Only
Kirsty MacColl
's second solo album in the tenth year of her career (she took several years off to have children after marrying producer
Steve Lillywhite
), 1989's
Kite
is the pinnacle of her achievement. By far her best-sustained work, this lengthy 15-track album features some of the
singer/songwriter
's best work on both sides of the hyphen. Her always-terrific vocals --
MacColl
was quite likely the best female singer of her generation -- are overdubbed several times on most tracks to create thick, lush harmonies, most notably on the gorgeous cover of
the Kinks
'
"Days."
Her songwriting is excellent as well, with some of her sharpest and cleverest words and most memorable melodies found here. The piercing
"Innocence"
and
"Free World"
are two of
's most combative songs, while
"What Do Pretty Girls Do?"
"Fifteen Minutes,"
for all their tart lines, are
at her most sympathetic. Besides the excellent originals, another pair of terrific covers --
the Smiths
"You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby"
Kate and Anna McGarrigle
's
"Complainte pour Ste. Catherine"
(given a rather
Cuban
rearrangement that foreshadows her later experiments in
Latin
music) -- show both
's widely varied influences and her immense interpretive powers. [In 2005
EMI
reissued
with the bonus tracks
"Happy,"
"Am I Right?,"
"El Paso,"
"Le Foret de Mimosas,"
"Complainte Pour Ste Catherine,"
as well as alternate mixes of
"Freeworld,"
"Innocence,"
"No Victims [Guitar Heroes Mix]"
"End of a Perfect Day."
] ~ Stewart Mason