Kirsty MacColl

[colm@mathcs.emory.edu (Colm Mulcahy)]

Yet another attempt to interest the general public in a fine neglected artist.
Yes, I posted about this before (in rec.music.misc), but what the hell.

KITE        Virgin  KM 1, spring 1989       49:24 on CD      39:25 on LP


The Pogues' 1987 album "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" not only served to
establish the band's credibility with some of the more sceptical members of the 
listening public - such as yours truely - it also (re)introduced two powerful 
voices to a wider audience than their own earlier work had reached.  Overjoyed
as I was to hear the great Terry Woods (ex-Sweeney's Men/Steeleye Span/Woods 
Band etc) again, after so many years of silence, the thrill was almost matched 
by Shane McGowan and Kirsty's MacColl's spirited duet on "New York Fairy Tale."   
For an artist who first hit the airwaves at the close of the 1970s with a 
catchy and distinctive single ("They Don't Know About Us", on Stiff Records), 
Kirsty hasn't been as productive as many of her contemporaries.  A fine 1981 
album ("Desparate Characters, Polydor POLS 1035) was followed by a brace of 
singles - and a pregnant silence.  

Husband Steve Lillywhite has produced or co-produced all of her output since 
1984, amounting to several more singles, guest spots for both Billy Bragg
and the Pogues, assorted babies, and finally, in 1989, her long awaited second
album "Kite". 

In all honesty, I approached this album with mixed feelings.  Her last few 
singles had been disappointing, and while her 1985 European hit, a cover of 
Bragg's "New England," had been hailed by all and sundry, but it sounded 
overproduced to these ears - as if her famous producer husband couldn't quite 
divorce himself from his earlier romance with U2.  I still hadn't forgiven
her for giving (a pre-TV era) Tracey Ullmann two of her better hits, even 
singing backing vocals and arranging them for her !  I had almost concluded 
that the *real* Kirsty was doomed to disappear from view.

"Kite" may have been a few years in the making, but the wait was more than
worth it.  I can't think of any other pop release from 1989 that is as charming 
and well crafted.  Her own descripton of it as "nice tunes with bitter and 
twisted lyrics" really doesn't do it full justice.

The album gets right down to business with two exciting, briskly paced songs, 
both featuring excellent vocal harmonies and guitar. "Innocence" is a delightful
romp, with a bassline (courtesy of Pino Palladino) that Paul McCartney would be 
proud of.  

Kirsty opens "Free World" (the lead off single in Europe) with comments on
the Britain of the 1980s:  "I thought of you when they closed down the school,/
and the hospital too./ Did they think that you were better ?/They were wrong !"
and later, after offering some strong advice on how to cope, remarks "I wouldn't
tell you if I didn't care"

Many of the songs display her unique blend of realism, cynicism and razor sharp
humour in the face of adversity and aging.  In "No Victims" she declares "I'm no
victim to pity and cry for,/and you're not someone I'd lay down and die for" 
accompanied, as always, by beautifully layered guitars and harmonies.  This 
leads straight into "Fifteen Minutes," a relatively unadorned acoustic jaunt 
into the world of instant fame: "Then there's always the cash !/Selling your 
soul for some trash./ Smiling at people that you cannot stand./ You're in demand
- your fifteen minutes start now", which unexpectedly takes off at the end into 
a stomping reprise, marking the first appearance of the superb brass section 
(basically Guy Baker and Stuart Brooks (trumpet), and Malcolm Griffiths 
(trombone)).  


Side two opens with a disarming countryish number, the wonderfully titled 
"Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim !"  She gets serious again in 
"Tread Lightly," singing: "It's called a lifetime/At first you never notice/
Then the years go flying by and I say/Tread lightly in your dreams/They might 
come true for you tomorrow".   In the winning "What Do Pretty Girls Do ?" (They 
get older just like everybody else) she takes on a subject close to her heart.

Distressing as I find the 1980s obsession with covers (often misguided, at 
best pointless), I have to admit that Kirsty invariably pulls them off with
a master's touch.  Her treatment of the old Kinks' song "Days" is no exception
- UK record buyers were so impressed that they propelled it into the Top 10 
last summer.

Most of the guitar duties on this release are handled by the very capable Pete
Glenister, who cowrote several of the songs too.  There are also two 
collaborations with ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.  "The End Of 
A Perfect Day" is brisk, and (musically) recalls the best of Marr's old group. 
"You And Me Baby," a sparsely recorded dreamy song about the breakup of a 
relationship, ends the LP - with a touch of strings to round things out.

The CD keeps going with three extra songs, the first of which is her and Marr's
remake of "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby" (the Smiths' staple), which
first surfaced in 1988, on the soundtrack of the film "She's Having A Baby."

                                               ^ 
Kirsty's French language debut, her own "La Foret De Mimosas," can't 
but remind one of the McGarrigles.  By an amazing coincidence, the final track 
on the CD is *their* old classic "Complainte Pour Ste Catherine !"  Dusted off 
and given a right royal rave up by Kirsty and company, a Herb Alpert like brass 
extravaganza wraps things up finally.


Several other tracks turned up on concurrent 10"s and 12"s. "Free World" (KMAN 
1) has the original demo version of the LP cut "Perfect Day," as well as 
a terrific song that really belongs on the album: "Closer To God", and on the 
12" only, the Smiths cover.    The tables are turned for "Days" (KMAN 2), where 
only the 10" features "El Paso", while both 10" and 12" include "Still Life" and
"Happy."  The final (and sadly unsucessful) single from the album was the catchy
"Innocence" (KMAN 3), which appeared just weeks before her father (folk legend 
Ewan MacColl) died: it's inscribed "For my dad".  Apart from two remixes of the 
title cut, one of which is substantially reworked with alternative
instrumentation, we get "Don't Run Away From Me Now" and "Clubland".


All in all, a very worthwhile album.  For some strange reason "Kite" has yet to 
receive a US release.  If you are having difficulty getting your paws on a copy,
you can always sample Kirsty on David Byrne's current "Rei Momo" album !


-- 
Colm Mulcahy           | email address:                 | If a hen and a half 
Dept. of Math & CS,    | colm@mathcs.emory.edu          | lays an egg and a half
Spelman College,       | colm@emory.bitnet              | in a day and a half,
Atlanta, GA 30314      | {sun!sunatl,gatech}!emory!colm | how many ...