Kirsty Maccoll - Kite
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.17 You Save: $10.81 (64%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.38 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Kite
Free Music Review: Soaring "Kite"
Hit: 5 Stars
The Album:
Some rock fans have tended to accuse their favorite artists of becoming insufferable softies in the wake of marriage and parenthood, as if any perceived decline in the quality of the artist's music is blamed on the artist losing his or her mysteriousness and "cool," instead of on the listener's own inability to identify with the artist's new mental state. That said, singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl made 1989's Kite -- only her second full-length album of all-new material to be released in her first 11 years as a recording artist -- after marrying record producer Steve Lillywhite in 1984 and then devoting the next few years to raising their two young sons... The former pub-rocker mostly works in Smiths-style Brit-pop here, except for detours into country (the weary-but-hopeful single "Don't Come the Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim!") and jazz ("Fifteen Minutes"), and a sweet cover of the Kinks' "Days" (one of MacColl's biggest UK hits); HOWEVER, a look through the lyric sheet should assure you that becoming a wife and mum didn't turn Kirsty soft.
Kite kicks off with the 1-2 punch of "Innocence," a bouncy single packed with wickedly funny put-down lyrics ("Your pornographic priestess left you for another guy / You frighten little children and you always wonder why"), and the ferocious single "Free World," an attack on Margaret Thatcher's England. Other standouts include: "Fifteen Minutes," a wry comment on the crassness of fame ("In Sunday papers every week / The silly words you love to speak / The tacky photos and the phony smiles / Well, it's a bozo's world and you're a bozo's child ... Your 15 minutes start now"); its less-snide flip-side, the jangly "What Do Pretty Girls Do?", which ponders the plight of an It Girl once her 15 minutes are up and she can no longer coast on looks or popularity; "The End of a Perfect Day" (co-written with Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr), on which MacColl advises us that good times can't last forever; and "Tread Lightly," on which she warns us that getting what we wish for may not be all it's cracked up to be. To audiences who prefer blander and more sugar-coated sentiments in their pop music, many of Kirsty's lyrics here may seem extremely cynical, but I consider them refreshingly honest.
The Extras:
Kite was the first of two albums MacColl released on the Virgin label; earlier this year, EMI/Virgin reissued both this album and 1991's Electric Landlady, expanding them with bonus tracks. One of the extras on Kite is a slightly cleaned-up radio edit of "Free World" (minus the epithet "shag"); the remaining 9 bonus tracks are B-sides, including a cover of the Smiths' "You Just Haven't Earned it Yet, Baby" (which she had recorded for the soundtrack of John Hughes' 1988 comedy She's Having A Baby), a lively cover of Anna McGarrigle's "Complainte Pour Ste. Catherine," the self-penned French number "La Foret De Mimosas," a cover of Marty Robbins' country hit "El Paso" (!), a pair of so-so remixes, and a demo of "End of a Perfect Day."
Free Music Review: Used to merely love it, now in my top 10
Hit: 5 Stars
This re-mastering, re-sequencing and re-visiting of this unbelievably fulfilling album has made me understand how much I missed the first time I loved it. Musically and lyrically there is not a weak link here. Kirsty's own songs are probably the strongest, despite the amazing co-scriptings by Johnny Marr and Pete Glenister. I want to know who, besides Joni, can write such densely involving and engaging lyrics, with traditional rhyming patterns, where no rhyme is forced, no cliché is unintended, and you recognize the life around you in every image, sound and inflection. Let's please not even talk about the vocal harmonies, that's a novel right there. What you come away with more than anything is a tiny pie slice of who this woman must have been. I admit it, when I listened to it before, I thought, the world can't be that bad, if it has Kirsty in it. Without her, the world is still better for her, and for this unbelievable record. As soon as I finish listening to it right now, I'm going to listen to it again.Free Music Review: The Late Great Kirsty MacColl
Hit: 5 Stars
Before the Internet, before sampling stations at the major record chains, the only way to judge a cd was either a recommendation or by judging a book by its cover and just buying it and listening to it. I bought this cd when it first came out just because I liked the cover, and boy what a find. This is a great pop cd by an extremely talented artist whom we lost too soon. Soaring pop, some pseudo-country ("Don't Come the Cowboy"), plaintive ballads. Highlights are "The End of a Perfect Day," "Free World" (which zooms by at a breathtaking pace), "Innocence," "Tread Lightly," "Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim." Excellent and highly recommended.Free Music Review: amazing talent
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the first Kirsty MacColl disc I ever bought and along with Tropical Brainstorm, it remains my favorite. These would be two of my "desert island" discs, without question. An awesomely talented singer and songwriter, Kirsty is sorely missed. If you are unfamiliar with her work, this is a great disc to start with. There is sort of a 60's pop feel to this one, and not a dud in the bunch. I cannot reccommend this disc highly enough.Free Music Review: Time only carries this album's reputation higher and higher
Hit: 4 Stars
When "Kite" first came out in the US, I was mystified when it didn't become a hughe hit. It was catchy, intelligently written with the ringing tones of power pop and witty lyrics to boot. I was dumbfounded to find out that hardly anyone bought it. I was even more surprised when I heard that this was trading for big bucks on Ebay. I'm pleased to see that it's available again (if only as an import)to be rediscovered by a world that's undeserving if they don't make this a huge seller.
I miss Kirsty's wit, songwriting chops and singing. There's few songwriters that were at the top of their craft so soon. This expanded edition mirrors the original US version in that it features "You Just Haven't Earned It Baby", "La Foret De Mimosas" and "Complainte Pour Ste Catherine" which were also on the US released in additon to the original 12 tracks of the album. Also included are a killer B-side "Happy", "Am I Right?", a cover of Marty Robbin's "El Paso" three remixes of album tracks and the original demo of the MacColl/Marr original song "The End of a Perfect Day".
There's a note by producer/ex-husband and friend Steve Lilywhite about the recording of the album as well as the original album lyrics. So if you have the original US release (like myself), this is worth upgrading for the four songs not on the original CD. The three remixes are OK the real gem, though, is the original album. Sadly, Kirsty MacColl was killed at the young age of 41 while swimming. She was hit by a boat in waters where boats were restricted. I miss her wit and I only spoke to her once in an interview by phone. I can't imagine what those who were close to her feel. Pick up this great album, enjoy her music and enjoy.
More Free Music Notes:
1 2
1 2