [18]

In a retrospective review, Mark Deming of AllMusic stated that Rum Sodomy & the Lash "falls just a bit short of being the Pogues' best album, but was the first one to prove that they were a great band, and not just a great idea for a band." [9] Daniel Bristow of the Irish music website CLUAS awarded the album an eight out of ten, calling it "a record that will never cease to delight, always a pleasure to hear and highly, highly recommended if you're not familiar with it already". [21] Mark Cooper of Q described the record as "a proud, defiant bruise of an album that manages to be both profoundly bleak and immoderately romantic and it remains MacGowan's and The Pogues' finest hour". [22] Uncut 's Jon Wilde wrote that "the most startling thing about their second album was the steep ascendancy of MacGowan's songwriting", [17] while Spin 's Jon Dolan said that the album contained "some of the purest toothless lyricism in punk-rock history." [16]

In 2000, Q placed Rum Sodomy & the Lash at number 93 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2012, the album was ranked number 440 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. [23] Pitchfork named it the 67th best album of the 1980s. [24] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [25]

Reissues

A remastered and expanded version of Rum, Sodomy & the Lash was released for compact disc by WEA in the European market on 11 January 2005; this re-issue was released on September 19, 2006, by Rhino Records in the United States. The remastered disc added six bonus tracks, including the entirety of the Poguetry in Motion EP and the B-sides to "Dirty Old Town" – "A Pistol for Paddy Garcia" on seven-inch and "The Parting Glass" on twelve-inch singles. The reissue included liner notes by David Quantick and a poem about the Pogues by Tom Waits. [21]

Track listing

Standard edition – Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" Shane MacGowan 2:59
2."The Old Main Drag"MacGowan3:19
3."The Wild Cats of Kilkenny"MacGowan, Jem Finer 2:48
4."I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day"Traditional; arranged by the Pogues2:55
5."A Pair of Brown Eyes"MacGowan4:54
6."Sally MacLennane"MacGowan2:43
Standard edition – Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dirty Old Town" Ewan MacColl 3:45
2."Jesse James"Traditional; arranged by the Pogues2:58
3."Navigator" Phil Gaston 4:12
4."Billy's Bones"MacGowan2:02
5."The Gentleman Soldier"Traditional; arranged by the Pogues2:04
6."And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" Eric Bogle 8:10
Bonus tracks (2005 reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Originally fromLength
13."A Pistol for Paddy Garcia"FinerB-side of "Dirty Old Town"2:31
14."London Girl"MacGowan Poguetry in Motion EP3:05
15."Rainy Night in Soho"MacGowanPoguetry in Motion EP5:36
16."Body of an American"MacGowanPoguetry in Motion EP4:49
17."Planxty Noel Hill"FinerPoguetry in Motion EP3:12
18."The Parting Glass"Traditional; arranged by the PoguesB-side of "Dirty Old Town" 12-inch single2:14

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Rum Sodomy & the Lash and Poguetry in Motion, except where noted. [5] [26]

Charts

Chart performance for Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Chart (1985–1986)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [28] 89
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [29] 17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [30] 39
UK Albums (OCC) [31] 13

Certifications

Certifications for Rum Sodomy & the Lash
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP) [32] Gold100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [33] Gold100,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvis Costello</span> English singer-songwriter (born 1954)

Declan Patrick MacManus, better known by his stage name Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to Rolling Stone, Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical traditions of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison with the raw energy and sass that were principal ethics of punk", noting the "construction of his songs, which set densely layered wordplay in an ever-expanding repertoire of styles." His first album, My Aim Is True (1977), is widely regarded as one of the best debuts in popular music history. It spawned no hit singles, but contains some of Costello's best-known songs, including the ballad "Alison". Costello's next two albums, This Year's Model (1978) and Armed Forces (1979), recorded with his backing band the Attractions, helped define the new wave genre. From late 1977 until early 1980, each of the eight singles he released reached the UK Top 30. His biggest hit single, "Oliver's Army" (1979), sold more than 500,000 copies in Britain. He has had more modest commercial success in the US, but has earned much critical praise. From 1977 until the early 2000s, Costello's albums regularly ranked high on the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll, with This Year's Model and Imperial Bedroom (1982) voted the best album of their respective years. His biggest US hit single, "Veronica" (1989), reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pogues</span> Celtic punk band founded in London in 1982

The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, as Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse". Fusing punk influences with instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo, Irish bouzouki, cittern, mandolin and accordion, the Pogues were initially poorly received in traditional Irish music circles—the noted musician Tommy Makem called them "the greatest disaster ever to hit Irish music"—but were subsequently credited with reinvigorating the genre. The band later incorporated influences from other musical traditions, including jazz, flamenco, and Middle Eastern music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane MacGowan</span> Irish singer-songwriter (1957–2023)

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter, musician and poet best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He also produced solo material and collaborated with artists including Joe Strummer, Nick Cave, Sinéad O'Connor, and Cruachan. Known for his exceptional songwriting ability and his heavy alcohol and drug use, MacGowan was described by The New York Times as "a titanically destructive personality and a master songsmith whose lyrics painted vivid portraits of the underbelly of Irish immigrant life".

<i>Fear of Music</i> 1979 studio album by Talking Heads

Fear of Music is the third studio album by the American new wave band Talking Heads, released on August 3, 1979, by Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in New York City during April and May 1979 and was produced by Brian Eno and Talking Heads. The album reached number 21 on the Billboard 200 and number 33 on the UK Albums Chart. It spawned the singles "Life During Wartime", "I Zimbra", and "Cities".

<i>Low-Life</i> 1985 studio album by New Order

Low-Life is the third studio album by English pop group New Order, released on 13 May 1985 by Factory Records. It is considered to be among the band's strongest work, displaying the moment they completed their transformation from post-punk hold-overs to dance-rockers. The album shows New Order's increased incorporation of synthesisers and samplers, while still preserving the rock elements of their earlier work. The original Factory CD issues of the album were mastered with pre-emphasis.

<i>If I Should Fall from Grace with God</i> 1988 studio album by the Pogues

If I Should Fall from Grace with God is the third studio album by Celtic folk-punk band the Pogues, released on 18 January 1988. Released in the wake of their biggest hit single, "Fairytale of New York", If I Should Fall from Grace with God also became the band's best-selling album, peaking at number three on the UK Albums Chart and reaching the top ten in several other countries.

<i>Red Roses for Me</i> 1984 studio album by The Pogues

Red Roses for Me is the debut studio album by the London-based band the Pogues, released on 15 October 1984. It was produced by Stan Brennan, who had managed the Nipple Erectors/The Nips and Rocks Off Records shop in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairytale of New York</span> 1987 single by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl

"Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a duet, with the Pogues' singer MacGowan taking the role of the male character and MacColl playing the female character. It was originally released as a single on 23 November 1987 and later featured on the Pogues' 1988 album If I Should Fall from Grace with God.

Caitlín O'Riordan is a British musician. She played bass guitar for the Pogues from 1983 to 1986. She later played with Elvis Costello as well as Bush Tetras and several other projects. She uses the name Rocky O'Riordan on social media and for her Sirius-XM radio show, The Rocky O'Riordan Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirty Old Town</span> Song by Ewan MacColl

"Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by the Dubliners and the Pogues.

<i>Hells Ditch</i> 1990 studio album by The Pogues

Hell's Ditch is the fifth studio album by The Pogues, released on 1 October 1990, and the last to feature frontman Shane MacGowan as a member.

<i>King of America</i> 1986 studio album by the Costello Show featuring the Attractions and the Confederates

King of America is the tenth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 21 February 1986. Co-produced by Costello and T Bone Burnett, the album originated following a series of tours the two made under the name "the Coward Brothers". Recording took place in mid-1985 at various studios in Los Angeles, California, with a group of American session musicians dubbed "the Confederates". Selected by Burnett, they included Ray Brown, Earl Palmer and former members of Elvis Presley's TCB Band. Costello's regular backing band, the Attractions, were intended to appear on half of the album before poor sessions led to them appearing on only one track, "Suit of Lights".

<i>Peace and Love</i> (The Pogues album) 1989 studio album by The Pogues

Peace and Love is the fourth studio album by the Pogues, released in July 1989.

<i>Darklands</i> (album) 1987 studio album by the Jesus and Mary Chain

Darklands is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain, released on 31 August 1987 by Blanco y Negro Records. The album is the band's first to use drum machines, replacing live drummer Bobby Gillespie, who had left to pursue a career as the frontman of Scottish rock band Primal Scream. Lead vocals are performed by Jim Reid, with the exception of "Darklands", "Nine Million Rainy Days" and "On the Wall", which are sung by William Reid.

<i>The Snake</i> (Shane MacGowan album) 1994 studio album by Shane MacGowan and the Popes

The Snake is the first album by Shane MacGowan and the Popes, released in 1994 by ZTT Records. It peaked at No. 37 on the UK Albums Chart. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Rainy Night in Soho</span> 1986 song by British punk band The Pogues

"A Rainy Night in Soho" is a song by The Pogues released in 1986, originally included on their Poguetry in Motion EP.

"A Pair of Brown Eyes" is a single by The Pogues, released on 18 March 1985. The single was their first to make the UK Top 100, peaking at Number 72. It featured on the band's second album, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, and was composed by Pogues front man Shane MacGowan. Its melody is loosely based on that of “Wild Mountain Thyme", a song by Francis McPeake in a traditional folk style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally MacLennane</span> 1985 single by The Pogues

"Sally MacLennane" was a single released by The Pogues in 1985. It was the second single by the band to make the UK Top 100, reaching number 54. The song was composed by Shane MacGowan and featured on the band's second album, Rum Sodomy & the Lash. The song is based on a bar his uncle owned which served Irish Ford workers in Dagenham.

<i>Poguetry in Motion</i> 1986 EP by The Pogues

Poguetry in Motion is an EP by the Pogues, released on Stiff Records in the UK on 24 February 1986, and in the US & Canada on MCA Records. It was the band's first single to make the UK Top 40, peaking at number 29 and the first Pogues recording to feature Philip Chevron and Terry Woods.

References

  1. Rowley, Scott (22 August 2018). "New wave: A guide to the best albums". Louder . Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  2. "Pogues Tour". Melody Maker . London. 10 August 1985. p. 3.
  3. Manchester, William. "The Last Lion: Volume 1: Winston Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874–1932. Little, Brown, & Company.
  4. 1 2 Hurt, Andy (17 August 1985). "A Whip Round with the Pogues". Sounds . London. pp. 18–19.
  5. 1 2 Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Media notes). The Pogues. Stiff. 1985.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. Clerk, Carol (2006). Kiss My Arse: The Story of the Pogues. Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-1-84609-008-0.
  7. Graham Thompson (2005). Complicated Shadows. Canongate. p. 98. ISBN   9781841956657.
  8. Jeffrey T. Roesgen (2008). The Pogues' Rum, Sodomy and the Lash. Bloomsbury. p. 43. ISBN   9780826429162.
  9. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Rum, Sodomy & the Lash – The Pogues". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  10. McNamee, Paul (10 December 2004). "Reissues". The Irish Times . Dublin. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  11. Gilbert, Pat (December 2004). "You shebeen there!". Mojo . No. 133. London. p. 123.
  12. Hermes, Will (8 September 2024). "The Pogues: Rum Sodomy & the Lash Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  13. Strickland, Andy (10 August 1985). "The Pogues: Rum, Sodomy and the Lash". Record Mirror . London. p. 17.
  14. Considine, J. D. (2004). "The Pogues". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p.  643. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  15. 1 2 Simon, Jane (10 August 1985). "Clever Sods". Sounds . London. p. 28.
  16. 1 2 Dolan, Jon (October 2006). "Reissues". Spin . Vol. 22, no. 10. New York. p. 104. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  17. 1 2 Wilde, Jon (December 2004). "Keeping it reel". Uncut . No. 91. London. p. 158.
  18. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (11 March 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  19. Sweeting, Adam (10 August 1985). "Swigging in the rigging". Melody Maker . London. p. 27.
  20. Quantick, David (10 August 1985). "Whip Whip Hooray!". NME . London. p. 26.
  21. 1 2 Bristow, Daniel. "The Pogues 'Rum, Sodomy and The Lash'". CLUAS. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  22. Cooper, Mark (June 1994). "The Pogues: Rum Sodomy & the Lash". Q . No. 93. London. pp. 134–135.
  23. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone . 31 May 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  24. "The Top 100 Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork . 21 November 2002. p. 4. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  25. Bates, Theunis (2006). "The Pogues: Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 536. ISBN   978-0-7893-1371-3.
  26. Poguetry in Motion (Media notes). The Pogues. Stiff. 1986.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. "The Star of the County Down?". Pogues.com. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  28. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 235. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  29. "Charts.nz – The Pogues – Rum Sodomy & the Lash". Hung Medien.
  30. "Swedishcharts.com – The Pogues – Rum Sodomy & the Lash". Hung Medien.
  31. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  32. "French album certifications – The Pogues – Rum Sodomy & the Flash [sic]" (in French). InfoDisc.Select THE POGUES and click OK. 
  33. "British album certifications – The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash". British Phonographic Industry.