If I Should Fall from Grace with God is the third album by The Pogues, released on 18 January 1988.[1] Released in the wake of the band's biggest hit single, "Fairytale of New York", it was their best-selling album, peaking at number 3 in the UK Album Charts and reaching the top ten in several other countries. As The Pogues were not signed to a record label at the time (their previous label Stiff having gone into administration), the album was released on their own Pogue Mahone label and distributed by Warner Music Group in the UK and Europe. In North America the record was released on Island Records and with a different cover. Previous Pogues albums had focused on an Irish folk/punk rock hybrid. On If I Should Fall from Grace with God, jazz, Spanish folk and Middle Eastern folk were added to the mix. The addition of Spanish and Middle Eastern sounds was a sign of things to come; on 1990's Hell's Ditch these would become more prominent. On this album, however, it was very much Irish folk to the fore, especially on songs such as the title track, "Bottle of Smoke", "Lullaby of London", "Sit Down by the Fire", and the rendition of the traditional jig "The Lark in the Morning" as the coda to "Turkish Song of the Damned". These songs were more typical of earlier Pogues albums, mostly fast and heavily textured. The album was also the first by the band to utilize a complete drum kit. The album marked the most substantial line-up change to date for The Pogues, as it was the first full-length album on which multi-instrumentalist Terry Woods and bassist Darryl Hunt appear. It also marked the departure of one of the original members, bassist Cait O'Riordan. The alternative album cover is a collage of faked photos of the group's members, in which their faces have been superimposed onto a shot of Irish author James Joyce. The picture of Joyce appears fourth from the left. Due to time restriction of a vinyl LP the two tracks "South Australia" and "The Battle March Medley" have been omitted and can be found only on the CD release. 1) If I Should Fall from Grace with God 2) Turkish Song of the Damned 3) Bottle of Smoke 4) Fairytale of New York 5) Metropolis 6) Thousands Are Sailing 7) Fiesta 8) Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant/The Rocky Road to Dublin/The Galway Races 9) Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six 10) Lullaby of London 11) Sit Down by the Fire 12) The Broad Majestic Shannon 13) Worms 14) The Battle March Medley 15) The Irish Rover 16) Mountain Dew (bonus track, not on original release) 17) Shanne Bradley (bonus track, not on original release) 18) Sketches of Spain (bonus track, not on original release) 19) South Australia The Pogues: Shane MacGowan – vocals, guitar Spider Stacy – tin whistle, vocals James Fearnley – accordion, piano, mandolin, dulcimer, guitar, cello, percussion Jem Finer – banjo, saxophone Andrew Ranken – drums, vocals Philip Chevron – guitar, mandolin Darryl Hunt – bass, percussion, vocals Terry Woods – cittern lute, concertina, strings, banjo, dulcimer, guitar, vocals Additional personnel: Ron Kavana – banjo, spoons, mandolin Kirsty MacColl – vocals on "Fairytale Of New York" Siobhan Sheahan – harp Brian Clarke – alto saxophone Joe Cashman – tenor saxophone Paul Taylor – trombone Chris Lee – trumpet Eli Thompson – trumpet Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

• published: 16 Sep 2014
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