Just Look Them Straight in the Eye - The Best Box in Years

Finally, it has been delivered - the box set I awaited for 15 years, a five-disc celebration of everything Pogues.

After all the hunting for import singles and rare compilations, I expected a single disc, not 100-plus tracks, of which I barely owned a handful.

More importantly, Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say ... Pogue Mahone contains every Pogue rarity I ever wanted, live tracks galore, compilation/soundtrack contributions and quietly exposes the best songs of Shane MacGowan's solo years as second-rate rewrites of unreleased Pogues songs.

Finally, the best Irish-rock band of all time gets the set it deserves. (Sorry U2, you four lads are a rock band from Ireland, not an Irish-rock band. Big difference. You make more money by putting the "rock" first.)

Easily the best box set since Tom Waits three-disc Orphans, Just Look Them Straight in the Eye ... illuminates a band many wrote off as an Eighties novelty consumed by the alcohol that fueled them.

Three live tracks from their 1991 tour with Joe Strummer as their temporary lead singer include takes on "London Calling" and "I Fought the Law," the former of which I craved ever since viewing Live at the Town and Country VHS back in college.

The band was never shy about filling out its records with punked-up takes on Irish traditional songs, but they often shied away from overexposed tunes. They given hearty renditions of "The Rocky Road to Dublin" and Danny Boy" here, Pogue-ifying them exceptionally.

With a snippet tacked into "South Australia, "The Kerry Polka" will be familiar to If I Should Fall From Grace With God fans. Hearing the accordion-heavy instrumental flesh out demonstrates the band's musical prowess at its late 1980's peak.

The demo of "Thousands are Sailing" with Philip Chevron's clean Irish vocals replacing MacGowans' barroom slurs reveals an unknown beauty to the song; it was bewildering they didn't let their guitarist take the mic more often.

The later live tracks from a 2001 reunion tour might be the weakest point due solely to MacGowan's rotten gums - odds are even that he's soused when singing, and what should be a great medley of "The Parting Glass" and "Lord Santry's Fairest Daughter" falls prey to marble-mouthed verses.

The set graces us with three demos of their best known track in America, "Fairytale of New York;" while hardly essential they trace the song's evolution into a Christmas breakup song for the ages. For those of us burned out on those verses, Disc 5 includes a strong batch of collaborations with the late Kirsty MacColl.

The last disc closes with a final surprise, an unlisted version of "Goodnight Irene." Before that, almost every classic Pogues tune turns up in alternate form, whether B-Side, Peel Session, live cut or demo. These unreleased versions serve as solid surrogates, so even the casual fan could pick up this set without needing the album versions (not that casual fans of any artist drop $60 on a box set).

Philip Chevron's fun liner notes indicate the archives are filled with many more tracks that suitable for public consumption. This is the cream of the crop, and this cream tops off one luxurious pint of pure Pogues.

For as much as they encourage me, I can't shout "Pogue Mahone" at anyone involved in this collection. But I'll happily shout it toward anyone who listens to this chronicle and still tries to write the Pogues off as a rock novelty.