The Very Best of the Pogues

There's little question that were a seminal band, blessed with great musicians, led by , a songwriter of major vision and talent. This was apparent on their initial singles but it truly blazed on their debut, , an album that artfully walked the razor's edge between Irish traditionalism and venomous, working-class . Though they became more accomplished in later albums, they never strayed from this template. What did change, however, was the group's consistency, largely because their fortunes were tied too closely to those of . His talent burned intensely, but like a supernova, it flamed out quickly as the singer sank into an abyss of liquor and drugs. He could still turn out some great moments, but his unpredictability became a major liability for the group's very sanity and they had to let him go. Ironically, without aboard, started to drift and they only lasted through one more album before calling it a day, leaving behind a body of work that is very well summarized on the European-only compilation, . This concentrates heavily on the group's first three albums, where 's writing was its sharpest and the band sounded best, but it also picks up highlights from erratic albums like and . That's not to say this is a perfect collection; it has a tendency to play toward their inclinations, which means it overlooks such wonderful moments as their stomping salute one of the very best singles of the late '80s and early '90s. Even so, this collection is as good a single-disc retrospective as it could be, and it comes very close to capturing at their very best. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine