YOURZ
I've been waiting for the pointy stick to land on Ms MacColl only because I knew it would elicit a passionate review from Mine, who is a big Kirsty fan. I must admit I'm generally ignorant of her work, although I'm very familiar with her duo with Shane McGowan of The Pogues on
Fairytale Of New York (if you don't know this classic, check it out
here - best listened to with a skin full and preferably loudly late at night). She's also responsible for a wonderful cover of Billy Bragg's
New England, a version I prefer to the original (sorry Billy).
Imagine my surprise when I listened to the first track on
Electric Landlady and found I instantly recognised it. For the life of me, though, I don't know where I've heard
Walking Down Madison before (for a moment I was convinced it was covered by the Pet Shop Boys, who I definitely don't like - isn't it curious how the mind works - okay, maybe it's just
my mind...)
Anyway, I was kind of hoping there'd be more tracks like it on this album but there aren't. This doesn't mean the rest of the album is crap, because it's not. There are some nice tracks on it. But there's that word again - nice - and I think if you're a regularly reader of this blog you know my feelings on 'nice'.
VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN
MINE
I'm crying. I can't help it. Every time I think about the loss of the songstress who I adored for so many years, I get all teary. I'm very much a "no regrets" kind of girl but oh how I regret not getting on a plane and flying to London when I heard Kirsty had gotten over her decades-long stage fright and was performing. I thought to myself, "I can save up for that. Next year will do." And then she was dead, mown down by a motor-boat driver in Mexico in front of her two sons.
I fell in love with Kirsty when I saw her video for
A New England, where she's pregnant (unheard-of for singers even now) and revelled in
Kite when it came out a few years later. I love that the title for this album comes from Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, after he lived in a flat she owned. I can't say it's my favourite Kirsty album, I love them all. I can say I love
Walking Down Madison, All I Ever Wanted and
My Affair.
But so many of these songs are beautiful. My only problem is listening to them without howling. I miss her so much and on my next trip to London I'll be sure and make a pilgrimage to her memorial bench in Soho Square, dedicated in her memory and a fitting tribute as it reflects a song on her next album, Titanic Days.
VERDICT: TURN IT UP so you can't hear me sobbing
In our collection we also have
Kite, What Do Pretty Girls Do?, Titanic Days, Tropical Brainstorm, The Essential Collection and
The One And Only
