Shane MacGowan Snake CD

THE SNAKE is the first album, released in 1995, from ex-Pogue Shane MacGowan and his band the Popes. Sinead O'Conner guests on "Haunted." The album is unavailable in the U.S.

Shane MacGowan, who made a name for himself as the bandleader of the Pogues until they got fed up with his asinine, self-destructive behavior and kicked him out of the group, returned with a new band (the Popes, get it?) and a bracing set of new songs that draw heavily on traditional Irish folk music while pinning your ears back with a raucous, full-frontal rock sound. The album opens with a bang: "Church of the Holy Spook" is either an oblique expression of twisted religious faith or an all-out assault on the Roman church; it's impossible to tell which. Its refrain is based on the chorus to "Give Me That Old-Time Religion," and it pounds into your skull like fists against a cathedral wall. When that tune segues into a headlong romp through the traditional "Nancy Whiskey," you know you're in for a wild ride. The band uses banjo, whistle, and pipes as well as electric guitars, so no matter how aggressive the sound gets, you never really lose that folky Irish flavor. The farthest MacGowan gets from his roots is on the schlocky "Haunted," a maudlin duet he performs with Sinéad O'Connor. That track and the bizarre "Mexican Funeral in Paris" are the only musical missteps on this enormously exciting album; though he still hasn't brushed his teeth, cleaned up his language, or quit drinking, MacGowan seems to be on the brink of some kind of renaissance. Here's hoping he keeps it up. ~ Rick Anderson

UK reissue of the former Pogues vocalist/ leader's 1995 solo debut, deleted in the U.S. 16 tracks, including the singles 'You're The One' & 'Haunted' (a duet with Sinead O'Connor), plus a duet with Maire Brennan of Clannad that was featured in the 1995 romantic comedy 'Circle Of Friends', which co-starred Minnie Driver & Chris O'Donnell. Standard jewelcase.

Shane MacGowan And The Popes: Shane MacGowan (vocals); Paul McGuiness, Kieran "Mo" O'Hagan (guitar, vocals); Tom MacAnimal (tenor banjo); Colm O'Maonlai (whistles); Berni "The Undertaker" France (bass, vocals); Danny Pope (drums, percussion).

Producers: Dave Jordan, Shane MacGowan, Trevor Horn.

Engineers: Niall Flynn, Steve Musters, Darren Westerbrook, Richard Rainy, Chris Dickie.

Additional personnel: Brian Robertson (guitar); Barney McKenna (tenor banjo); John Sheahan (fiddle, whistle); Siobhan Sheahan (Irish harp); Tomas Lynch (Uillean pipe); Sarah Jane Tuff (alto saxophone); Rick Trevan (tenor saxophone); Dick Cuthell (trumpet); Paul Taylor (trombone).Rolling Stone (8/24/95, p.100) - 3.5 Stars - Good - "...THE SNAKE...is as impressive as anything he has done, mostly because he's seriously expanded his musical repertoire....His talents are as profound as the demons that haunt him, and the battle between them rages on..."
Spin (7/95, p.73) - 8 - Very Good - "...has worked the miracle of swimming to shore, toweling off, and turning his plunge into another sweet and sneaky set of tales. He even conveys a bit of wisdom acquired during the pickling process. Mostly, though, there's salt--meaning bawdiness, of course..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/30-7/7/95, p.100) - "...the ex-Pogue combines his patented faux-traditional Irish reels with some healthy blasts of guitar grunge....A spiked stew of Celtic-flavored rock that goes down easy." - Rating: A-
Alternative Press (5/95, p.79) - "...prove[s] that whatever went wrong with the Pogues at the end, it wasn't any dimming of MacGowan's punk intuition....A cunning album (!), a stunning comeback (?), THE SNAKE is MacGowan revitalized, reborn. Delapsus resurgam--when I fall, I shall rise..."