(Continuum/33 1/3)

www.continuumbooks.com

When the music of the Pogues first made its way across the waters from England in the mid-80s, the sound was a revelation to American ears bombarded by synth-driven "new wave" and homegrown nerf metal (thanks, Chuck!). Here was a band that combined the reckless energy and attitude of punk rock with the timeless, organic roots of traditional Celtic folk music, including reels and jigs and waltzes. It was unlike anything we'd ever heard before (or since)....

Rum, Sodomy & The Lash was the Pogues' second album, produced by none other than Mr. Elvis Costello, and originally released on the other side of the pond in 1985. Whether due to the Costello connection, or perhaps just the raucous nature of the music that refused to be confined to just one continent, both of the Pogues' first two albums found their way into American music stores at the time as imports, where they were welcomed with open arms by adventurous stateside rock music fans.

Today the Pogues are a fondly-remembered entry in rock's big book of history, breaking up in 1996 after a run of fourteen years, and leaving behind an impressive catalog of seven classic albums that are highlighted by Rum, Sodomy & The Lash and 1988's If I Should Fall From Grace With God. Writer Jeffrey T. Roesgen takes another look at the Pogues' sophomore album as part of Continuum's acclaimed 33 1/3 series.

Roesgen takes a unique tact in approaching Rum, Sodomy & The Lash, revisiting the album with a perspective that is part critical, part fanciful. In between offering the band's memories on making the album, broken up pretty much song-by-song, Roesgen weaves a fictional narrative that places the band members on a voyage across the ocean, the tale set over 100 years previous to the album's reality.

If such a manner of discussing a classic album sounds a bit...ah, shall we say...dicey, just fergitaboutit! Roesgen is a talented scribe that has created a book that works on two completely distinctive levels. First is the straight journalistic approach, with various band members talking about the album's songs, the recording studio, producer Costello, even London in the mid-‘80s. It's interesting stuff, and informative, but it tells only part of the story.

The other half of Roesgen's Rum, Sodomy & The Lash is the fictional story, with Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Cait O'Riordan and the rest of the gang riding onboard the Medusa, entertaining the ship's crew on their ill-fated trip to Africa. Roesgen's flight of fancy is based on the true story of the Medusa, which was abandoned by its Captain and crew after being grounded. The writer's re-working of the tale is inspired in turn by the album's nautical themes and imagery (the cover itself a reproduction of a famous painting about the real-life shipwreck).

Roesgen's work casts the album's individual songs in a different light, fleshing them out with his imaginative prose, prompting the reader to look at the life behind the words and music and interpret each song through their own prism. It's an approach that wouldn't have worked on most of the albums covered by the 33 1/3 series, but it works like a charm for Rum, Sodomy & The Lash. By the end of the book, you find yourself caring about the characters brought to life by Roesgen and wondering what will happen next. Kind of like a Pogues album.... REV. KEITH A. GORDON