It's been a long time since 1988 and If I Should Fall From Grace With God came out and the sunny afternoon was a few years after that, on the last Bloomsday I ever spent in a bar. The good folk at Rhino Records have put out a re-issue of the original disc with some extra tunes featuring The Dubliners along with the Pogues, a nice little booklet with an introduction from Steve Earle fondly remembering his 16 minutes as a member of the Pogues — one four minute song each night for four nights — and the years it's taken him to recover from the beer.

The damn disc is still every bit as powerful as I remember it being, and "Fairytale of New York" still makes you cry even when you're sober. The Pogues have been through a hell of a lot over the past 20 years; line up changes, trips into detox, Joe Strummer (kidding Joe it just always seemed so odd a choice but in some ways you were the only one as well) and whatever else the world decided to throw at them. But is spite of, or even because of, it all the music remains as strong as ever and continues to be what matters.
Now if you want to give things a listen before hand, the good folks at Rhino have set up a listening party of varying qualities suitable for most players and machines. To start with they have something they call a Party Player, then they have three different streams for listening parties: album.smi, album 56.wax, and album 100.wax. You can even send an E-Card to every single Pogues fan you know telling them their original version of this disc probably should be replaced by now, and why not do it with this great new version with the bonus tracks.

But seriously now, without a doubt, the Pogues are and always will be one of the great exports of Ireland, and those who don't think so really ought to pull their heads out and look around occasionally. The fresh air will do them wonders anyway.