The 1986 Listening Post - The Men They Couldn't Hang - How Green is My Valley

The Men They Couldn't Hang - How Green is My Valley

#198/1343

1986 Housekeeping

The Men They Couldn’t Hang 

How Green is My Valley

Genre: Pogue’s-lite

4 out of 5

Highlights:

Ghosts of Cable Street

As much as I love their first album, the second one was... nice. 

I was working on a commercial in Canada with the director that made his bones as a top video director in the 90s. He directed among other videos, Pops “common people”. He knows his music, he knows the history of music and he loves soccer! When we were working we were talking about this project. He was really curious to know what I have discovered that I loved so much. And when I finally said, oh! The men they couldn’t hang!“ He just looked at me, quizzically and said, “oh they’re OK...”

If the first album was a kind of revelation, this one is super just ok. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/how-green-is-the-valley/264621980

The 1985 Listening Post - The Men They Couldn't Hang - Night of a Thousand Candles

The Men They Couldn't Hang - Night of a Thousand Candles

#324/959               LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

1985Housekeeping

The Men They Couldn’t Hang

Night of a Thousand Candles

Genre: Folk Punk

5 out of 5

Highlights:

The Day After

A Night to Remember

Johnny Come Home

The Green Fields of France

Ironmasters

Kingdom Come

It’s 11PM. 

I’m drinking Orange SodaStream & Gin.

My daughter just gave me the last hug of the day. The wife’s asleep. I need this drink. After a long day of Zack telling me that I should die, that he will poison me, that I should stop telling jokes (he doesn’t mean any of it, he thinks he’s being funny) he ended the night with the biggest hit and told me he loved me and that “I’m a bad boy. I didn’t mean any of that. I love you so much.”

So, I need that drink.

And I should probably drown my emotions in something more drink-y like The Pogues but this band’s number came up.

I’m happier now. 

So, I guess it’s got to go without saying that if I didn’t know anything about The Pogues, there’s was no chance that I would have any inkling about these guys. Who are fuckloads better. I don’t mean that as a slam but this is right up my alley. I bring up the Pogues cuz, from what I read, they came together at a festival playing alongside Shane and the gang. 

This is something different. 

This is the heirs to The Clash. 

Oh…and they are still around. 

Why did no one tell me?

https://music.apple.com/us/album/night-of-a-thousand-candles/293440321