Kirsty MacColl - Kite
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CD Details
Artist: Kirsty MacCollEdition: Music CD
Format: Extra tracks, Import, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2005-04-05
Music Label: Caroline
Soundtracks:
- Innocence
- Free World
- Mother's Ruin
- Days
- No Victims
- Fifteen Minutes
- Don't Come the Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim!
- Tread Lightly
- What Do Pretty Girls Do?
- Dancing in Limbo
- End of a Perfect Day
- You and Me Baby
- You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby (She's Having a Baby) ...
- Happy [*]
- Am I Right? [*]
- El Paso [*]
- Foret de Mimosas [*]
- Complainte Pour Ste Catherine [*]
- Free World [Radio Version][*][Version]
- Innocence [Guilt Mix][*]
- No Victims [Guitar Heroes Mix][*]
- End of a Perfect Day [*]
Music reviews of Kite
Music Review: You Should've Seen Her With Her Head Held High
Rating: 5 Stars
That's a line from "What Do Pretty Girls Do?". In Kirsty MacColl's case, they write brilliant songs and sing like an angel. MacColl is a "singer's singer", revered by many. I had the good luck to see her in concert, and Lou Reed was in the audience (no doubt thrilled with her version of his "Perfect Day", which she had recorded as a duet with Evan Dando of The Lemonheads). She had a regal stage presence, and would casually toss her thick long red hair while dancing in place in front of her microphone stand with unerring rhythm.
I guess she came by her talent naturally. She was the daughter of British folk pioneer Ewan MacColl (the son of Scottish immigrants) and dancer Jean Newlove. Her father was the U.K. equivalent of Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger. In a supreme twist of irony, he married Pete's singing sister Peggy Seeger, while Kirsty and her brother were raised by their mother. One can't help but wonder if this pivotal event is at the root of her general disenchantment with men and relationships - a recurring theme in her songwriting. Her lyrics are often melancholy, even when couched in a happy arrangement. They are also witty, sardonic, and sometimes even funny.
After a false start in 1979 with a couple flop singles, Kirsty gained some attention with the 1981 album "Desperate Character", which yielded her first British hit single. Record company travails kept her from recording another album ("Kite" came out in 1989). During the in-between years she was much in demand as a background vocalist, often in sessions conducted by Steve Lillywhite. Steve was her husband and remains a famed producer to this day.
She scored big with some singles during this time. Billy Bragg's "A New England" was a hit for her in '85, and she duetted with Shane MacGowan on The Pogues perennial Christmas smash "Fairytale Of New York" (1987). Kirsty always had a large following in Ireland, and her singles did well there over the years.
Most appropriately, she sang with Morrissey on The Smiths single "Ask", and it's B-side "Golden Lights". This single was produced by her husband, who later produced a few of Morrissey's solo albums. It's correct when people say she's "the female Morrissey". Both dealt directly with themes of alienation, despondence, and self-loathing. They were, however, smart enough to be engaging about it.
Every once in a while it's necessary to haul out the word "masterpiece". "Kite" is one such occasion. In my opinion, it's one of the greatest albums of all time. A treat from start to finish. Steve Lillywhite produced it, and calls it her "most cohesive and continuous album". Many hits came off of it, especially her luminous cover of the Kinks song "Days". It's a rare artist that can surpass the power of a great original recording, but here Kirsty makes it seem effortless.
She does it again on her version of The Smiths' "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby" (one of 10 outstanding bonus tracks). "What Do Pretty Girls Do?" is my favorite, with a swinging groove that would've suited Lulu in the 60's. She ventures into international chanteuse territory (like Petula Clark) on 2 fantastic French numbers. Kirsty wrote the beautiful and dramatic "La Foret De Mimosas", and more than does justice to the Kate and Anna McGarrigle track "Complainte Pour Ste. Catherine". There's rock songs, a couple country numbers, grandiose pop with Beatlesque harmonies and production, a couple ballads, and jangly upbeat dance pop. This CD has it all. The bonus tracks are as good as the main album.
After the success of "Kite", Kirsty issued "Electric Landlady" in '91. The Blondie-ish "Walking Down Madison" cracked our Top 40 - the closest she came to an American hit. My second favorite album by her, "Titanic Days", came out in '94 - and some of the songs reflected on her divorce from Lillywhite. 1995 saw the release of her "greatest hits" CD "Galore", which gathered together hard-to-get early singles, the major hits, and 2 singles recorded just for that package - "Perfect Day" and "Caroline". In 2000 she put out "Tropical Brainstorm", which featured many calypso/island rhythms. Her interest in those worldbeats first surfaced on "Electric Landlady". For me, a little of that goes a long way. Consequently, I don't enjoy Landlady or Brainstorm as much as her other efforts. I prefer when she stays within the realms of pop and rock.
MacColl is a study in contradictions. She's sad yet happy, she revels in her freedom yet wishes she wasn't alone. She was a fascinating character. Her untimely death at 41 (in December 2000) from a boating accident was a great loss to the music world. Check out "Kite", "Titanic Days", and "Galore" - and see what you've been missing. Kirsty MacColl deserves to be remembered.
Description of Kite
British remastered reissue of 1989 album, scheduled to include 10 bonus tracks. EMI. 2005.General CDs
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