Black And White (The Definitive Ewan MacColl Collection) - Ewan MacColl

Advantages: A good collection, with some priceless 'new' tracks
Disadvantages: six versions of one song!

...Of the three CDs I own by Kirsty MacColl, this is the one I have played least, it is the one I bought most recently, but I am just so keen on her album Tropical Brainstorm that I usually put that one on without thinking. Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 - 18 December 2000) was a British pop singer-songwriter, she was the daughter of dancer Jean Newlove and noted folk music/folk singer Ewan MacColl and she grew up in Croydon UK. Kirsty's songs are full of the feelings she was experiencing at the time of writing. She drew on her relationships, and down to earth opinions for her lyrics, you can hear the humour, the anger, the sadness and the sarcasm. Maybe you don't recall who she was, but you may remember the hit 'Fairytale of New York' that she and The Pogues had a hit with, it has been re-released once or twice over... Read review

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Advantages: Great music, for that holiday feeling
Disadvantages: She's no longer around

...The charts have been awash with the influence of Latin music, but this isn't just another of those jump-on-the-bandwagon records (a la Ginger Spice, maybe?). "Tropical brainstorm" was just the latest product of Kirtsy MacColl's love affair with Cuban music, which began around 10 years earlier. For this album, she spent much time over in South America, playing with musicians over there, immersing herself in the music and rhythms. And it shows. The tunes are the kind that you can imagine dancing a mambo or a cha-cha to - or at the very least you can picture yourself drinking a cocktail while watching others dance to them! There's still plenty of the British, dry humour that was always evident in MacColl's lyrics (I always knew there was something special about her when I first heard "there's a guy works down the chip shop swears... Read review

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Advantages: -
Disadvantages: -

...build like a spaghetti westarn on a Pistol for Paddy Garcia, the whistling in the background very "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly". If Clint Eastwood had been Irish then the man with no name would have ridden in to town to this tune. Dirty Old Town is a cover of Ewan MacColls tune, him being the father of Kirsty who joined the Pogues for their most famous song, Fairy Tale of New York, and the town of the title is actually Salford, where MacColl was born. The guitar and harmonica play a wistful and sorrowful tune as MacGowan launches into tales of romance in the poor and grim back streets of an industrial metropolis. Again a slow ballad but with a thumping beat and a hook line that gets you moving. Jesse James is another traditional jig, whistle fronted about the famous western gang. Side guitar helps lend a country feel to the song... Read review

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