Kirsty MacColl - From Croydon to Cuba, The Anthology

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A three-CD set, released on the 28th of March.

― davidsim (davidsim), Thursday, 27 January 2005 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

We all love Kirsty!

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 27 January 2005 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I like 'Innocence' a lot, and 'Free World' a ton.

― the bellefox, Thursday, 27 January 2005 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I miss her so much! All of her albums are being rereleased. You know what to do.

― davidsim (davidsim), Thursday, 27 January 2005 17:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I'll be saving up, then.

― William Bloody Swygart (mrswygart), Thursday, 27 January 2005 17:33 (twenty-one years ago)

ALL the albums? including Titanic Days? hurrah!

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Thursday, 27 January 2005 17:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Love her dearly.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Thursday, 27 January 2005 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Only the second and third albums are being re-released (ie the two on EMI), but packed with bonus tracks. There's a DVD in the box set too! (and happily for those who never bought Galore, the box has all the non-album and pre-Kite tracks that the best-of did)

― kit brash (kit brash), Thursday, 27 January 2005 21:59 (twenty-one years ago)

i like that tracey ullmann song

― riana doss, Thursday, 27 January 2005 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

there's no "good heart" the feargal sharkey song ?
i want the dvd to see her legs

― stacey thraw, Thursday, 27 January 2005 22:27 (twenty-one years ago)

she did "good heart" ? Oh.

There's her second Stiff single there that was never issued. "You caught me out" with the Boomtown Rats. She'd signed up to Polydor by then.

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 28 January 2005 09:15 (twenty-one years ago)

And, yes, to Alex in Doncaster: Titanic days is to be rereleased too.

Electric Landlady and Kite on the 28th of Feb.
Titanic days "early March"
The box set: 28 March
The DVD: 28 March

See www.kirstymaccoll.com

― davidsim (davidsim), Friday, 28 January 2005 09:40 (twenty-one years ago)

wizard. Titanic Days is so clearly the very best of them all and now seems to go for £50 a pop on amazon marketplace and I LOST. MY. COPY.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Friday, 28 January 2005 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

urgh YAY for that but BOOOOO for the DVD now being sold separately!

yay if that Stiff/sessions thing happens I guess

― kit brash (kit brash), Friday, 28 January 2005 16:06 (twenty-one years ago)

also WTF re Good Heart?

and none of the reissues have the single version or club mix of Walking Down Madison. odd. especially if that really is the album versh on the box set. actually there's an awful lot of redundancy with the box and album reissues considering they're happening at the same time. leading with the latter is going to massively cannibalise casual sales of the former...

― kit brash (kit brash), Friday, 28 January 2005 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

A Good Heart was written by Maria McKee, you seem to be getting your red-headed songstresses mixed up there.

― ailsa (ailsa), Friday, 28 January 2005 18:50 (twenty-one years ago)

All I need is the Polydor LP. Does anyone know if the whole thing is on the box?

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Saturday, 29 January 2005 01:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Nah, just three songs inc. the non-country versh of Chip Shop

― kit brash (kit brash), Saturday, 29 January 2005 01:40 (twenty-one years ago)

actually there's an awful lot of redundancy with the box and album reissues

Yeah, I really don't know what to do. I originally thought the box set would be a great idea and then I realized it didn't have all of Electric Landlady on it and that bothered me. I guess there are things on the box set you can't get if you just get the reissues though? Well, at least the DVD is a sure bet. Why can't they put the Polydor album out in its entirey, damnit?

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Saturday, 29 January 2005 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

A Good Heart was written by Maria McKee, you seem to be getting your red-headed songstresses mixed up there.
-- ailsa (ailsa_watson7...), January 28th, 2005.
thankyou for correcting me - now i'll buy the cd and dvd
(but i'll skip the pogues songs)

― redhot, Saturday, 29 January 2005 05:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes at first I thought the DVD was included with the box set. Imagine!

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Saturday, 29 January 2005 07:09 (twenty-one years ago)

It was! They've changed plans in the last week or two, fuckers.

― kit brash (kit brash), Saturday, 29 January 2005 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

is it still the non-single version of 'walking down madison' on this?

― mr. anal retentive, Friday, 1 April 2005 21:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Someone played 'England 2, Columbia 0' the other day and I got all teary eyed.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 1 April 2005 22:09 (twenty-one years ago)

but then again... New england, Fairytale of new goddamn york! They don't know. Nearly all of 'Kite'

really, really shouldn't complain.

― mr. anal retentive, Friday, 1 April 2005 22:20 (twenty-one years ago)

This is fantastic.

And near perfect for what I wanted.

I'd owned both Kite and Tropical Brainstorm at one time but never felt completely happy with them (I'm not sure how much of an ear for production she had tbh & this set really benefits some of the 'Kite' material in particular by surrounding it with some variety). I'm in love with her voice though. It's so pure and golden and English.

I suppose it's partly due to her leaving so soon. But there's space here on 3CD's for a neat anthology, which is equal parts hits, rarities & prev.unreleased collection/album highlights (I think ALL the english-language songs from 'Kite' are on this) and really great career-in-development overview.

It covers her early pure pop and girl-group-ish material, her obscure synth-pop stuff (I had no idea about this stuff at all. It's very of the 80's but not at all embarrasing), B-sides like 'Clubland' (this is about as good a 'shit night out' song as 'How Soon Is Now' by The Smiths or 'Nite Club' by The Specials. Very Good), her folky collaborations, her country-ish ditties. I could say more but, basically it gives a great impression of her range as a vocalist and a really human, touching, intelligent, funny, sad, but never maudlin songwriter. I'm not even at CD 3 yet!

In fact my only complaint at all would be with the perfectly boring, tasteful & slightly 'budget' looking packaging. This begs to be wrapped up in something more glittering, gold and gaudy. It's a little box of treasures.

― fandango (fandango), Monday, 11 April 2005 21:16 (twenty-one years ago)

That said, the inner booklet is excellent.

(CD 3 is only improving my total satisfaction with this purchase so far).

― fandango (fandango), Monday, 11 April 2005 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Glad to hear the booklet is excellent. The individual album reissues don't even list the musician credits!

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Monday, 11 April 2005 23:21 (twenty-one years ago)

It is missing a couple of other tracks from Kite (just looked at the discography, and to see what credits there might be on this... ) one of which I recall liking a lot :-(

Bum. Might end up buying those reissues sometime after all. The 'Titanic Days' stuff is great, but seems less easily 'collected' in this format than everything else, which sounds great as a bunch of single songs.

― fandango (fandango), Monday, 11 April 2005 23:38 (twenty-one years ago)

The Titanic Days reissue is out this week and the Kite and Electric Landlady ones are both going for a fiver each in Fopp. Unfortunately, this one isn't.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 09:37 (twenty-one years ago)

So, is Electric Landlady worth purchasing? I have (and enjoy) "Walking Down Madison."

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 12:56 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

I have been listening to the record. The material with Marr c.1989-1991 or so fascinates. I would like to know exactly when he is playing (rather than other guitarists). Some of that work is so fine, including the more obscure tracks - 'Tread Lightly', 'Still Life' and others. Does anyone know more about it?

― the pinefox, Tuesday, 2 August 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

I don't really know much about Marr's work in detail here, I do feel most of his lines leap out at you, but that could be my teenaged Smiths fan ears picking his style out (though it is distinctive, if diffuse, regardless).

An abbreviated 1 CD "Greatest Hits" is out now I noticed, same cover as this set with a just couple more colours on the sleeve.

― fandango (fandango), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 16:24 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

she was pretty unique

― bad hair day house (fandango), Saturday, 2 September 2006 22:28 (nineteen years ago)

wow I have a lot of posts on this thread already :O

God she's great...

― bad hair day house (fandango), Monday, 4 September 2006 21:50 (nineteen years ago)

"Fifteen Minutes" followed by "Don't Come the Cowboy..." are my two favourites.

― I Supersize Disaster (noodle vague), Monday, 4 September 2006 21:53 (nineteen years ago)

I absolutely LOVE "Clubland" off that 3CD collection... way, way too good for a b-side

― bad hair day house (fandango), Monday, 4 September 2006 21:56 (nineteen years ago)

nearly all her synth-pop is in a very dodgy 80's zone (or just dodgy) it must be said...

― bad hair day house (fandango), Monday, 4 September 2006 22:28 (nineteen years ago)

WOW. I ordered Electric Landlady yesterday.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Monday, 4 September 2006 22:44 (nineteen years ago)

I haven't investigated past Kite, Titanic Days and the box set yet :/ is there that much else really?? I didn't like Tropical Brainstorm tbh.

― bad hair day house (fandango), Monday, 4 September 2006 22:51 (nineteen years ago)

it looks like I'm dissing Kite upthread. totally not! though the glossy production still sort of jars.

― bad hair day house (fandango), Monday, 4 September 2006 22:55 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

I'm not sure why on earth I've skipped "Electric Landlady". Looks like there's a bunch of stuff on there I don't know. Ordered!

― ten kebabs maaaaate (fandango), Friday, 22 September 2006 22:36 (nineteen years ago)

Can you and Alfred let me know what you think of it? There are some parts that might be thought of as "cheesy" I guess but it holds a permanent place in my heart, above more than Kite, actually. But I've never been quite sure if my strong feelings about it had to do with what was going on in my life when it came out.

― Ficky Stingers (Bimble...), Saturday, 23 September 2006 01:19 (nineteen years ago)

I think a lot of her stuff could be considered cheesy if you're the kind of listener to get hung up on gauzy 80's production values, if you can get beyond that though it's love, I think.

― ten kebabs maaaaate (fandango), Saturday, 23 September 2006 01:39 (nineteen years ago)

"Electric Landlady" is QUITE wonderful I think... stronger than I thought it would be, maybe equally as much as the records either side, MUCH more melancholy than I was expecting tho' (but not without her usual defiant-spirit songs), Kite > EL > TD is a total downward arc incidentally, no wonder she took a break before coming back with the "happy album" (which I'm v.much going to reinvestigate, I actually like the Tropical Brainstrom tracks off the anthology now). I don't think it's remotely cheesy! I find it deeply touching most of the time.

― dang man listen to you all cock of the walk! (fandango), Friday, 29 September 2006 00:54 (nineteen years ago)

I like EL a lot, bimble. There's a decent Marshall Crenshaw cowrite, a coupla good tough-guitar songs, a fantastically sassy harbinger of salsa exercises to come ("My Affair"), and one of my favorite post-Smiths Johnny Marr collaborations -- as well as being one of the few decent attempts Brit hip-hop tracks ("Walking Down Madison").

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 29 September 2006 01:01 (nineteen years ago)

the vaguely dance/rhythmly stuff works a lot better than I expected right through on this actually... I find myself shaking a leg and singing along to this!

― dang man listen to you all cock of the walk! (fandango), Friday, 29 September 2006 01:12 (nineteen years ago)

BOO to the Madison remixes not being included on reissue!

― occasional mongrel (kit brash), Friday, 29 September 2006 10:53 (nineteen years ago)

I've got this on my ipod but it's daunting to check out 'cause there's so many songs I don't know. What are some good ones to start with?

― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Friday, 29 September 2006 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

So you didn't sneer at My Affair Alfred! That's wonderful. Seems most of the reviewers couldn't take that one if I recall correctly. Chuck if I were you I'd start out with the Johnny Marr guitar of "Children Of The Revolution". "We'll Never Pass This Way Again" is also a fave of mine. Lots of good stuff here, though.

I bought it on CD only about a year ago, having faithfully kept the cassette for eons (I'd cut a little picture out of some British mag of her holding her hand out to the camera and stuck it inside the cassette box). I only played the bonus tracks once, though. Maybe I should dig it out and try them again.

― Punk Juice (Bimble...), Saturday, 30 September 2006 03:02 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

I've loved Kirsty's backing vocals for years across many of my favorite artists but for some reason never dug into her catalog. I recently downloaded "Galore" and thought so much of it that I went out and bought this box set. And it's just terrific - from the new wave of "Berlin" to the salsa of "In These Shoes", it all works for me with the center being Kirsty's voice. She has this comforting vibe that makes me feel like she's singing to me.

(Well, actually a few of the tracks from the unreleased album are a bit weak but still...)

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:50 (sixteen years ago)

eleven years pass...

Twenty years gone.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 18 December 2020 16:57 (five years ago)

R.I.P., she’s never left regular rotation for me. I’m glad that her rep if anything seems to have grown over time. (That sense is not really based on anything specific, it just seems like I see her referred to fondly a lot.)

― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 18 December 2020 17:05 (five years ago)

One of the few acts my wife and I both regularly listen to and enjoy, a never-controversial choice.

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 18 December 2020 17:10 (five years ago)

Electric Landlady remains a touchstone.

― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 18 December 2020 18:06 (five years ago)

six months pass...

I just discovered Guy Pratt's bass channel, and he tells some good stories about working with Kirsty (and shows what he's up to on Walking Down Madison and Days):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwvGQ2ViiCU

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 9 July 2021 14:10 (four years ago)

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