Waiting for Herb is a 1993 album by The Pogues

The Pogues

The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...

, their first without former lead singer Shane MacGowan

Shane MacGowan

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan is an Irish musician and singer, best known as the original singer and songwriter of The Pogues.-History:...

. The album saw the band continue to expand their musical reach past the traditional Irish

Music of Ireland

Irish Music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th, and into the 21st century, despite globalizing cultural forces...

 roots it had been founded on, and was only their second full-length album without a single traditional song. The album featured the track "Tuesday Morning", which was the band's first Top Twenty hit since "Fairytale of New York

Fairytale of New York

"Fairytale of New York" is a song by the Irish rock group The Pogues, released in 1987 and featuring the British singer Kirsty MacColl. The song is an Irish folk style ballad, written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan, and featured on The Pogues' album If I Should Fall from Grace with God...

."

With MacGowan (who was often considered the heart, soul, head and liver of the band) departed, his singing and songwriting duties fell to the other members. While Spider Stacy

Spider Stacy

Peter "Spider" Stacy is an English musician. He is one of the founding members of London Irish band The Pogues.- External links :* [Twitter @SpiderStacy] [myspace.com/spiderstacythepogues]*...

 took the role of lead vocalist, much of the songwriting fell to Jem Finer

Jem Finer

Jem Finer is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues.-Life and career:...

, who along with Terry Woods

Terry Woods

Terence 'Terry' Woods , is an Irish folk musician, specialising in playing the mandolin and cittern. He is known for his membership in such folk and folk-rock groups as The Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, The Bucks and, briefly, Dr. Strangely Strange. Prior to being a founder member of...

 had previously been the most prolific songwriter apart from MacGowan. However, the album saw contributions by other members who had not written songs for the band previously, including James Fearnley

James Fearnley

James Fearnley is an English musician. He plays accordion in the folk/punk band The Pogues.As a child he was a choir treble, but his voice changed at the age of sixteen. He took piano lessons but did not enjoy it, so he chose to learn the guitar instead...

, Andrew Ranken

Andrew Ranken

Andrew Ranken is an English drummer, best known as the percussionist for the English-Irish band The Pogues.He joined the band in 1983 and appeared on all of their recordings and tours until their breakup in 1996. He went on to join the bands Metropolitan Waterboard and Kippers, fronted by...

, and Darryl Hunt

Darryl Hunt (musician)

Darryl Hunt is an English musician, most famous as the bassist of The Pogues from 1986 until their breakup ten years later...

. Ranken also sang lead vocals on "My Baby's Gone".

Upon the album's release, there was some speculation that the "Herb" in the title referred to marijuana; however, according to Stacy it was from the name of a German pornographic cartoon character.

Track listing

1. "Tuesday Morning
   Tuesday Morning (song)
   "Tuesday Morning" is a song recorded by The Pogues. It was released in 1993 as a single from their first post-Shane Macgowan album, Waiting for Herb. It was the band's last single to make the UK top 20, and the first single to feature Spider Stacy on vocals. The song itself was composed by Stacy...
   
   " (Stacy) - 3:30
2. "Smell of Petroleum" (Finer) - 3:13
3. "Haunting" (Woods) - 4:04
4. "Once Upon a Time
   Once Upon a Time (The Pogues song)
   Once upon a Time was a single released by The Pogues in 1993 from their sixth album, Waiting for Herb. The song was the bands last ever single to chart in the UK, making number 66, before the band broke up in 1996 following the release of their seventh and final album, Pogue Mahone. The song was...
   
   " (Finer) - 3:55
5. "Sitting on Top of the World" (Finer/Fearnley/Woods) - 3:37
6. "Drunken Boat" (Fearnley) - 6:38
7. "Big City" (Hunt) - 2:41
8. "Girl from the Wadi Hammamat" (Ranken) - 4:53
9. "Modern World" (Hunt) - 3:55
10. "Pachinko
    Pachinko
    is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
    
    " (Finer) - 3:09
11. "My Baby's Gone" (Finer/Ranken) - 2:24
12. "Small Hours" (Finer) - 4:31

On 2004 Re-issue

13. "First Day of Forever" - 3:20 (Chevron)
14. "Train Kept Rolling On" - 3:18 (Ranken)
15. "Paris St. Germain" - 3:07 (Stacy/Woods)

Personnel

• Spider Stacy
  Spider Stacy
  Peter "Spider" Stacy is an English musician. He is one of the founding members of London Irish band The Pogues.- External links :* [Twitter @SpiderStacy] [myspace.com/spiderstacythepogues]*...
  
   - vocals
• Jem Finer
  Jem Finer
  Jem Finer is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues.-Life and career:...
  
   - banjo, soprano sax, hurdygurdy, guitar, pachinko, backing vocals
• James Fearnley
  James Fearnley
  James Fearnley is an English musician. He plays accordion in the folk/punk band The Pogues.As a child he was a choir treble, but his voice changed at the age of sixteen. He took piano lessons but did not enjoy it, so he chose to learn the guitar instead...
  
   - accordion, dulcimer, guitar, piano, harmonica, clarinet, banjo
• Andrew Ranken
  Andrew Ranken
  Andrew Ranken is an English drummer, best known as the percussionist for the English-Irish band The Pogues.He joined the band in 1983 and appeared on all of their recordings and tours until their breakup in 1996. He went on to join the bands Metropolitan Waterboard and Kippers, fronted by...
  
   - drums
• Philip Chevron - guitar, backing vocals
• Terry Woods
  Terry Woods
  Terence 'Terry' Woods , is an Irish folk musician, specialising in playing the mandolin and cittern. He is known for his membership in such folk and folk-rock groups as The Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, The Bucks and, briefly, Dr. Strangely Strange. Prior to being a founder member of...
  
   - vocals, mandolin, concertina, cittern, banjo, bazouki
• Darryl Hunt
  Darryl Hunt
  Darryl Hunt is an African American man from Winston-Salem, North Carolina who, in 1984, was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of a young white newspaper copy editor, Deborah Sykes, but was later exonerated by DNA evidence...
  
   - bass, backing vocals
• David Coulter - percussion, ukulele, foghorn
• Michael Brook
  Michael Brook
  Michael Brook is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores....
  
  - guitar, keyboards, mixing, engineer, producer
• Debsey Wykes - vocals
• James Pinker - percussion
• Hijaz Mustapha - strings
• Richard Evans - engineer, mixing
• Nick Robbins - engineer
• Russell Kearney - assistant engineer
• Tony Cousins - mastering

External links

• Boston Irish Reporter on the Pogues after Shane