Electric Landlady: Promotion

Kirsty MacColl takes her songwriting very seriously, although with her sense of humor, irony and love of classic pop melodies, she is somewhat unique in the lists of great contemporary British/Celtic songwriters.

She is driven to write what she sees as the truth, and after finishing a song will dismiss it immediately if it doesn't ring true. If Kirsty can't visualize a song she's finished as a mini-film, she will never pursue it.

Her desire to avoid repetition in a medium where it is not only acceptable but rife, leads to very carefully chosen lyrics, which she believes have to be able to stand alone as literature - with or without music. Kirsty's exemplary approach comes as no surprise, as her musical roots and creative associations are impressive.

Her father was the late Ewan MacColl, folk revivalist and singer-songwriter, though he separated from her mother, choreographer Jean MacColl, when she was a baby. As much as Kirsty admires his work, she feels most strongly that she doesn't wish to bask in reflected glory. She grew up listening to and loving, amongst others, the Beatles and Frank Zappa, and in spite of her connections she was an adult before she learned to appreciate folk music.

MacColl is [was] also married to noted producer Steve Lillywhite, and their collaboration goes beyond the personal to a wide range of musical projects including her own releases. Through him, and her own years as one ofthe British music scene's true heroines, she has worked with Talking Heads, The Smiths, Robert Plant, Morrissey, Happy Mondays, The Wonderstuff, The Pogues and more. She also provided some of the music for the last BBC-TV series from the UK's top comedy due, French & Saunders, and was featured in a number of sketches. Though she has managed to "earn a living" as a songwriter and singer since 1979, Kirsty is the first to admit that as far as the "music business" is concerned, she lives to make the music but regards the "business" as a necessary evil.

Kirsty's involvement with the industry goes back to her teen years, when she first signed with legendary indie label Stiff in the UK and put out her own composition, They Don't Know - which later proved a big hit for Tracey Ullman in the UK (reaching #2 in the charts) and went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. She also recorded for Polydor the infamous hit single There's A Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis, and during a second stint with Stiff, covered Billy Bragg's A New England, which reached #7 in the UK charts.

Kirsty's longstanding association with what she affectionately calls the "music business Irish Murphia" led to an invitation from The Pogues to sing the duet Fairytale of New York, which went on to become one of the biggest UK Christmas records ever (and reached #2 in the charts there). The Pogues have since returned the favor by recording two Cole Porter songs with MacColl, Miss Otis Regrets and Just One Of Those Things, for the Red Hot & Blue AIDS benefit project, and playing the song The One And Only on Kirsty's new Electric Landlady release.

This album - her second for Virgin UK and Charisma in the States - is a logical followup to the critically acclaimed Kite. That album, released here in the spring of 1990, displayed a maturity and versatility beyond any of Kirsty's earlier work. Although she wrote half of Kite alone, her co-writers on the remaining songs, Johnny Marr and Pete Glenister, provided perfect guitar hooks for her quirky approach and melodics.

It was also her desire to make an "organic" record with great players, one that really showcased the music and craftsmanship and would forego keyboards and synth sounds and stick to stringed instruments, percussion and brass - as well as display her trademark, multitracked harmonies in the classic style of Brian Wilson, one of her longstanding heroes. That approach - which yielded worldwide recognition for MacColl's talents - is taken even further on Electric Landlady, an album showcasing Kirsty's wit, social consciousness, musicality, and diversity to the fullest. Her musical cohorts include, once again, Johnny Marr, who co-wrote the lead-off Walking Down Madison and Children Of The Revolution; Mark Nevin (ex-Fairground Attraction) on My Affair, Halloween and The One And Only; Pete Glenister on Lying Down and My Way Home; Jem Finer (the Pogues) on He Never Mentioned Love; Marshall Crenshaw on All I Ever Wanted, and her brother Hamish, with whom Kirsty wrote the poignant The Hardest Word.

One of Kirsty's previous backing vocal contributions for David Byrne had led her to meet up with Angel Fernandez, brass and string arranger, whose work she so admired that she decided to record a number of songs in New York. With Angel's great brass and string parts it was vital to use Latin musicians, who could cope with the complex rhythms and orchestrations. These sessions - done at Electric Lady studios on West 8th street, hence the album title - led to My Affair, He Never Mentioned Love, All I Ever Wanted, We'll Never Pass This Way Again, The Hardest Word and My Way Home.

Kirsty has persevered with her love ofworking with great musicians as opposed to computers and machines despite various trends that sometimes make her feel she is "swimming against the tide." Even so, her aim is to create classic and timeless recordings; MacColl believes that anything that is ultra fashionable now will look and sound extremely dated in 20 or 30 years. "Clever machines are updated every six months, whereas the result of a number of excellent musicians playing together can produce more excitement than a computer ever could," she maintains. This is not to say Kirsty takes a primitive approach, and the dance mix of the first track Walking Down Madison is an obvious example of her belief that a great song can be performed in any style that suits it. In fact, Charisma felt so strongly about this song, that the company decided to release all the mixes available on the track, done by Lillywhite and producer/mixer Howard Gray, in both 12" and CD5 configurations in advance ofthe full Electric Landlady album.

Press Kit cover Kirsty feels strongly that music is her life's work, and it can only be worthwhile and enjoyable if you don't compromise your true intentions. To that end, MacColl also assumes total control of all aspects ofher work - from the videos she co-directed for Kite, to the self-designed artwork for Electric Landlady. "You don't live your life and then write the songs - you have to write the songs because of the life you live", she explains. And judging from the media and public's enthusiasm for her creations, MacColl's sincerity, as well as talent, has certainly come shining through.

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CHARISMA RECORDS

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Electric Landlady: Promotion

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