Tim Hoke wrote this review for Green Man Review.
In the end, I had to shut this one off to review it. Why? Because I can’t dance and type at the same time.
When singer Shane McGowan left The Pogues, he assembled The Popes to back him up. The Popes soon started writing their own material and have now released this outing without their boss. There is a strong Pogues influence here, as one might expect, but even stronger is the influence of country music. By “country”, I don’t mean the insipid stuff that my car radio picks up. I mean the hard-driving, no-nonsense country music that my dad used to listen to.
The usual line-up is guitar, bass, drums, and tenor banjo, plus plenty of guest musicians. Tom McManamon’s banjo takes most the instrumental leads. McManamon is capable of playing in a traditional style that would fit right in at a pub session. But more often that country sound takes over and he sounds like Joe Maphus’ banjo-playing evil twin brother. Imagine “Thunder Road” played on a banjo, and you’ll have a notion of what I mean. Paul McGuinness’ guitar work is solid rockabilly, and bassist Bob Dowling and drummer Andy Ireland lay down a solid, danceable foundation. Guests Kieron Kiely and Andy Nolan (Nolan has since joined the band) add the accordions. After hearing this, I can understand why the Stomach Steinway was once a staple of country bands. What this disc begs for is steel guitar, and lots of it. There’s steel on a few tracks, which made me notice the lack of it even more on the others.
McGuinness has a powerful voice, handling all the vocal leads except two. Shane McGowan lends his slurred yet oddly appealing singing to “Chino’s Place,” a bar where “we can be as one–international scum.” Ex-Pogue Spider Stacey adds a spoken word intro and ending to “The Beast,” a cut that is otherwise an instrumental. Some of the lyrics are not family oriented, meaning there is a lot of sex and drugs content. Still, when I’m home alone, I can’t resist singing along with their cover of Kinky Friedman’s “Waitress”.
They aren’t all quite as sordid; mostly the songs are just high energy, good-time songs. “Hillbilly Soul” is a city boy’s affirmation of the music he loves. “Hills of Connemara” tells of the adventures of Irish moonshiners. My favorite cut, “Last Call,” is an invitation (almost a command) to grab your favorite partner for a “last chance for dance.”
There are also a few slow numbers, and the Popes do them very well. “Sleepless Nights” reminds me of The Band. Both the singing and the piano playing sound uncannily like that of Richard Manuel. “New Rose” can only be called a love song, a pretty one at a smooth waltz tempo.
Holloway Boulevard is an impressive debut. I defy anyone to sit still while listening to this.
(Snapper Music 2000)
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