Waiting for Herb

Last updated

Waiting for Herb
Waiting for herb.jpg
Studio album by
Released19 October 1993
StudioElephant Studios, Wapping, London
Harrovian Studios
Genre Celtic rock [1]
Length46:07
Label
Producer Michael Brook
The Pogues chronology
Essential Pogues
(1991)
Waiting for Herb
(1993)
Pogue Mahone
(1996)
Singles from Waiting for Herb
  1. "Tuesday Morning"
    Released: 1993
  2. "Once Upon a Time"
    Released: 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Waiting for Herb is the sixth studio album by the Pogues, released in 1993, and their first without lead singer Shane MacGowan.

Contents

Overview

The album saw the band continue to expand their musical reach past the traditional Irish roots it had been founded on, and was only their second full-length album without a single traditional song. The album featured the track "Tuesday Morning", which was the band's first Top Twenty hit since "Fairytale of New York."

With MacGowan departed, his singing and songwriting duties fell to the other members. While Spider Stacy took the role of lead vocalist, much of the songwriting fell to Jem Finer, who along with Terry Woods had previously been the most prolific songwriter apart from MacGowan. However, the album saw contributions by other members who had not written songs for the band previously, including James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, and Darryl Hunt. Ranken also sang lead vocals on "My Baby's Gone".

The song "Smell of Petroleum", with its refrain "The secret of the universe is hidden in this song", references the following anecdote from Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy:

William James describes a man who got the experience from laughing-gas; whenever he was under its influence, he knew the secret of the universe, but when he came to, he had forgotten it. At last, with immense effort, he wrote down the secret before the vision had faded. When completely recovered, he rushed to see what he had written. It was: "A smell of petroleum prevails throughout."

It was the last Pogues album to feature Terry Woods, James Fearnley and Philip Chevron, all of whom left the group after the album's release.

Track listing

Standard edition

  1. "Tuesday Morning" (Spider Stacy) – 3:30
  2. "Smell of Petroleum" (Jem Finer) – 3:13
  3. "Haunting" (Terry Woods) – 4:04
  4. "Once Upon a Time" (Finer) – 3:55
  5. "Sitting on Top of the World" (Finer, James Fearnley, Woods) – 3:37
  6. "Drunken Boat" (Fearnley) – 6:38
  7. "Big City" (Darryl Hunt) – 2:41
  8. "Girl from the Wadi Hammamat" (Finer, Andrew Ranken) – 4:53
  9. "Modern World" (Hunt) – 3:55
  10. "Pachinko" (Finer) – 3:09
  11. "My Baby's Gone" (Finer, Ranken) – 2:24
  12. "Small Hours" (Finer) – 4:31

Bonus tracks (2004 reissue)

  1. "First Day of Forever" (Philip Chevron) – 3:20 (B-side to "Tuesday Morning")
  2. "Train Kept Rolling On" (Ranken) – 3:18 (B-side to "Once Upon a Time")
  3. "Paris St. Germain" (Stacy, Woods) – 3:07 (B-side to "Once Upon a Time")

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album liner notes. [3] [4]

The Pogues


Additional musicians
Technical

Related Research Articles

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

The Pogues are 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". Initially poorly received in traditional Irish music circles—the celebrated musician Tommy Makem called them "the greatest disaster ever to hit Irish music"—the band were subsequently credited with reinvigorating the genre. They later incorporated influences from other musical traditions, including jazz, flamenco, and Middle Eastern music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane MacGowan and The Popes</span> Irish band formed in 1992

The Popes are a band originally formed by Shane MacGowan and Paul "Mad Dog" McGuinness, who play a blend of rock, Irish folk and Americana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jem Finer</span> Musical artist

Jeremy Max Finer is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of the Pogues.

<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">Philip Chevron</span> Irish musician (1957–2013)

Philip Ryan, professionally known as Philip Chevron, was an Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist and record producer. He was best known as the lead guitarist for the celtic punk band the Pogues and as the frontman for the 1970s punk rock band The Radiators from Space. Upon his death in 2013, Chevron was regarded as one of the most influential figures in Irish punk music.

<i>Copperhead Road</i> 1988 studio album by Steve Earle

Copperhead Road is the third studio album by Steve Earle, released in 1988. The album is often referred to as Earle's first "rock record"; Earle himself calls it the world's first blend of heavy metal and bluegrass, and the January 26, 1989 review of the album by Rolling Stone suggested that the style be called "power twang".

<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>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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider Stacy</span> British songwriter

Peter Richard "Spider" Stacy is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for playing tin whistle and sometimes singing for the Pogues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Fearnley</span> Musical artist

James Fearnley is an English musician. He plays accordion in the Pogues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haunted (The Pogues song)</span> 1986 single by The Pogues

"Haunted" is a 1986 single by The Pogues. It was featured on the Sid and Nancy Soundtrack, the original soundtrack for the movie Sid and Nancy. It reached chart position #42 in the UK. Originally sung by Cait O'Riordan, in 1995 the song was re-recorded as a duet between former Pogues vocalist Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O'Connor for the Two If by Sea/Stolen Hearts soundtrack, this time reaching #30 in the UK. The original version was included on disc 1 of the 2008 compilation "Just Look Them In The Eye And Say... POGUE MAHONE!!"

<i>Pogue Mahone</i> 1996 studio album by The Pogues

Pogue Mahone is the seventh and final studio album by the Pogues, released in February 1996. The title is a variant of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse", from which the band's name is derived. It was the band's second studio album recorded after the departure of Shane MacGowan, and features Spider Stacy in the role of lead singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuesday Morning (song)</span> 1993 single by The Pogues

"Tuesday Morning" is a song recorded by English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band The Pogues, released in 1993 by WEA as a single from their first post-Shane MacGowan album, Waiting for Herb (1993). It was the band's last single to make the UK top 20, and the first single to feature Spider Stacy on vocals. The song itself was composed by Stacy. It reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and also culminated in their last performance on Top of the Pops. It is also their most successful single internationally, peaking at #11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The accompanying music video featured clips from Pogues videos from down the years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Once Upon a Time (The Pogues song)</span> 1993 single by The Pogues

"Once Upon a Time" is a song by The Pogues released as a single in 1993 from their sixth album, Waiting for Herb. The song was the band's last single to chart in the UK, making number 66, before the band broke up in 1996 following the release of their seventh and final album, Pogue Mahone. The song was composed by Banjo player Jem Finer.

<i>The Best of The Pogues</i> 1991 greatest hits album by The Pogues

The Best of the Pogues is a greatest hits album by the Pogues, released in September 1991.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pogues discography</span>

The Pogues are 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 – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic póg mo thóin, meaning 'kiss my arse'.

<i>Essential Pogues</i> 1991 greatest hits album by The Pogues

Essential Pogues is a greatest hits album by The Pogues, released in November 1991.

References

  1. Christensen, Thor (1998). "The Pogues/Shane McGowan & the Popes". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 881.
  2. David Jeffries (19 October 1993). "Waiting for Herb – The Pogues | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  3. Waiting for Herb (Media notes). The Pogues. WEA. 1993.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. "Waiting for Herb". Discogs . Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  5. https://www.discogs.com/it/release/399299-The-Pogues-Waiting-For-Herb