If I Should Fall from Grace with God
| If I Should Fall from Grace with God | ||||
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| Studio album by The Pogues | ||||
| Released | 18 January 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1987 | |||
| Studio | RAK Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Celtic punk, folk punk, Celtic rock, folk rock | |||
| Length | 51:43 | |||
| Label | Pogue Mahone/Warner Music Group (UK & Europe) Island (US & Canada) |
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| Producer | Steve Lillywhite | |||
| The Pogues chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
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Original 1988 US & Canada album cover
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| Singles from If I Should Fall from Grace with God | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| The Irish Times | |
| Mojo | |
| NME | 10/10 |
| Q |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Sounds | |
| Uncut | |
| The Village Voice | B+ |
If I Should Fall from Grace with God is the third album by Irish folk-punk band The Pogues, released on 18 January 1988. Released in the wake of their biggest hit single, "Fairytale of New York", If I Should Fall from Grace with God also became the band's best-selling album, peaking at number 3 in the UK Album Charts and reaching the top ten in several other countries.
If I Should Fall from Grace with God saw the departure of original bassist Cait O'Riordan and the addition of her former bandmate Darryl Hunt, Phil Chevron and ex-Steeleye Span member Terry Woods to the line-up. Woods and Chevron (the only two members of The Pogues actually born in Ireland) contributed the first original songs to a Pogues album not written by singer Shane MacGowan or banjo player Jem Finer, and the album also saw the band begin to move away from their Irish folk/punk roots and start to incorporate musical styles from other parts of the world, most notably Turkey and Spain. Many of the songs' lyrics return to familiar themes in Pogues songs, such as emigration from Ireland or returning to the country and having to adapt to the changes that have taken place after a long absence, but other tracks dwell on Irish political history or protecting children from the issues encountered as adults.
Critically acclaimed, If I Should Fall from Grace with God marked the high point of the band's commercial success. Finer called the record "a very cohesive album that drew on a lot of styles. Everything came together and it was very focused. That [album is] really the creative peak for me, in terms of the whole band being on a wavelength."
The Pogues had received acclaim for their previous album Rum Sodomy & the Lash, released in August 1985, and had begun 1986 on a high note as they embarked upon a successful tour of the USA, their first in that country, and released the Poguetry in Motion EP which became their first top 40 hit in the UK. However, the relationship with their producer Elvis Costello was deteriorating, and tensions were further heightened by his romantic involvement with the band's bass player Cait O'Riordan. The group parted ways with Costello, and after increasingly erratic behaviour which included not turning up to play shows, O'Riordan also left the band in October 1986. During this period The Pogues' record label Stiff Records went into administration: as the label still owned the rights to all Pogues recordings, the group were unable to record any new material until they were released from their contract with Stiff. During 1986, the group occupied themselves by guesting on a cover version of "The Irish Rover" with the Dubliners, and taking part in Alex Cox's comedy action film Straight to Hell, shot in southern Spain and also starring the Clash's frontman Joe Strummer.
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