All I Ever Wanted (Kirsty MacColl song)

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"All I Ever Wanted"
Kirsty MacColl All I Ever Wanted 1991 single cover.jpg
Single by Kirsty MacColl
from the album Electric Landlady
B-side "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis (Live)"
ReleasedOctober 1991 [1]
Length3:30
Label Virgin
Songwriter(s) Kirsty MacColl
Marshall Crenshaw
Producer(s) Steve Lillywhite
Kirsty MacColl singles chronology
"My Affair"
(1991)		"All I Ever Wanted"
(1991)		"Angel"
(1993)

"All I Ever Wanted" is a song by English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, released in 1991 as the third and final single from her third studio album, Electric Landlady . The song was written by MacColl and Marshall Crenshaw, and was produced by Steve Lillywhite. [2] It peaked at number 91 in the UK Singles Chart.

Contents

Background

In a promotional video on the making of Electric Landlady, MacColl commented, "'All I Ever Wanted' is a song I wrote with Marshall Crenshaw some time ago. We actually wrote it by post. He sent me a cassette from New York of some chord patterns that he'd put down. Then I put down some vocals and got the lyrics together, and sent it back to him. And he was like 'Well I can't sing this, this is a girl's song', so we put it on hold and now I've finally done it. I recorded it in New York with the Latin band. It sounds great, it sounds like Buddy Holly and Acapulco." [3]

Crenshaw later submitted the song when asked to provide a song for the film That Thing You Do! but it was not selected. [4]

Release

The song was remixed for its release as a single. Three live tracks were included across the single's different formats: "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis", "Walk Right Back" and "A New England". The tracks were recorded live for BBC Radio 1's Into the Night on 26 June 1991. [5]

The song failed to enter the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart and reached its peak at number 91 on 19 October 1991. [6] It also reached number 35 in the Music Week Playlist Chart on 19 October 1991. [7]

Music video

A music video was filmed to promote the single. It was directed by Jeff Baynes, produced by Michael Brown and features Rowland Rivron. [8] [9]

Critical reception

On its release as a single, Andrew Hirst of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner described "All I Ever Wanted" as a "flighty folk number", but added that it was a "strange single choice when far better tunes lay dormant on her excellent Electric Landlady album". [10] Andrew Collins of NME felt it "sounds like an album track" as well as "a kid's TV theme made out of 'American Pie'". He added, "However, I hope it goes to number one for 14 weeks so that Virgin feel shit about refusing to fund Kirsty's first tour. How much did the Paris Angels' limo cost?" [11]

In a review of Electric Landlady, Steve Pick of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch commented how "All I Ever Wanted" "implicitly connects the early Beatles with the bossa nova that had to influence them". [12] Mike Curtin of The Post-Star described the song as "the best 10,000 Maniacs song that the Jamestown, N.Y., folk-rock band never wrote". [13] Casey Seiler of the Jackson Hole Guide noted the song's "rock-guitar twang". [14]

John Kovalic of the Wisconsin State Journal wrote, "The solid, catchy pop of 'All I Ever Wanted' may be the [album]'s strongest selling point". [15] Barbara Jaeger of The Record noted, "The collection has its share of folk-rock tunes, the catchiest of which are 'All I Ever Wanted' and 'He Never Mentioned Love'. The delightful melodies of both are the springboards from which MacColl's voice soars." [16] In The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock , Ira A. Robbins said of MacColl's 1995 compilation Galore, "Galore gives Electric Landlady short shrift by omitting the pure pop delight of 'All I Ever Wanted'." [17]

Track listing

7" and cassette single
  1. "All I Ever Wanted" - 3:30
  2. "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" (Live) - 3:49
CD single (UK #1)
  1. "All I Ever Wanted" - 3:30
  2. "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" (Live) - 3:49
  3. "Walk Right Back" (Live) - 3:38
  4. "A New England" (Live Acoustic Duet with Billy Bragg) - 3:27
CD single (UK #2)
  1. "All I Ever Wanted" - 3:30
  2. "What Do Pretty Girls Do?" - 2:38
  3. "Walk Right Back" (Live) - 3:38
  4. "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" (Live) - 3:49
CD single (US promo)
  1. "All I Ever Wanted" - 3:30
  2. "All the Tears That I Cried" - 3:31

Personnel

All I Ever Wanted

Production

Other

Charts

Chart (1991–92)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [18] 154
UK Singles Chart (OCC) [6] 91
UK Music Week Playlist Chart [7] 35

Related Research Articles

<i>Galore</i> (Kirsty MacColl album) 1995 compilation album by Kirsty MacColl

Galore is a compilation album released by Kirsty MacColl in 1995. It features material previously released on the studio albums Desperate Character (1981), Kite (1989), Electric Landlady (1991) and Titanic Days (1993), among other tracks by MacColl, totalling eighteen songs. Some of the tracks differ from their original releases; a couple of songs, such as "Innocence", are alternate takes, while "Miss Otis Regrets" is a different edit that omits the second half, "Just One of Those Things", performed by the Pogues. On release the album peaked at No. 6, MacColl's highest ever charting album.

<i>Electric Landlady</i> 1991 studio album by Kirsty MacColl

Electric Landlady is Kirsty MacColl's third studio album. Released in 1991, it was her second Virgin Records release and second collaboration with producer/husband Steve Lillywhite. The title is a pun on Jimi Hendrix's album Electric Ladyland.

<i>Titanic Days</i> Album by Kirsty MacColl

Titanic Days is the fourth studio album by Kirsty MacColl, released in 1993. Containing eleven tracks, Titanic Days was sometimes hard to get in years after its release, but it was remastered and re-released in 2005 by ZTT with a second CD of non-album tracks and some live recordings, including a version of "Miss Otis Regrets". In 2012, another remastered re-issue of the album was released by Salvo/ZTT, which again featured a second disc of bonus tracks. This is the final album to be produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite, before they divorced several years after the release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Affair</span> 1991 single by Kirsty MacColl

"My Affair" is a song by British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released in 1991 as the second single from her third studio album Electric Landlady. It was written by MacColl and Mark E. Nevin, and produced by Steve Lillywhite. "My Affair" reached No. 56 in the UK and remained in the charts for two weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">They Don't Know (Kirsty MacColl song)</span> 1979 single by Kirsty MacColl

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis</span> 1981 single by Kirsty MacColl

"There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" is a song by British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released as the lead single from her debut studio album Desperate Character. The song was written by MacColl and Philip Rambow, and produced by Barry Farmer. It reached No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the charts for nine weeks. In the US, the song's British chip shop reference was changed to truck stop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry (Kirsty MacColl song)</span> 1983 single by Kirsty MacColl

"Terry" is a song by Kirsty MacColl, released as a single in October 1983, and charting at No. 82 in the UK the following month. It was her first release after returning to Stiff Records, and was the last in a run of poorly selling singles released between "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" and "A New England". The music video featured an appearance from actor and comedian Ade Edmondson, who played MacColl's rejected boyfriend who got her back after fighting off a rival man. The photo on the front sleeve features MacColl and Chris Heester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Come the Cowboy with Me Sonny Jim!</span> 1990 single by Kirsty MacColl

"Don't Come the Cowboy with Me Sonny Jim!" is a song by British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released in 1990 as the fourth and final single from her second studio album Kite. It was written by MacColl and produced by Steve Lillywhite. The song reached No. 82 in the UK and remained in the charts for four weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Sarah Tuft.

<i>Desperate Character</i> 1981 studio album by Kirsty MacColl

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirsty MacColl</span> English singer and songwriter (1959–2000)

Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" and cover versions of Billy Bragg's "A New England" and the Kinks' "Days". Her first single, "They Don't Know", had chart success a few years later when covered by Tracey Ullman. MacColl also sang on a number of recordings produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite, most notably "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues. Her death in 2000 led to the "Justice for Kirsty" campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walking Down Madison</span> 1991 single by Kirsty MacColl

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innocence (Kirsty MacColl song)</span> 1989 single by Kirsty MacColl

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want Out (Matchbox song)</span> 1983 single by Matchbox featuring Kirsty MacColl

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">See That Girl</span> 1981 single by Kirsty MacColl

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<i>Real</i> (Kirsty MacColl album) 2023 studio album by Kirsty MacColl

Real is the sixth studio album by English singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl. It was recorded and intended for release in 1983, but Polydor Records shelved the album. It was released on 27 October 2023 as a standalone release on digital platforms and part of the box set See That Girl 1979–2000.

References

  1. ↑ "All I Ever Wanted". Kirsty MacColl. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  2. ↑ Stewart Mason (1991-06-25). "Electric Landlady - Kirsty MacColl | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  3. ↑ Kirsty MacColl (2005). From Croydon to Cuba... The Videos[The Making of Electric Landlady] (Motion picture). Virgin, EMI.
  4. ↑ Call, Len Righi Of The Morning. "'Walk Hard' songwriter Marshall Crenshaw gets serious". mcall.com. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  5. ↑ "All I Ever Wanted (CD single 2)". Kirsty MacColl. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  6. 1 2 "Singles - Positions 76 to 200". Charts Plus . Spotlight Publications. 19 October 1991. p. 2.
  7. 1 2 "Playlist Chart". Music Week . 19 October 1991. p. 14. ISSN   0265-1548.
  8. ↑ "Kirsty MacColl - All I Ever Wanted". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  9. ↑ From Croydon to Cuba... The Videos[All I Ever Wanted] (Motion picture). Virgin, EMI. 2005.
  10. ↑ Hirst, Andrew (19 October 1991). "Reviews: Singles". Huddersfield Daily Examiner . p. 29.
  11. ↑ Collins, Andrew (12 October 1991). "Singles". New Musical Express . p. 23.
  12. ↑ Pick, Steve (28 June 1991). "Kirsty MacColl has some new tricks". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  13. ↑ Curtin, Mike (6 October 1991). "MacColl's eclectic 'Electric'". The Post-Star.
  14. ↑ Seiler, Casey (17 July 1991). "MacColl's 'Landlady' takes charge with grab-bag pop". Jackson Hole Guide.
  15. ↑ Kovalic, John (8 September 1991). "Kirsty MacColl cool and catchy". Wisconsin State Journal.
  16. ↑ Jaeger, Barbara (8 August 1991). "MacColl's signs of progression". The Record.
  17. ↑ Robbins, Ira A. (1997). The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock: The All-new Fifth Edition of The ... - Ira A. Robbins - Google Books. ISBN   9780684814377 . Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  18. ↑ "Kirsty MacColl ARIA chart history, received from ARIA on 17 March 2020". Imgur.com. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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