If I Should Fall from Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story

As a Pogues fan, I really appreciated this intimate look at Shane MacGowan. Although Shane's sweet side comes out in his lyrics, I never really knew too much about the man. Yes, the one on one interviews w/ Shane were very hard to understand, but it's worth watching nonetheless. The film cast Shane as the sweet drunk at the party, both witty and romantic. Obviously not all the results of Shane's relationship w/ "the drink" were shown, especially as it related to his leaving the band. It's in impossible for me to rate this film objectively as Shane is one of those artists who really spoke to me as a teenager and I've loves his work ever since.

There is a deleted scene on the DVD showing Shane MacGowan, the subject of this documentary, in a bar playing "Kitty", a love ballad from the first Pogues album. Out of the drunken stupor he has put himself into comes a glimmer of the genius this man once had. And then he finishes the song and returns to his drink.

MacGowan was the founding member and many would argue the driving force behind an Irish Folk/Punk band in the 1980's called The Pogues. They released several albums that are considered master works before it all fell to pieces due to Shane's heavy drinking. The film follows MacGowan around London and across the strait to Ireland as he prepares for a concert with his new band, The Popes. Along the way we hear the story of one of the punk generation's greatest song writers, told through interviews with MacGowan's parents, his wife, former band mates, and MacGowan himself. We also see archive footage and music videos interspersed thoughout. The difference between the Shane making the music he is known and loved for and the Shane of today mumbling drunkenly through songs is striking and sad. Its a great film, and I highly reccomend it, escpecially to parents trying to teach their kids about the dangers of addiction.

My one-line summary says it all. This movie is a must for fans of the Pogues and Irish music in general. The performance and video clips are fantastic. One of my particular favorites is the sequence where an incomplete collection of the band members, all quite young, are performing a raucous song (Waxy's Dargle) and Spider Stacy is using a drink tray as a tambourine by bashing his head into it. Looks like it would have been great fun to see live.

As were the Pogues themselves, of course. I had the good fortune to see the band in concert four times between 1987 and 1991, and have seen the Popes twice since then (and tried a third time - see below.) In all cases it was a visceral experience. The music surged through my veins and Shane's almost completely unintelligible singing provided a counterpoint. (One generally had to know the lyrics to the songs pretty well to sing along with them; little help was to be expected from Shane. But that was part of the experience.) The highs in this documentary are high indeed.

But the utter enjoyment is somewhat tempered by the footage of the current-day Shane McGowan. The alcoholism that eventually led to his ouster from the Pogues has had its predictable, ever-increasing effect on him. (The last time we tried to see the Popes, we got to the House of Blues in Chicago and were told at the door that Shane had not been able to make it out of Boston. Seeing this documentary, I think my suspicions as to why were more or less correct. Not that it was hard to deduce.) There is a tinge of sadness in watching recent clips and trying to decipher what he is saying. Were he not who he is, the observer would think he is seeing a barfly on a particularly bad night. But Shane is who he is; the Pogues would probably not have been the phenomenon they were had he been habitually sober. Genius is often driven by demons, and this is clearly the case here.

When all is said and done, the tinge of sadness and pity is there, yet Shane does not come off as in any way pathetic, at least in my opinion. Ultimately you just appreciate all he has meant to the music world and wish him some more time to contribute.

Bittersweet also describes the brief appearance of the late Kirsty McColl, singing her duet with Shane (the greatest Christmas song ever written, "Fairytale of New York." I'm only partially facetious in that statement.) I saw her in concert once, in 1995 or so. Great show. But she was run over by a speedboat in Cozumel just before Christmas a couple of years ago, in full view of her children. A damn shame.

No question, this one's a must. 9/10

P.S. There is a current band that comes close to filling the hole the Pogues left. They are called "Flogging Molly." The musical style and performance level is very close to the Pogues in their prime. I think it's not quite there, because they don't have the key ingredient of McGowan's booze-soaked voice, but they're damn good. Buy some CD's and give them a listen - you won't regret it. (And, no, I am not employed by them!)

There's no VH1 Behind the Music episode dealing with Shane MacGowan or the Pogues, so this perhaps comes the closest to such an animal. It's a frank look at Shane, and what has gotten him to this stage in life where he's an Irish icon, but in a constant state of drunkenness and God knows what else. It also details his amazing songwriting over the years, and features numerous live clips and video clips. Also has a few insightful interviews from Nick Cave and Phil Chevron, among others.

If you're a fan you'll find it somewhat insightul and very funny, and well worth watching.

HOWEVER

If you're not a fan of Shane, the Pogues or Irish music, it would be hard to recommend, which is why I gave it 9 instead of 10. Call it a nod to those who haven't discovered Shane yet.

I was so moved when I saw this film it brought me to tears. You see I am an alcoholic too, as is Shane. I saw this after having relapsed after seven years sobriety. I wept openly and still believe he is a genius inspite of his madness. Don't dwell on his interviews which he was incoherent. Listen to the words of the songs he has written and the way in which they were performed. You will see his genious too. In the mean time please pray for both of our recoveries.