From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology

Kirsty Maccoll - From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology

From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology
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CD Details

Artist: Kirsty Maccoll
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set, Import
CD Release Date: 2005-04-04
Music Label: EMI Import
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. They Don't Know
  2. You Caught Me Out
  3. Keep Your Hands Off My Baby
  4. There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swear's He Elvis
  5. Hard To Believe
  6. See That Girl
  7. Queen Of The High Teas
  8. I Want Out
  9. You Still Believe In Me
  10. Rhythm Of The Real Thing
  11. Berlin
  12. Camel Crossing
  13. Roman Gardens
  14. Sticked And Stoned
  15. Terry
  16. A New England
  17. Patrick
  18. He's On The Beach
  19. Innocence (Single Remix)
  20. Don't Come The Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim
  21. Closer To God
  22. Fairytale Of New York
Music CD 2
  1. Free World
  2. You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby
  3. Tread Lightly
  4. The End Of A Perfect Day
  5. Mother's Ruin
  6. Dancing In Limbo
  7. Days
  8. Still Life
  9. Clubland
  10. Other People's Hearts
  11. Don't Run Away From Me Now
  12. Please Help Me, I'm Falling
  13. Miss Otis Regrets/Just One Of Those Things
  14. All The Tears That I Cried
  15. Walking Down Madison
  16. London Bridge Is Falling Down
  17. My Affair
  18. All I Ever Wanted (Re-Recorded Single Version)
  19. Halloween
  20. We'll Never Pass This Way Again
  21. Count On Me (Demo)
  22. Dear John (Demo)
Music CD 3
  1. Angel
  2. Soho Square
  3. Bad
  4. Can't Stop Killing You
  5. Titanic Days (Single Edit)
  6. Tomorrow Never Comes
  7. Caroline
  8. I Am Afraid
  9. The Butcher Boy
  10. As Long As You Hold Me
  11. Perfect Day
  12. Sail Away
  13. Libertango
  14. Golden Heart
  15. Mambo De La Luna (Single Edit)
  16. In These Shoes?
  17. England 2 Columbia 0
  18. Celestine
  19. Good For Me
  20. Manhatten Moon
  21. Sun On The Water (Demo)

Music reviews of From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology

Music Review: A loving tribute to a great artist
Rating: 5 Stars

What was not to like about Kirsty MacColl? The late British singer-songwriter -- perhaps best known Stateside as the lass who sings on the 1987 holiday classic "Fairytale of New York" by Irish rockers the Pogues -- was a fine interpreter of diverse, well-chosen cover material; and she showed impressive emotional and musical range her own clever, catchy compositions. Her sweet, pliable voice made her toughest sentiments more palatable without diminishing their power; and she often used vocal-layering techniques to create Beach Boys-like harmonies from just her own singing. In 2005, perhaps with the 5th anniversary of MacColl's untimely death (in a boating accident in December of 2000) in mind, the label EMI/Virgin paid its respects to this great, if under-appreciated, artist with the lavish 3-disc, 65-track anthology From Croydon To Cuba.

Disc #1 takes us from the retro girl-group, pub-rock, and rockabilly styles of Kirsty's early recordings (including her 1979 debut single, "They Don't Know," and such tracks as "Hard to Believe" and "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" from her 1981 debut album, Desperate Character), to her brief adoption of a more contemporary synth-pop sound (on tracks like "Berlin" and "Roman Gardens" from her shelved 1983 sophomore effort, Real), to the biting Brit-pop of her 1989 comeback album Kite. Disc #2 includes more singles and choice cuts from Kite, as well as material from her warmer and more musically diverse 1991 album, Electric Landlady; MacColl's writing matured profoundly during this time, in her meditations on relationships ("Dancing in Limbo," "We'll Never Pass This Way Again," etc.) and in her more socially-aware songs (like the punkish "Free World" and the dance-oriented "Walking Down Madison"). Disc #3 largely covers her last two studio albums, 1993's Titanic Days and 2000's Tropical Brainstorm: TD followed the breakup of Kirsty's longtime marriage to producer Steve Lillywhite, hence the dark tone of such tunes as the poignant "Tomorrow Never Comes" and the menacing "Can't Stop Killing You"; the more upbeat tunes from the Latin-flavored TB, such as the fun singles "Mambo de la Luna" and "In These Shoes?", were inspired by her sincere, growing interest in the culture and music of Cuba and Brazil.

Scattered throughout the 3 discs are plenty of rare and previously unreleased goodies. Several of MacColl's early-'80s recordings make their first appearance on CD here, such as her gorgeous Beach Boys cover "You Still Believe In Me." The 6 Kite-era B-sides -- especially "Closer to God," an attack on the religious hypocrisy of a faithless lover; the stark "Still Life," another song deftly combining political and personal matters; and the countryish "Don't Run Away From Me Now," which stresses the importance of family loyalty in times of crisis -- are as strong as the tracks that actually made it onto that gem of an album. And although Kirsty didn't release much new material during the latter half of the '90s, a few swell rarities from this period, such as a pretty cover of Randy Newman's "Sail Away," have been included. Among the half-dozen exquisite demos and outtakes here, particularly interesting are the final two -- the showtune-y "Manhattan Moon" (written by former Pogues member Philip Chevron) and the self-penned soft-rock ballad "Sun on the Water" -- which hint at new directions MacColl's music was taking at the time of her demise.

The track-by-track liner notes often mention the commercial failures and record label woes that beset Kirsty throughout her career; but on the whole, From Croydon To Cuba makes a strong argument for why she deserved so much more success than she actually got. This collection serves as a fitting tribute to the intelligent, resilient, outspoken, funny, charming, honest, kind, passionate, and utterly unique lady MacColl was, and as an extensive showcase of her talents.

P.S.: FCTC (like EMI/Virgin's expanded 2005 reissues of Kite and Electric Landlady, and ZTT's 2-disc deluxe 2005 reissue of Titanic Days) is available in North America only as an import -- which is a shame, since I think the material on these discs should be required listening for every female artist in mainstream country, rock, and pop.
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Description of From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology

3 CD retrospective of Kristy's work between 1979 and 2000. Contains all her singles & unreleased tracks including demos from the family archive. EMI. 2005.

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