Kirsty Maccoll - Tropical Brainstorm
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Free Music Notes for Tropical Brainstorm
Free Music Review: This Swan Song Disc Should Have Made Kirsty a Household Name Far and Wide!
Hit: 5 Stars
If you like latino music--Cuban in particular--and British pop, Tropical Brainstorm is definitely the place to come! I bought this album on a whim in 2001 because it sounded like something that was right up my alley, and I was correct from the very first listen. I know there is such a thing as love at first sight, but love at first hear is far more lucrative when you hear an album that has such a stunning impact. I didn't know until after a few months of my purchase that Kirsty had been killed in such an unfortunate situation, and was grateful that her death had nothing to do with my loving the album, so that is something of a mercy. All I regret is that she will not be around to follow up on such a clever and ambitious project.
From the fantasy culture friendly ode to the hard working, happy Cubans in "Mambo de la Luna," to the final bonus track of this issue, "Good for Me"--which has a strong Todd Rundgren ala Something/Anything feel to it, this little hour-long hurricane is all good, and then some.
"In These Shoes?" is a cute, sexy Cubano-tech dance romp, but "Treachery" is just so funny and bouncy that it--well...it makes you want to "dance around in your socks!"
"Here Comes that Man Again" is an obviously humorous poke at international porn on the web with a greatly appreciated nod to the Clinton/Lewinski scandal: "Another stain on another blue dress."
"Celestine," however, is the ultimate piece de resistance, as it is an ode to the tramp in all us women who would otherwise be inhibited. Mine's name is Roxy!
"England 2 Colombia O:" Cute play on soccer scores instead of baseball like here in the U.S.. In another blunt description? Janis Joplin's "Women is Losers."
I could go on and on about the wit and talent that went into this marvelous album, but you are missing out if you don't get this particular version of the album because of the superb bonus tracks. They make it all that much better. I love British jazz, and there is tons of it on here in addition to the latino and pop feel. "Golden Heart" is such a lush and lavish arrangement, winsome and romantic all at once, I'm surprised nobody has covered this track yet. "Good for Me," is Kirsty falling in love again shortly between her divorce and unfortunate death.
My favorite? "Things Happen." Beautiful, simple acoustic jazz guitar accompaniment to a song of unrequited longing for a man who doesn't know the girl exists. Definitely been there and done that, cliche' as it sounds.
An album that is rich in melody, generous on humor and lyrical portrayals, and absolutely huge in underrated talent, you must own this if you know anything about albums that are worth owning and playing repeatedly in your personal collection. Great swan song, Kirsty and, wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying yourself in your tropical/British pop-jazz paradise!
Free Music Review: Like Kirsty -- It Glitters, It Shines
Hit: 5 Stars
I first heard of Kirsty MacColl back in 1989 or '90, singing "Fairytale of New York" with The Pogues, the most clever, heartbreaking, and lovely Christmas song. It is like Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life," hung up with tinsel and mistletoe. Kirsty's talents come out in full form with "Electric Landlady" from 1991. "All I Ever Wanted," "He Never Mentioned Love," "We'll Never Pass This Way Again," and "Halloween," are so wonderful because they aren't overwrought, and as a songwriter, she refuses to romanticize love all out of proportion, turning it into something niave, artificially sweet, and marketable but ultimately silly and unfamiliar. Kirsty proved that something intelligent could happen while translating relationships into songs -- that the pain and frustration they create could be transformed into something lovely, in part because these things are so familiar to people who have been in love. (Kirsty and Lloyd Cole are the only ones who seemed to get it.)
The Latin-Cuban influence heard on "My Affair" courses through "Tropical Brainstorm" from start to finish and the results are simply brilliant. Beneath the marvelous beats and rythms of islands is classic Kirsty. Love still goes wrong in "England 2 Colombia 0," "Autumngirlsoup," and "Wrong Again," but more often than not it is smart and sardonic, as in "Designer Life," "Celestine," and "Us Amazonians." My favorites -- "In These Shoes," "Treachery," and "Here Comes That Man Again" -- place Kirsty on top, well in control . . . sort of . . . in three different situations with men, and involve her protagonists and: (1) the problems they have with very stylish but inconvenient footwear; (2) "infidelity" in the record store leading to stalking and voyeurism, and (3)cybersex and voyeurism.
"Tropical Brainstorm" is now being released in the U.S. just over a year following it's appearance in Britain, and not quite half a year since Kirsty's death. The album gets better with every listen and, of course, leaves her heartbroken fans wondering what would have come next (probably not the "thrash album" she promised after her very last appearance on "Later With Jools Holland", but who, I ask, would have complained?).
All of Kirsty's albums deserve to be heard over and over again, and for the newcomer "Tropical Brainstorm" is a fantastic beginning. For the rest of us, who loved Kirsty and miss her terribly, this recording confirms what we already knew: she was a singular talent, ruthlessly honest about love's joys and sinister leg-traps, gorgeous, vulnerable, luminous, and simply beautiful.
Free Music Review: A winning and satisfying farewell
Hit: 5 Stars
Less than a week after I bought 1995's Galore: The Best Of..., I picked up this album, as it was the only other one of Kirsty's I could find in the racks. I know there's no way Ms. MacColl could have known that this would be her last album (unlike George Harrison on 2002's Brainwashed), but this 2001 posthumous release feels like a small masterpiece just the same. The Latin-pop sound of her 1991 gem "My Affair" can be heard in at least 9 of these 16 tracks, and her interest in Spanish seems utterly sincere (a la Richman's 1994 CD Jonathan Te Vas A Emocionar) rather than like jumping on some bandwagon. Kirsty's lyrics are funnier and more biting than ever as she sings about "stalking a fan" ("Treachery," possibly my favorite track), cybersex ("Here Comes That Man Again"), the lives of the Amazons ("Us Amazonians"), a single mother returning to the dating scene and dealing with a "serial liar" ("England 2, Columbia 0"), and the "happy little bubblehead" lifestyle of her ex and his new wife ("Designer Life"). "In These Shoes?" (covered by Bette Midler in 2000), "Alegria," "Mambo de la Luna," and "Celestine" are fun dance tracks, but that's not to say that this is a slight effort.
Genial delivery and mostly upbeat tunes aside, MacColl wrote these songs from a mature woman's perspective, with all the pain, wisdom, and resilience that experience brings. In "Nao Esperando," a girl quits waiting around for her man and moves on with her life; in "Autumngirlsoup," Kirsty uses cooking metaphors to describe a sexual relationship and the need for an emotional connection; the heartbreaking "Wrong Again" is the vulnerable flip-side to the witty "England 2...," as she really gets at the pain of being deceived by the man she loves. In songs like "Head" and "Here Comes That Man Again," she writes honestly about sex without resorting to crudeness or being too coy. It's a shame that this had to be MacColl's last album, but at least she went out with a satisfying winner. Oh, and here's a tip: Don't dwell on whether or not she ever would have been able to top this -- just enjoy the music.
Free Music Review: Simply gorgeous
Hit: 5 Stars
I remember exactly where I was when I heard Kirsty MacColl was dead. I was getting off work around midnight in December 2000, and the radio announced that she'd been killed in a boating accident in Cozumel. I immediately thought back to the first time I'd heard her music; on the "She's Having a Baby" soundtrack, she covered The Smith's "You Just Haven't Earned it Yet, Baby", and I've been a fan ever since. The untimely death of this mainly underrated songstress is a huge loss for the music industry. "Tropical Brainstorm" seems a very fitting last album; a breezy, cozy CD that sounds like Kirsty was happy and enjoying life. Her obvious love of Cuba and its history is prominently displayed here, since most songs have a cuban influence. And yet, she never forgets her native Surrey, England, using phrases like "lying git" (on the track "England 2, Colombia 0"). One of my favorite tracks is a beautiful piece called "autumngirlsoup" that is tragic and lovely all at once; "I'm an autumn girl on the endless search for summer", she sings, "'cause I need some love to cook my frozen bones". If you've never experienced her music, there's no time like the present to enjoy it. BUY THIS CD. Anyone in the know understands what a blow to music this tragic loss is- I quote the chilling lyrics of "Alegria": I close my eyes, another dream arrivesTaking me deeper, into the sweet water
Filling my senses with happiness and joy
Alegria, alegria
Happiness and joy
Goodbye, Kirsty- you will be sorely missed.
Free Music Review: A Grabber from the Get-Go
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't know if you've ever had an album absolutely infiltrate you the moment you heard it, but that's what "Tropical Brainstorm" did to me. I took it out of the library on a whim because I had read a few passing things about Ms. MacColl and knew she was a critic's darling, etc., so I took it home. I'm usually resistant to unfamiliar music, but this CD immediately filled me up, it hit all the right spots, it was about the most enchanting thing I've ever heard. I rushed out to buy it a few weeks ago, and it hasn't left my CD player yet. The lush and punchy Cuban beats elevate tunes like "Mambo de la Luna" and "Treachery" to a euphoric high. Some are just so thrillingly beautiful, like "Us Amazonians" (a woman's anthem) that you experience joy just listening to the song unfold. After I got past the wonderful musical arrangements and started paying more attention to the lyrics, the album truly earned its 5 star rating. "Autumngirlsoup," for example, parallels being carved up by an ill-fated affair with being the contents of a pot of soup in one of the CD's most poignant moments. Kirsty MacColl was obviously one gutsy, funny and gifted lady whose deliciously cynical wit and unflinching vulnerability produced some great moments on this CD. It is with such bittersweet feelings that I submit this review, grateful as I am for the joy of discovering this artist and this music, I am equally saddened by the fact that her light has left this world.