Track Listing

1. They Don�t Know
2. There�s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis
3. Terry
4. A New England
5. He�s On The Beach
6. Don�t Come The Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim!
7. Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues (Feat. Kirsty McColl)
8. Free World
9. Innocence
10. Days
11. Still Life
12. Miss Otis Regrets (Feat. The Pogues)
13. Walking Down Madison
14. My Affair
15. Soho Square
16. Titanic Days
17. As Long As You Hold Me
18. Perfect Day (Feat. Evan Dando)
19. In These Shoes?
20. England 2 Columbia 0
21. Sun On The Water

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #495 in Music
• Released on: 2005-08-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

CD Description
'The Best of Kirstie MacColl' brings together some of the finest moments released by MacColl before her untimely death in December 2000. Featuring many singles which graced the UKcharts including the classic Christmas song 'Fairytale Of New York' with The Pogues, the album also features 'A New England' MacColl's only other single to make it into the UK topten.

Customer Reviews

Vastly under-rated British singer
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.

The best earlier compilation of Kirsty's music, Galore, contains four tracks (You just haven't earned it yet baby, Angel, Can't stop killing you, Caroline) that are omitted from this set, but seven other tracks not on Galore can be found here (Terry, Still life, Soho Square, As long as you hold me, In these shoes, England 2 Colombia 0 and Sun on the water). Overall, there's not much to choose between these two outstanding compilations although this new one has more tracks and covers her whole career including two tracks from her final album, Tropical brainstorm.

The final track (Sun on the water) first appeared as a demo on the triple CD Croydon to Cuba anthology but has been re-mixed for release as a single and it is that version that you will find here. While it is a great summer song reflecting much fun and happiness, it is difficult to hear Kirsty sing this song without remembering that she died while in the water on a hot, sunny day.

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), Days (The Kinks) and Perfect Day (Lou Reed - a duet with Evan Dando of the Lemonheads).

Kirsty's 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.

Perfect.......
should have been the title of this CD becuase that's just what it is. Kirsty Maccoll had everything to become an absolute megastar and it shines through on this greatest hits collection. Her lyrics are phenomenal, her voice wonderful and her delivery of each and every song perfect.

Kirsty Maccoll has a charm about her that if it could be bottled would make somebody incredibly wealthy. The soulful "Miss Otis Regrets", her duet with The Pogues, "Fairytale of New York", and the sassy, "My Affair" really show that Kirsty couldn't be pigeon-holed into a "Type". She had everything and more. If you've only ever considered buying a Kirsty Maccoll CD stop considering, buy this one, enjoy it and then buy the rest of stuff.

Trip down memory lane
Great album. Listening to it end-to-end the first half of the album (which contains her better known stuff) makes you smile, as it brings back memories of when you first heard the tracks. The second half moves into her enjoyable, largely Latin influenced stuff.

Lyrics were a forte of Kirsty's: anyone who can get away with the lyrics "If I wore your shades could I share your point of view" deserves acclaim.

Given her sad death, this album will bring a tear to your eye. She was classy, talented, cheeky and versatile. In short, an entertainer.