| The Best of Kirsty MacColl | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | August 2005 [1] | |||
| Length | 78:47 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Kirsty MacColl chronology | ||||
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The Best of Kirsty MacColl is a compilation album by British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl. It was released by EMI in 2005 and reached No. 12 in the UK. [2] The one-disc compilation, which was aimed at more casual fans of MacColl, followed the release of the three-disc set From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology earlier in the year. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Guardian |  [4] |
| Sunday Tribune | [5] |
Upon release, Andy Kellman of AllMusic described the compilation as a "scaled-down version" of From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology and "an introduction to a brilliant career full of highlights". He concluded: "All of MacColl's well-known and extremely varied songs are here". [1] Adam Sweeting of The Guardian considered the compilation "a reminder of MacColl's whimsical charm and musical audacity". [4] Worcester News summarised: "This album is an admirable collection of her greatest work." [6] Jack Smith of the BBC described the album as "a timeline revealing the true diversity of Kirsty's work and the minutiae of English life". [7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "They Don't Know" | Kirsty MacColl | 3:03 |
| 2. | "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" | MacColl, Philip Rambow | 3:10 |
| 3. | "Terry" | MacColl, Gavin Povey | 3:53 |
| 4. | "A New England" | Billy Bragg | 3:51 |
| 5. | "He's on the Beach" | MacColl, Povey | 3:31 |
| 6. | "Don't Come the Cowboy with Me, Sonny Jim!" | MacColl | 3:49 |
| 7. | "Fairytale of New York" (with The Pogues) | Shane MacGowan, Jem Finer | 4:32 |
| 8. | "Free World" | MacColl | 2:38 |
| 9. | "Innocence" | MacColl, Pete Glenister | 4:10 |
| 10. | "Days" | Ray Davies | 3:01 |
| 11. | "Still Life" | MacColl, Rambow | 2:58 |
| 12. | "Miss Otis Regrets" (with The Pogues) | Cole Porter | 2:51 |
| 13. | "Walking Down Madison" | MacColl, Johnny Marr | 4:39 |
| 14. | "My Affair" | MacColl, Mark E. Nevin | 5:24 |
| 15. | "Soho Square" | MacColl, Nevin | 4:25 |
| 16. | "Titanic Days" | MacColl, Nevin | 5:43 |
| 17. | "As Long As You Hold Me" | Bragg | 4:34 |
| 18. | "Perfect Day" (with Evan Dando) | Lou Reed | 3:50 |
| 19. | "In These Shoes?" | MacColl, Glenister | 3:41 |
| 20. | "England 2 Colombia 0" | MacColl | 3:47 |
| 21. | "Sun on the Water" | MacColl, Glenister | 4:09 |
"Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a duet, with the Pogues' singer MacGowan taking the role of the male character and MacColl the female character. It was originally released as a single on 23 November 1987 and later featured on the Pogues' 1988 album If I Should Fall from Grace with God.
Kite is the breakthrough second album by Kirsty MacColl, released in 1989. Produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite, it was her first album for Virgin Records. The album included MacColl's hit cover of the Kinks' "Days", as well as two tracks written with Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. On 6 October 1989 it was certified silver by the BPI.
Tropical Brainstorm is the fifth and final studio album by Kirsty MacColl, released in 2000. It was inspired by her trips to Cuba, and many tracks include Spanish or Portuguese lyrics. The album was released with three extra tracks in the US.
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 was given when MacColl found it to be the name that was accidentally written on some early pressings of Jimi Hendrix's album Electric Ladyland.
Titanic Days is Kirsty MacColl's fourth studio album, 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.
"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.
"Days" is a song by the Kinks, written by lead singer Ray Davies, released as a single in 1968. It also appeared on an early version of the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. It now appears as a bonus track of the remastered CD. On the original Pye 7N 17573 label, the name of the song is "Day's" due to a grammatical error.
Kirsty Anna MacColl was a British 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 song "They Don't Know" was covered with great success by Tracey Ullman. MacColl also sang on recordings produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite, most notably "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues. Her death in 2000 has led to the Justice for Kirsty campaign.
Definitive INXS is a compilation of Australian rock band INXS released in 2002. It has almost the same track listing as The Best of INXS. The compilation features most of their hit singles, as well as two previously unreleased tracks, "Salvation Jane" and "Tight". "Salvation Jane" is an outtake taken from the X sessions in 1990. The 2002 remaster of X features the song's original demo. "Tight" was written by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Farriss and recorded by the band during the sessions for Welcome to Wherever You Are in 1992. The song was reworked by the remaining members of INXS in 2002 after the death of vocalist Michael Hutchence in 1997. The compilation also features a cover of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild", which was specially recorded for the April 1993 launch of Virgin Radio in the UK and was first included on the Japanese release of Full Moon, Dirty Hearts.
"Walking Down Madison" is a 1991 song by Kirsty MacColl featuring Aniff Cousins. It charted at #23 on the UK Singles Chart and impacted a number of Billboard charts.
"Free World" is a song by British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released in 1989 as the lead single from her second studio album Kite. It was written by MacColl and produced by Steve Lillywhite. "Free World" reached number 43 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for seven weeks.
A New England: The Very Best of Kirsty MacColl is a compilation album by British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl. It was released by Union Square Music in 2013 and reached No. 41 in the UK. The standard edition of the compilation contains 21 tracks. A limited edition release exclusive to Amazon was also issued with a bonus disc of 10 promotional videos and five art cards.
"Dear John" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter Eddi Reader, which was released in 1994 as the third and final single from her second studio album Eddi Reader. It was written by Kirsty MacColl and Mark E. Nevin, and produced by Greg Penny. "Dear John" reached No. 48 in the UK and remained in the charts for two weeks. In 1995, the song was nominated for "Best song musically and lyrically" at the Ivor Novello Awards.
From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology is a three disc box set by the British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, released by Virgin in 2005. It reached No. 98 on the UK Albums Chart.
"In These Shoes?" is a song by British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released in 2000 as the second single from her fifth studio album Tropical Brainstorm. It was written by MacColl and Pete Glenister, and produced by MacColl, Glenister and Dave Ruffy.
"Mambo de la Luna" is a song by British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released in 1999 as the lead single from her fifth studio album Tropical Brainstorm. It was written and produced by MacColl, Pete Glenister and Dave Ruffy.
All I Ever Wanted: The Anthology is a two-disc compilation by the British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, released by Salvo in 2014. The set contains 43 tracks from across MacColl's career and a 32-page booklet.
"He's on the Beach" is a song by British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released in 1985 as a non-album single by Stiff Records. It was written by MacColl and Gavin Povey, and produced by Steve Lillywhite.
"All I Ever Wanted" is a song by British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, which was released in 1991 as the third and final single from her third studio album Electric Landlady. It was written by MacColl and Marshall Crenshaw, and produced by Steve Lillywhite.
"You Caught Me Out" is a song written by Kirsty MacColl, Pete Briquette and Simon Crowe. It was originally recorded by MacColl in 1979 but the intended single release was shelved. Versions have also been recorded by Australian singer Christie Allen and British-American singer/actress Tracey Ullman.