Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Kirsty Kronikles


In addition to her impeccable pop sensibilities and eclectic tastes, Kirsty Maccoll was a great singer, a witty and incisive lyricist, and despite her stage fright, a terrific live act (I saw her at Tramps in New York City in 1995). And from all accounts I've read, she was a caring and charming person. She was killed in a tragic boating accident in Mexico almost 9 years ago at the age of 41 only a few months before her last (and maybe best) album Tropical Brainstorm was released. Had she lived, she would have turned 50 this month. So to honor, the late great Ms. Maccoll, here's 30 songs not found on any of her major formal releases (Kite, Electric Landlady, Titanic Days, or Tropical Brainstorm) all of which you should get if you don't have them already (especially Kite and Tropical Brainstorm).


Keep Your Hands Off My Baby
Darling, Let's Have Another Baby
Irish Cousin
Perfect Day [feat. Evan Dando]
The Real Ripper
Mexican Sofa
Turn My Motor On
Queen Of The High Teas
Please Help Me, I'm Falling
Don't Run Away from Me Now
See That Girl
Quietly Alone
London Bridge Is Falling Down
Caroline
As Long As You Hold Me

Disc Two

El Paso
Patrick
Clubland
All The Tears That I Cried
Libertango
Dear John
Fairytale Of New York
He Thinks I Still Care
I Want Out
Sun On The Water
Please Go to Sleep
I Am Afraid
You Caught Me Out
He's on the Beach
Still Life

8 comments:

reservatory said...

THANK YOU for this! Before the internet, I'd routinely raid a county library for armloads of CDS, piling them on while while I fixed dinner or something. Most would last for a song or two, or less. I let Kite play all the way through and then I restarted it. I thought, God, how did I miss this? What a songwriter! What a voice! Electric Landlady didn't make such a huge impression at first and I sorta lost track of her, but when I heard about the accident, I was unable to explain how terrible I felt. Once I started listening to all the stuff I'd missed, the weight of the tragedy became perfectly clear. Compounded by the fact that she seemed to have found contentment with a man who was crazy about her and good for her to boot. She's hugely missed. (I'm listening to He's On The Beach and Caroline and Golden Heart and Good For Me as I'm writing this) I'm curious about a couple of these titles that don't sound familiar... Thanks for trying to get the word out there.

reservatory said...

Just noticed Irish Cousin is here! The world needs it bad...

joetomrud said...

Man I love this - I downloaded this treasure trove and then spent happy hours matching it up to the original sources - downloading the cover art for the various singles, EPs etc. A perfect way to spend a wet Saturday in Dublin!

Thank you so much,

Joe.

Ishkabibliophile said...

@reservatory and joetomrud

Kirsty really was, like the title of one her releases, The One and Only. I'm pretty sure she also sang a couple of songs on the show Absolutely Fabulous, but I couldn't find any mp3 versions. Alas.... I think what I'll always love best about her songwriting was the compelling mix of empathy and caustic wit.

g said...

What a place to be - more than the
Right Side Of A Good Thing -more like a great website. Just noticed the title of your blog - on another blog - and thought to take a look - and have been looking at your posts for the better part of the past hour or so - great picks and many different musics - Tabu Ley - Dave Alvin - Dusty - Lucinda - and Kirsty....
Just clicked on Volume 3 and hate to ask, due to the work you must do to keep this blog going, would it be possible for you to re-up Vol 1 and 2 of The Kirsty Kronikles? If so - it's appreciated. If not - well I should have found the site earlier and it's my loss. I saw her at Tramps (a place in NYC that bring back fond memories of musics witnessed until whenever they decided it was closing time!!! Somebody once wrote that Tramps was a place where 'the walls oozed funk'. That was always one of my favorite places for live music. Thanks for sharing this music -

Ishkabibliophile said...

G,
Happy to re-up them. Especially as someone who also saw her at Tramps in 1994 (I think I might still have the ticket stub somewhere). Very glad I got to see her at least once. I still remember she seemed a little stiff the first couple of songs (or maybe I was imagining it because I'd heard that she had stage fright), but it ended up being a great show. And Tramps was a fun place to see a show - saw a fantastic Mekons show there in 1990 or so.

Kathy B said...

I realize these are from a long time ago, but is there any way you could re-up the three Kirsty Kronicles mixes? (I've been a fan of your blog since I discovered it about six years ago, but this is my first comment.) Thanks--- Kathy

Ishkabibliophile said...

Kathy B,

Just re-upped them. Enjoy!!!!

Ish