Any fans of Kirsty MacColl here?

[Sober]

Hey,

So I knew Kirsty because of Fairytale of NY, like most of you I guess. But I wasn't familiar with her work at all. For some reason, I was afraid it would be pop music for young college girls (don't throw rocks at me). On a whim, I ordered The Best of Kirsty MacColl. The front cover of the CD didn't do anything to put my doubts to rest. It looks like it's some kind of pop music for young college girls. Here it is:



So anyway, so far I like the CD. Some songs are indeed to poppy to my taste. For some reason, I was hoping for something more eclectic. Some songs are gems though, and I really love her voice. I just wanted to know what others here think of her. And I'd like opinions by real fans (or non fans), not by people who listen to her just because she was the guest vocalist on Fairytale of New York.

[The Duke of Ingmar]

I admit I bought my first Kirsty record, "Electric landlady", because I knew her from FONY. But apart from two songs I like the record a lot, especially "All I ever wanted", "He never mentions love" and "We´ll never pass this way again". A lot of Kirsty´s songs have a very special kind of sentimentality or sadness about them which I really like.

During the following years I bought lots of her stuff (well, it´s not THAT much, considerung she was around from the early eighties), but there are some standout songs throughout her career. The classic "There´s a guy works down the chip shop swears he´s Elvis", of course. Billy Braggs´s "A new England", too. Her duet with matchbox on "I want out". "See that girl", "Eighty year old millionaire", "Soho Square", all excellent songs.

Yes, some songs are too poppy for me, too. And I´m not so much into Latin (South or Middle American oder Caribbean)music, so I prefer her older records. But all in all she was a fine singer and an excellent songwriter.

Go for "Electric landlady", to me it´s her best album.

[Jon]

Kirsty's harmonies on the 12" A New England are brilliant, well worth looking out for a copy if you can find one - it's all her voice, what a range!

Electric Landlady is a brilliant album, my favourite CD is, "What Do Pretty Girls Do", a compilation of BBC Sessions - nice and 'raw'

http://www.kirstymaccoll.com/music/albu ... _girls_do/

[Sober]

I admit I bought my first Kirsty record, "Electric landlady", because I knew her from FONY.

That's ok. What I meant is that I am sure some people listen to her because they think it's cool, because she was in FONY. I just didn't want answers from fanboys who want to be trendy on a Pogues forum.

[James]

She's one of the best songwriters this countrys ever produced. They Don't Know is a tune right there.

[philipchevron]

She's one of the best songwriters this countrys ever produced. They Don't Know is a tune right there.

"They Don't Know" was an astonishing debut. It indicated, straight out of the box, that Kirsty was not just an instinctively great writer but a real craftsperson too. If Elvis Costello had written it, the Sixth Form Rock Press would've been all over it like a rash.

[soulfinger]

I think Kirsty was wonderful. I probably play tropical brainstorm most often, In these Shoes is genius and Ehgland 2 Columbia 0 is too.

[fluke]

Yes, I'm an absolute fan!!!

[Sober]

I like her so much now that my father will be lucky enough to receive one of her cds for Christmas.

[Rich]

OK, this is all ages old by now, but I haven't been around the board much lately and I've just seen this.

Kirsty is my favorite singer-songwriter of all time, and Kite is my favorite record of all time, and means more to me than any other album. For me it's kind of like Sgt Pepper's and Pet Sounds rolled into one.

Titanic Days is a close second for me. I love Electric Landlady and Tropical Brainstorm, but for the most part the songs on those records never grabbed me the way Kite and Titanic Days did.

I think it's fun to listen to the way her records evolved over the years. I think of Early Kirsty (characterized by girl-group and country/rock-type stuff) and Later Kirsty (everything from Kite on -- I think her songwriting advanced by leaps and bounds with that album), with a kind of transitional period in the middle around the time of "A New England" and "He's On The Beach" where you really hear her starting to master the layered vocal technique that was her trademark later on. When I make "Best Of" lists I always take tracks from every era of her career, though, because she did some absolutely classic stuff right from the start. "They Don't Know" is still one of my fave pop songs of all time, and as Philip states is an astonishing debut, and sometimes I think it may be the best thing she ever did.

But it's also hard to top "Caroline," which is completely underrated and never gets the love it deserves, and is one of those songs I can listen to 15 times in a row and not get tired of it.

I was so pleased that they did such a wonderful job with the box set, cos I was afraid it would be one of those sloppy projects record labels throw together "Paint A Vulgar Picture"-style. But it was clearly a labor of love, and they did a really terrific job with it.

My greatest musical regret is that I never made it to a Kirsty gig.