Folk roots behind big production?
A sickly sweet folktale, highly produced and with a pop leaning that makes it suitable for the ‘let’s get deep’ hour on mainstream radio.
Possibly the audio backing to a homeless charity ad…
But all of this is too harsh, for it is too easy to get swept away with the production element of the recording. Ironically for the engineer, the way the song is recorded is by far the worst part to the song, as it’s over-powering, typical and conservative, with everything crisp, lacking edge and perfectly separated, into neat little boxes. With the narrative so bleak, referring to a man (probably lower class) not being heard, it make sense to keep the rest of the music guttural • especially because of the undeniable folk feel.
Stripping away all the technology and corporate drive, you have a folk song in composition, story, melody, and guitar playing. If the chirpy, bird-like frontman had come into the studio with a sore throat and sunglasses to ease the hangover, you would have had Celtic Roots fans not only happy, but double-taking to see whether the Pogues were dabbling in the art of chart-accessible folk once again.
…These are but a few things to ponder upon whilst you cry into your Digital Guinness.