Customer Reviews

Galore: Best of Kirsty

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Kirsty was a daughter of the great folk singer Ewan MacColl and his influence inevitably shows in her music, but she was very much of her time. Kirsty was always keen to experiment and the results were not always brilliant, but the best of her music is to be found on this outstanding collection. Apart from experimentation, Kirsty's success was limited by her desire to lead life to the full and raise a family as well. She died in a high-speed boating accident while still in her early forties.

Most of the songs on this collection were written by Kirsty, often but not always on her own, including They don't know (a song which provided Tracey Ullman with her first hit), There's a guy works down the chip shop swears he's Elvis, He's on the beach, Free world, Don't come the cowboy with me Sonny Jim (a song covered by Kelly Willis on her Easy album) and Walking down Madison.

Kirsty was also well capable of recording distinctive covers of other people's songs. Their diverse sources show that Kirsty was not a lady that anybody could typecast. They include A new England (Billy Bragg), Miss Otis Regrets (Cole Porter - one of two duets with Irish rockers The Pogues), You just haven't earned it yet baby (The Smiths), Days (The Kinks) and Perfect Day (Lou Reed - a duet with Evan Dando of the Lemonheads).

Her biggest UK hit was the other duet with the Pogues - a Christmas song titled Fairytale of New York. It can be found on several British Christmas compilations and is not really typical of Kirsty's music. I would describe Kirsty's music as sixties pop rock updated for the eighties with a little folk and country added into the mix.

If Kirsty had pursued her career with single-minded dedication, some say she could have been a world megastar. Maybe, but she wanted a life outside music. As a consequence, her musical legacy is limited, but the quality more than makes up for that.

I started seeking out this CD about three years ago, when I first heard Kirsty's poignant holiday classic "Fairytale of New York" (with Irish punkers the Pogues) on a free-form radio station. I finally came across a $20 import copy a few months back, and I must say Galore: The Best Of... was truly worth the money and the wait. The first thing that struck me about this 1995 MacColl sampler was her awesome taste in cover material: Billy Bragg's "A New England," Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets," the Smiths' "You Just Haven't Earned it Yet Baby," the Kinks' "Days," and Lou Reed's "Perfect Day."

The more I listen to it, though, I am more impressed with her musical and lyrical range. "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" is piano-driven rockabilly (a la Jerry Lee Lewis); "My Affair" is Latin-pop; "Free World" and "Innocence" are pure '80s Brit-pop; "They Don't Know" is '60s girl-group-style pop. The New Wave-y "He's on the Beach" tells of a friend's life-crisis; in the ersatz country ballad "Don't Come the Cowboy with Me Sonny Jim!" Kirsty plays a woman who's been jerked around too many times (best line: "I fell out of favor with Heaven somewhere, and I'm here for the hell of it now"); the jangly, power-poppish "Caroline" has Kirsty playing a girl who steals her best friend's man ("I think I've gone too far this time / I've leapt across that thin blue line / God help this selfish heart of mine"); in "Walking Down Madison" she addresses homelessness and inner-city life over a gentle hip-hop beat; the lush, pretty "Titanic Days" picks apart a love affair gone sour ("His arms, his face, the way my words got twisted out of place"). My favorite track is still "Fairytale of New York," in which a woman picks up her lover at the drunk tank on Christmas Eve for what may be the last time.

Smart, honest, and often witty lyrics delivered with energy and a sweet voice, this is quintessential British pop, female pop, singer-songwriter pop, pop PERIOD. Though MacColl is no longer with us (she was killed in a boating accident in 2000), Galore stands as a perfect introduction to her brilliant and all-too-brief career. Thanks, Kirsty, for the music!

I used to think that I.R.S. records was one of the coolest labels around. Not only did they give the world R.E.M. but they rescued Kirsty MacColl when she was dropped by her first label. They even reissued Kirsty's albums "Kite" and "Electric Landlady," and in 1995 released this CD, which is one of the greatest "best of" compilations EVER.

But since then, I.R.S. appears to have become just another label, more concerned with marketing and sales than with great music. Both "Kite" "Electric Landlady" have fallen out of print in the U.S. as has the equally superb "Titanic Days." To make matters more insulting, I.R.S. has let this title fall out of print as well.

This is a crime, as every song on here is magnificent, catchy, and sung with a gorgeous voice. Look for this one high and low, and never relinquish it if you find a copy, and maybe one day it will be back in print where it belongs.

By all means, get your hands on a copy of this CD! Few singer/songwriters can match this undiscovered gem for either vocals or lyrics. If hilarious sarcasm is your bag, you've found your savior! "Don't Come the Cowboy..." hits the macho-acting-sensitive-guy act on the head. "He's on the Beach" is wistful with soaring vocal harmonies. "My Affair" features brilliant wordplay over a Latin beat. If you haven't yet heard "Fairytale of NY" (with the Pogues), then you haven't yet found your new favorite Christmas tune. "Free World" and "Innocence" are like a one-two punch of spot-on cynicism.

MacColl's lyrics have a brilliance so rarely found in pop music--dare I compare her to Elvis Costello? The bitterness, the hilarity, the clear-eyed view of the world around her is unmatched. And on every track here you'll hear the vocal gifts that have attracted such artists as the Smiths and Billy Bragg (among others) to them. Kirsty has a whole second career as a backing vocalist. You may also recognize "They don't know" as Tracey Ullman's one-hit, but it was written by the lovely Kirsty. And just see what she does to Bragg's "A New England" and the Smiths "You Just Haven't Earned it" and Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". A superb pop stylist. Buy this CD if you can find it. Buy anything by this brilliant artist!

I was roaming through the aisles at the grocery store when I heard a song over the store's sound-system that stopped me in my tracks. It was a tune that I dimly remembered from the 80's... "They Don't Know," which got some play on MTV (back when they played music videos) when it was recorded by Tracy Ullman. But it was definitely not Ullman singing it. It sounded like a lost classic girl-group recording from the 60s, and for some reason I needed to own it. I can't say why; I don't really care much for that type of music. But this perfectly crafted pop gem, and that voice, exerted an irrestible pull.

After a couple of phone calls to friends who specialize in music from the 50s and 60s, I discovered that what I had heard was not some lost recording by the Shirelles, but a song by Kirsty MacColl, a legendary if generally underappreciated English singer/songwriter who sang with lots of 80s alternative rock bands and recorded 2 albums of her own.

"Galore," a "greatest hits" album, is a very pleasant mix of MacColl's original compositions, with a judicious selection of covers and collaborations (including the most astounding version of the Kinks' song "Days" that I have ever heard). It covers a lot of ground, stylistically; everything from latin-inspired pop (sounding sometimes very much like David Byrne's "Rei Momo"), to honky-tonk, to even include a couple of tracks with the Irish punk band The Pogues and one with Evan Dando. The quality of the songwriting and performances is amazing; in the words of Billy Bragg, quoted in the liner notes, "She writes like a playwright and sings like an angel."

Be warned, however... This album does have a somewhat dated "80s" pop sound that might not agree with everyone. I find it somewhat irritating to listen to in places. For anyone who likes 80s pop music, though, this is absolutely an essential disk, and in any case it is well worth it for the remarkable talent on display here.

It's ridiculous that Kirsty wasn't a big success in the US. It's tragic that she was taken from us so soon. But it's inexcusable that people can't buy this collection here any more. For heaven's sake, someone call Rhino Records or a similar label and get them to reissue her wonderful albums ASAP! In the meantime, keep trying to get ahold of this gem, it's worth every penny you might have to spend!

Fabulous 18 track "best of" collection of this criminally overlooked singer and songwriter. Although Kirsty was tragically killed in a boating accident in Mexico last year her music lives on and this collections serves as a superb introduction to her all too brief career. Her lyrics were witty, poignant, and scathing (sometimes all at once) and her melodies catchy and memorable. There is not a skippable track on this compilation and although one can quibble about the shortened versions of both "Walking Down Madison," and "Miss Otis Regrets," it is worth every effort to add this often hard to find CD to your collection. Pronto!

I don't want to overstate my case, but this is one of the greatest records I've ever heard in my life. Kirsty MacColl was a brilliant artist. A genius, probably. "They Don't Know", originally released as her debut on Stiff Records when she was only 18, is sparklingly flawless. The perfect pop record. "Fairytale of New York", her collaboration with Shane MacGowan, takes the listener on an evocative cinematic journey complete with flashbacks and fast forwards to tell a funny, yet heartbreaking tale of love gone terribly wrong. It is one of the best songs I've ever heard by ANYONE. "He's On The Beach" puts the listener through so many shades of emotion that it's hard to really explain it. It's happy and sad and hopeful and wistful and it leaves you with both a feeling of loss and a feeling of triumph, and maybe it even tugs at a part of you that longs to make a getaway but has no idea where to go. "Caroline" tells the familiar story of a love triangle fraught with bad karma and guilt, but it does so within such a perfect pop framework that the song is a revelation. In a perfect world this song would have been a monster hit, as would every song on this record. All of the songs here are lyrically wonderful, but they're also incredibly well crafted musically. Breathtaking harmonies, sterling production, but never over-produced. I could go on about every song on this collection, but if you're wondering whether or not you should buy this record, the answer is YES, BY ALL MEANS, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAN, BUY IT! You will not be disappointed. If you don't like this record, you're wrong. Kirsty MacColl had the voice of an angel and her loss is even sadder because she was never fully appreciated in life by the public at large. She deserved a much better fate than to be relegated to the fringes of the music scene as a cult artist. I defy you to listen to this record and not agree that she was one of the most talented artists of our time. Of ANY time.

Truly a 'Best Of' that encompasses the many faces of Kirsty MacColl. Flying solo she achieved greatness in her own right and writing as in 'They Don't Know'; 'He's On The Beach'; 'Free World'; 'Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sunny Jim!' and many more. Her rendition of 'Fairytale of New York' with The Pogues is absolutely folk-rock-heart spot on. And these days it has been meaning a lot to me in pre-Christmas 2002...
Equally. she makes her version of 'New England' something one can only bow before. Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' is more touching than ever. And her own 'Titanic Days' quite sublime.
Her loss was great, certainly - more than a certainty. But let's be grateful for all that she left us. Her talent, her wit, her voice, her good taste, her unique folk-rockability lending itself to so many unique melodies!

Kirsty MacColl had her first hit in 1981 with the humorous There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop ... and in 1984 she scored with her interpretation of Billy Bragg's A New England. In 1987 she had a UK number 2 with Fairytale Of New York, the duet with Shane MacGowan, in 1989 she placed her version of Thank You For The Days on the charts and in 1991 she scored big again with the haunting Walking Down Madison. Throughout the 1980s Kirsty also provided backing vocals on recordings for Talking Heads, the Smiths, Rolling Stoners, Simple Minds and Van Morrison amongst others, while comedienne Tracey Ullman had a hit with MacColl's They Don't Know.

This brilliant album showcases her considerable talent as composer and singer. Besides the aforementioned highlights, it includes a stirring version of Lou Reed's Perfect Day, her own version of They Don't Know and the poignant Don't Come The Cowboy with Me Sonny Jim. Kirsty had a distinctive voice with a natural country flavour, very special and recognizable. Other great tracks on Galore include Miss Otis Regrets, You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby, Caroline and Angel. Galore is the best album for exploring this obscure but highly talented singer, although her solo albums like Kite and Electric Landlady should not be neglected.