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Electric Landlady | 
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| Artist: Kirsty Maccoll
Label: Caroline
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy New: $6.03
You Save: $5.95 (50%)
New (27) Used (11) from $3.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 36625
Format: Extra Tracks, Import, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 724356059429
EAN: 0724356059429
ASIN: B0007M8I50
Release Date: April 5, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Walking Down Madison | | • | All I Ever Wanted | | • | Childen of the Revolution | | • | Halloween | | • | My Affair | | • | Lying Down | | • | He Never Mentioned Love | | • | We'll Never Pass This Way Again | | • | The Hardest Word | | • | Maybe It's Imaginary | | • | My Way Home | | • | The One and Only | | • | Don't Go Near the Water - Kirsty MacColl, Jardine, Al | | • | One Good Thing | | • | Darling, Let's Have Another Baby - Kirsty MacColl, Berk, Fred | | • | My Affair | | • | Walking Down Madison |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
Electric Landlady was a much more eclectic affair than Kite with numerous trips to NY to work with a whole crazy set of Latin players who fuelled kirsty's love of that music for future recordings. The two songs which stand out as different are the Johnny Marr penned walking Down Madison' and 'Children of the Revolution' which were tracks Johnny sent to us and we added the appropriate overdubs. EMI. 2005.
Album Details
Digitally Remastered Reissue of the Late Singer's 1991 Virgin Records Album with Five Bonus Tracks Added to the Originals.
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| Customer Reviews:
A declaration of independence that still rings true January 9, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
It's hard to believe this album is almost 20 years old, because it sounds as fresh today as it did in 1989. Essential listening for every woman who ever felt the need to apologize for being herself.
Eclectic "Landlady" December 19, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The Album:
After her major comeback with 1989's Kite, English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl was on a roll, and she quickly followed this up with 1991's Electric Landlady. However, despite the droll title (a goof on the Jimi Hendrix classic Electric Ladyland), MacColl's lyrics on this album are generally more earnest and less biting than those on her previous LP. This is especially true in her social commentary, as she makes an anti-war statement on "Children of the Revolution," calls for appreciation of family on "The Hardest Word," touches upon various environmental ills on "Maybe It's Imaginary," and addresses homelessness and urban squalor on "Walking Down Madison" (a massive UK hit, and a surprise minor hit in the US). Still, her catchy melodies, pleasant voice, and often deadpan delivery keep her more socially conscious songs from becoming too heavy-handed.
EL also offers a more diverse sound than the Brit-pop-heavy Kite, ranging from the countryish "Maybe It's Imaginary," to the hip-hop-flavored "Walking Down Madison," to the sassy Latin-tinged single "My Affair" (a sort of precursor to her final album, 2000's Tropical Brainstorm), to Celtic folk ballads ("The Hardest Word" and the self-deprecating "The One and Only"). There are a lot of power-popish tunes here, as well (my favorite being the jangly single "All I Ever Wanted," which Kirsty wrote with American power-pop maestro Marshall Crenshaw); but even so, most of these are accompanied by strings ("Children of the Revolution" and the witty "He Never Mentioned Love"), horns ("My Way Home"), or both ("Halloween"). While MacColl's then-husband/producer Steve Lillywhite would later suggest that "some songs in retrospect would have benefited from more straightforward pop beats," I must admit I respectfully disagree -- I think EL's varied instrumental colors have made it a far more interesting record than it might've been if Kirsty and company had merely repeated the formula of her previous album.
The Extras:
Electric Landlady was the second of two albums MacColl released on the Virgin label; earlier this year, EMI/Virgin reissued both this album and Kite, expanding them with bonus tracks. Unfortunately, only 5 extras (all B-sides) are offered here, including a cover of the cutesy ditty "Darling Let's Have Another Baby" (recorded as a fun, hard-rocking duet by Kirsty and British protest singer Billy Bragg), a cover of the painfully earnest eco-anthem "Don't Go Near the Water" (a lesser-known Beach Boys song), and one remix each of "Walking Down Madison" and "My Affair."
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