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Formats and Editions
1. Sunnyside of the Street, The
2. Sayonnara
3. Ghost of a Smile, The
4. Hell's Ditch
5. Lorca's Novena
6. Summer in Siam
7. Rain Street
8. Rainbow Man
9. Wake of the Medusa, The
10. House of the Gods
11. Five Green Queens and Jean
12. Maidrin Rua
13. Six to Go
14. Whiskey in the Jar - (Bonus Track)
15. Bastard Landlord - (Bonus Track)
16. Infinity - (Bonus Track)
17. Curse of Love - (Bonus Track)
18. Squid Out of Water - (Bonus Track)
19. Jack's Heroe's - (Bonus Track)
20. Rainy Night in Soho - (Bonus Track)
More Info:
Hell's Ditch was released in 1990, was produced by Joe Strummer of the Clash, whose punk/politicized rock was long an influence on The Pogues. Highlights of the band's last disc to feature Shane MacGowan include the modern rock hit 'The Sunnyside of the Street', 'Rain Street, and 'The Ghost of a Smile. Six bonus rarities include Whiskey in the Jar', Curse of Love and Rainy Night in Soho.' Intro book essay by Tom Waits and extensive liner notes by Gavin Martin.Reviews:
''Hell's Ditch'' is the fifth full-length album by The Pogues, Released in 1990, the album continued the group's slow departure from Irish music, giving more emphasis to rock and straight folk rock, and forsaking their earlier staples of traditional compositions almost entirely.
Several of the songs on the album have Asian themes, in sound or in content, notably "Summer in Siam", "The House of Gods", and "Sayonara", although only the latter has strong elements of a noticeably far-eastern tune. The song "Lorca's Novena" draws on Pogues' lead singer and songwriter Shane MacGowan's affinity for Spain (particularly Almería, which he discovered years earlier when filming ''Straight to Hell''), and the famous Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. The song tells of the poet's murder by Francisco Franco's Nationalist supporters in the Spanish Civil War, and how his body, never having been recovered, was said to have walked away. "The Wake of the Medusa" is a first person narrative inspired by Théodore Géricault's painting ''The Raft of the Medusa'', which appeared on the cover of the band's second album, ''Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash''. The title track "Hell's Ditch" is based largely on the life and writings of French author and playwright Jean Genet, in particular ''The Miracle of the Rose'' and ''Our Lady of the Flowers'', and is typically MacGowan in its vulgar description of squalid life in prison.
The album was produced by The Clash's Joe Strummer, who later served as a temporary replacement for MacGowan when the band went on tour. - Wikipedia
