This Is The Life

Amy Macdonald | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 19, 2008)
• Original Release Date: August 19, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca U.S.
• ASIN: B0017OLUUC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,446 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Mr. Rock & Roll

2. This Is The Life

3. Poison Prince

4. Youth Of Today

5. Run

6. Let's Start A Band

7. Barrowland Ballroom

8. L.A.

9. A Wish For Something More

10. Footballer's Wife

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Amy MacDonald is that proverbial old head on young shoulders, a Scottish singer-songwriter who, despite her tender 19 years, writes songs with the grace, wisdom, and proficiency of one with a score more on the clock. As influenced by the Libertines as by any venerable old folk hand, the eleven songs on This Is the Life combine a traditional, acoustic folk-rock sound with a youthful spirit and self-assured lyrics that veer between the observational and the confessional. "Poison Prince" is a jagged guitar strut dedicated to some Doherty-like bad boy, a song every bit as pathos-laden as the Libertines at their doomed, romantic best with a closing treatise to find "An upbeat song/So we can dance the night away," while "Mr. Rock & Roll" begins as a wryly withering jibe at some perennial party animals, but by the chorus has softened into a subtle, touching tale of human coupling. MacDonald's age doesn't seem to have been an impediment--"Youth of Today," reportedly written when she was 15, is one of the better tracks here, while "Footballer's Wife" is a clear-headed attack on vapid Barbie-doll celebrity that suggests this girl is very much on the right track. "Rolling Stone, here I come, watch out everyone/I'm singing my song," she sings on "Let's Start a Band." Let that be a warning to you. --Louis Pattison

Amy MacDonald Photos

Product Description

At just 19, Glaswegian singer-songwriter Amy possesses a talent way beyond her years. Since signing to Vertigo, Amy has had a phenomenal few months. She's supported a diverse mix of artists including Travis (her childhood idols!) and fellow Scott Paolo Nutini. She's performed at Glastonbury, Hyde Park Calling, T In The Park and V Festival. She also sold out the renowned Scottish venue King Tuts. She's a favorite of Elton John, too! 10 tracks including the singles 'Mr. Rock & Roll' and 'Poison Prince'. Universal.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Exquisitely Talented Amy MacDonald October 5, 2007

By Cheapskate

Amazon Verified Purchase

The most wonderful things happen when you least expect it. I was absentmindedly listening to an English radio station on the internet and suddenly I was in a happy place thinking that I was hearing a classic Fleetwood Mac or Eagles track. But it dawned on me, I hadn't heard this before. The tune was Mr. Rock and Roll. I totally flipped out, caught the name of the singer and hunted the internet to find out more. My twelve year old daughter came to my rescue got me to YouTube and we watched the video. After that I was hitting the play button again and again like a chimpanzee being rewarded with grapes. I couldn't get the tune out of my head. Then I began to feel uncomfortable. The vocals didn't give it away. Amy MacDonald was nineteen when she recorded This Is the Life. Was this the start of a mid-life crisis? Thankfully, it turned out that the album has resonated with the middle-aged, with apparently many sharing the joy with their kids. Besides Mr. Rock and Roll, the majority of the remaining tracks are just as catchy and melodic, sung with a voice that is rather hard to describe, peaches and grapefruit is about the best I can come up with. The acoustic guitar is addictive.

This is the absolutely the most enjoyable rock or popular music I have experienced in a very long time. Listening to this album certainly is the life.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amy to please! March 2, 2008

By Nigel Sawyer

A friend of mine from England recently sent me this CD and I'm finding myself listening to it daily. There's a spate of talented female singer/songwriters deservedly coming to the fore in the UK right now, names such as Duffy, Adele, Kate Nash and Amy Macdonald.

Amy is a 20 year old Glaswegian who released this, her first album, in July 2007. It entered the UK album charts at No. 2 and stayed in the Top 10 for a while before gradually slipping down the charts. Then, for some reason, it came back around Christmas time (probably when everyone was buying it as a present for friends and relatives) and in early January 2008 it went to No. 1 for one week. Amy wrote all the songs on the album herself and plays acoustic guitar on every track. Her voice somehow sounds much older than that of a 20 year old. She also seems to have an "old head on young shoulders" as her subject matter is very mature.

There's one song called "Footballer's Wife" where she asks where all the real stars have gone, like James Dean and Fred Astaire, when today reality TV contestants and footballer's wives all think they're stars of the same calibre, which is partly the fault of the public who are prepared to settle for making overnight stars of them.

Macdonald recently supported Paul Weller (formerly of The Jam and now a renowned solo artist) on tour and he has named the track "Run" from this album his favorite song. In fact, Weller would stand in the wings every night and watch Macdonald perform the song.

"Poison Prince" is a song about Pete Docherty of the band Baby Shambles (and drug-addicted boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss). Macdonald met Docherty on one occasion and found him to be very charming, intelligent and poetic but hated the fact that all of these qualities are obscured from the public's eyes because of Docherty's notorious drug addiction and frequent wild behaviour.

This is an excellent CD overall and one of the best I've heard in a while. Be sure to get this version and not the international release as this version contains the brilliant extra track, "The Road To Home" and the wonderful hidden track, "Caladonia".

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a great album August 31, 2007

By S. MCBEATH

This is the debut album from much talked about Amy MacDonald. Currently the female music scene is full of `The Streets' equivalents such as Kate Nash/Lilly Allan, and then there's Rihanna who seems to be on the radio 24/7. So when this 19 year old from Bishopbriggs came onto the scene with her catchy folkish acoustic pop songs; it felt like a breath of fresh air.

The album title `This is the Life' is appropriately named as it reflects the theme of the album as a whole. The songs give you the impression, she never had any doubt about what she wanted to do with her life and that she has always had the drive and ambition to achieve it. You can almost picture her when she was younger sitting in her bedroom with her acoustic guitar dreaming of making a career out of music. Unlike many who continue to dream, she did something about it and penned her thoughts about her dreams and ambition in to her songs. In fact the tune, `Lets start a band', is like seeing Amy's thought process in how she decided to make music. The song starts off with trumpets, singing about dreaming of being in a successful band and appearing in Rolling stone magazine. Furthermore she would only enter a band with someone if they wanted the same things as her. The middle section of the song goes into a kind of opera style singing which acts as a good build up because it gathers the momentum of the song leading to its climax; chanting "Let's start a band", repeatedly, you can feel the excitement.

Another song which echoes the theme of dreams is the joyful `Barrowland Ballroom'. For those of you who don't know `The Barrowlands is a legendary venue in the East end of Glasgow. Its one of those venues many artists aspire to play and from this song, it shows Amy is no different as she sings; "I wish that I was on the stage". In this song, Amy captures the essence of `The Barrowlands' brilliantly, "The lights outside are as bright as the sun, their much brighter than everyone". To me the song also implies that Amy's influences are from the 70s and 80s rather than more modern music through the lyrics:

And I wish that I saw Bowie, playing on that stage,
I wish that I saw something, to make me come of age

However her `My Space' page shows that most of her influences are modern, with bands like Guillemots, Kings of Leon and Arcade fire, to name but a few.

As well as the feel good chirpy folk/pop songs; Amy gives an insight into the other side of her song writing through `Youth of today' and `Footballers wives'. These songs are lot more scaled down, as if Amy is making people hone in on the lyrics because the issues covered are ones she feels more strongly about. In `Footballers Wives', Amy vents her annoyance about footballers wives getting lots of press coverage just because they are married to a famous footballer, e.g. `she thinks she's some kind of star, yes you know who you are, I don't think so'. While in the `Youth of Today' she sings about the older generation not giving enough respect to the younger generation, e.g. `It's just your one sided opinions that keep getting in my way'. These songs show that MacDonald is not afraid to say what she thinks and turning them into songs which convey powerful messages.

Having not even mentioned the superb hit single `Mr Rock n Roll' and her great take on Dougie MacLean's `Caledonia', which reflects well on the strength of the album as a whole. From this effort, it is more than apparent she has an abundance of talent, and at just 19 years old; I get the feeling the best is yet to come...