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The Kirsty MacColl web site
Overall Rating
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Price £6.99
21 Aug 2004
Release Date
2001
UK Catalog No.
Union Square
Ratings
by freeworld
This
is a collection of singles and B-sides. Actually
it's an oddball collection compiled largely from the Stiff back catalog. It's
almost a direct re-release of the earlier Stiff "essential" collection
with the addition of impressive work with Sharon Shannon and Billy Bragg,
plus a track from father Ewan MacColl (which doesn't fit in well at all).
There are rumoured to be at least five previously unreleased tracks in the Stiff vaults, which would have turned this CD into an essential collectors item. As it stands there's not a whole lot to appeal to the collector, and the track listing is too incoherent to stand on its own as a great collection, though there are undisputably some classic tracks on there. An opportunity missed, possibly.
Let's start with the "hits". The compilation kicks off with the Billy Bragg
composition A new England (which later is
reprised in its longer 12" version). And
why not? The
track became Kirsty's first hit, reaching number 7 the very day she gave
birth to her first son. They don't know is
Kirsty's most famous song, even though the hit version came from Tracey Ullman.
It was the first picture disc ever put out on the label [which prompted
your webmaster to buy it unheard and the rest is indeed history...]. Terry (in
its 12" form) and
He's on the beach should certainly have been
huge hits. This batch of songs is better than many so called "Greatest" collections.
There are a bunch of early B sides songs which are less well known, though they were also on the earlier Essential Collection: Motor on, Patrick, Quietly alone and Please, go to sleep.
Finally, there are some curious inclusions where Kirsty is featured only on backing vocals (if at all). The first is Kirsty's glorious take on the vocal version of Astor Piazzolla's Libertango which was made famous by Grace Jones on her essential 80s Nightclubbing album, and which was performed as guest vocalist for the mighty (yet tiny) Irish button accordeon star Sharon Shannon. Worth buying the CD for this track alone.
Another top song is Bragg's own performance of Greetings
to the new brunette, but the final track is a rather strange inclusion
of a song from Kirsty's father Ewan. One
of his earliest songs, The Manchester Rambler,
it is widely believed to be a traditional folksong, and was written in 1932
for a mass trespass in Derbyshire when 3,000 unarmed walkers
faced gamekeepers with clubs and police with truncheons. The sleeve notes to the Ewan MacColl compilation
Black & White credits
on vocals Ewan, Peggy Seeger, Kirsty's half brothers Calum and Neill as well
as Kirsty and brother Hamish on harmonica. All the same, Kirsty is not
notably audible and it jars in the running order.
Musicians: nobody is credited, check out the original sources.
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