Audio CD review:
Kirsty Maccoll - Tropical Brainstorm

Kirsty Maccoll - Tropical Brainstorm

Band: Kirsty Maccoll Title: Tropical Brainstorm Rating: Release Date: 2000-03-28 Media: Audio CD Tracks:

fans of great pop music need this cd This is her latin album. Kirsty Maccoll is known for her forays into different styles of music. But beyond that, Tropical Brainstorm is full of thoughtful lyrics and interesting melodies that are Ms. Maccoll's trademark. She is a good songwriter, who deserves more recognition. Unfortunately, her other albums are out of print in the US, so a curious newcomer to Kirsty has to start here. Fortunately, Tropical Brainstorm is a respectable place to start. La Vida McColl Not sure why that should be - it's just that she is so very English. The very image of Kirsty MacColl doing the limbo is bizarre. Yet here she is, with an album stuffed full of rhumbas, merengues, salsas and guacamoles. (Hey, what do I know - I'm very English too. ) For the most part, it works surprisingly well. I adore "Celestine" - a song about her sexier alter ego; "In These Shoes" - brutally witty and camp; and "England 2 Colombia 0". However, the cod-Latin can feel a little incongruous and I have to wonder if some songs wouldn't have been better with a more traditional pop beat. The high-point of the album is the heartbreaking "Wrong Again" - a song about the end of a relationship. Tellingly, the Latin influences are subdued. The low point is "Here Comes That Man Again" - a song about cybersex. Perhaps I don't want to think about Kirsty downloading dodgy pictures and moaning down a modem. Just when I thought it was safe to go back on NetMeeting. . . The songs work best in a live setting. I saw her recently at the Jazz Cafe and at Dingwalls, and she and the band were just brilliant. She has marvellous stage presence and rapport: "Sorry it's so packed in here tonight," she said, "I tried to get the Millennium Dome. But the government didn't want it full of dope-smoking homosexuals. Still, what can you do, that's my audience - dope-smoking homosexuals. " [Big cheer]. You can see a complete list of all Kirsty Maccoll discography, or go back to the Kirsty Maccoll tabs