''Kite'' is the breakthrough second album by

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He ...

, released in 1989. Produced by her then-husband

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...

, it was her first album for

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. The album included MacColl's hit cover of

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

' "

Days A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two solar ...

", as well as two tracks written with Smiths guitarist

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

. On 6 October 1989, it was certified silver by the BPI.

Background

In a 1991 interview with ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'', MacColl commented, "With ''Kite'', I felt I had to prove that I wasn't this bimbo girl-next-door I'd been portrayed as. That had been hanging around my neck like a fucking albatross for so long, and I wanted to make the point that, yes, I can write a fucking song, pal! I didn't feel that I had to prove myself this time."

Critical reception

On its release, Dave Jennings of ''

'' described the album as a "thoughtful, mature, yet sometimes exhilarating LP" and "cerebral but instantly likeable; never wild or abandoned, but always intriguing". Aside from some "tender moments", he considered most of ''Kite'' to show MacColl "on the attack", with her "carefully-layered, deadpan vocals" suiting the "anger" in her lyrics. Simon Williams of ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' considered it "an old-fashioned album" with "proper songs ndresolutely orthodox instruments". He concluded, "''Kite'' is charming rather than classy. Everything is pleasantly down-to-earth, sweet and sour stories from a woman's point of view which always avoid being emotionally extreme." Peter Kane of ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' noted it "boasts some fine tunes about life, love, and the whole damned thing" which is "done in a peculiarly colloquial, very English style" and with "not a hint of pretension". He described the album as "one to be proud of" and one which "deserves to be heard". In a retrospective review,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called ''Kite'' "the pinnacle of acColl's achievement" and her "best-sustained work". They felt that MacColl's songwriting was "excellent", with some of her "sharpest and cleverest words and most memorable melodies." ''Trouser Press'' wrote of the album: "This sturdy, provocative collection mixes full-bodied pop styles with some

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, adding a

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

story sung in French, a pair of wonderful covers and pointed lyrical assaults on both

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

and shallow pop stars." ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' described the album as having a "skillfull, introspective elegance".

Re-issues

''Kite'' was re-released in 2005 with ten bonus tracks, including

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

s and alternate mixes. A 2012 expanded edition released by Salvo Records features a bonus disc with seventeen bonus tracks, also with B-sides and alternate mixes. Both re-issues were

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

Demon Records Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

re-issued the original twelve-track album in 2018 on 180g vinyl.

Track listing

Adapted from the album's liner notes.

2012 edition bonus CD

The first disc contains the twelve tracks from the original album.

Personnel

;Musicians *Kirsty MacColl – vocals, acoustic guitar (10), electric guitar (10), bass (10),

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

(6, 7),

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

(6), percussion (6, 10) *

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

– trumpet (6, 7, 15) *Mark Berrow – violin (1, 12) *Stuart Brooks – trumpet (7, 15) *Paul Crowder – percussion (2, 9, 13-15) *Ben Cruft – violin (1, 12) *James Eller – bass (2, 3, 6, 7) *

Mel Gaynor Mel George Gaynor (born 29 May 1959) is a British drummer, best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds. Biography Gaynor was born to a Jamaican father and an Afro-Brazilian mother. He began drumming at age 11 and had ...

– drums (1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13-15) *Wilfred Gibson – violin (1, 7, 12) *Roy Gillard – violin (1, 7, 12) *

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

– electric guitar (5), acoustic guitar (12) *

Pete Glenister Pete Glenister is an English guitarist, songwriter and producer, known for his work with Alison Moyet and Kirsty MacColl. He has also worked with a number of other artists including Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Bruce Foxton, Terence Trent D'Arby, Bros, ...

– acoustic guitar (1-7, 9, 11), electric guitar (1-3, 7-9, 14, 15) *Malcolm Griffiths – trombone (6, 7, 15) *Jamie Lillywhite – vocals (1) *Louis Lillywhite – vocals (1) *

– double bass (6) *

Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...

– acoustic guitar (2, 6, 7), electric guitar (3) *

– electric guitar (3-5, 8, 9, 11-13), acoustic guitar (4, 9), harmonica (15) *Yves N'Djock – electric guitar (1, 14, 15), backing vocals (15) *

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

– bass (1, 5, 8, 11, 14, 15) *David Palmer – drums (2, 3, 6, 7), percussion (7) *

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...

– bass (9, 13), double bass (4) *Colin Stuart – acoustic guitar (1, 5, 6, 14, 15); electric guitar (6, 11) *

Jamie Talbot James Robert Talbot (born 23 April 1960 in London) is an English jazz alto saxophonist. Talbot played with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra and then with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He attended the Royal College of Music during 1978� ...

– tenor saxophone (6) *Philip Todd – clarinet (6) *

Fiachra Trench Fiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench (born 7 September 1941, in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. Trench first studied Chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, before moving on to t ...

– string and brass arrangements (1, 6, 7, 12, 15) *Steve Turner – electric guitar (7), effects (7) *Dave Woodcock – violin (1, 12) *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis, ...

– violin (1, 7) ;Technical *Steve Lillywhite – producer *Steve Chase – engineer *Alan Douglas – engineer *Chris Dickie – engineer *Colin Stuart – engineer, mixing *Noel Harris – assistant engineer *Roy Spong – assistant engineer *Mark Wallis – mixing *Heidi Cannovo – assistant mixing engineer *Bill Smith Studio – design *Kirsty MacColl – design *Andrew MacPherson – photography ;Bonus tracks *Kirsty MacColl – producer ("Happy", "El Paso", "Still Life", "Please Help Me, I'm Falling", "Clubland", "Don't Run Away from Me Now", "Am I Right?") *Colin Stuart – producer ("Happy", "El Paso", "Still Life", "Please Help Me, I'm Falling", "Clubland", "Don't Run Away from Me Now", "Am I Right?") *Johnny Marr – producer ("Happy", "El Paso") ;Reissues *Steve Rooke – remastering (2005) *Chris Peyton – reissue design (2005) *Charles Dickens – inner inlay photography (2005) *Fine Splice Ltd. – remastering (2012) *Estuary English – reissue design (2012)

Recording information

*1-9, 11, 13-15 recorded at The Town House *6, 10, 12 recorded at Ealing Studios. *1, 6, 7, 12, 15 recorded at RAK Studios *David Gilmour recorded at

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

*1, 5, 10, 11, 13, 14 mixed at Ealing Studios. *2-4, 6-9, 12, 15 mixed at Olympic Studios.

Charts

References

External links

''Kite''
at Kirsty MacColl.com {{Authority control 1989 albums Kirsty MacColl albums Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite Virgin Records albums Soho Square