Amy MacDonald A CURIOUS THING (Mercury)

Amy Macdonald (born 25 August 1987 in Bishopbriggs, Scotland) is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Her debut album, This Is the Life, was released on 30 July 2007 and has sold more than 2.5 million copies. Her first single, “Poison Prince”, was released on 7 May 2007. Macdonald started playing on stage acoustic gigs at 15. She has played at music festivals such as Glastonbury, Hyde Park Calling, T in the Park and the V Festival.

Macdonald attended Bishopbriggs High School. She is a self-taught musician, playing her father’s guitar after being inspired by Travis at the T in the Park Festival in 2000, where she heard Travis’ song “Turn” and wanted to play it herself. She started playing in pubs and coffee houses around Glasgow at 15, including the Brunswick Cellars on Sauchiehall Street. Macdonald sent a demo CD in response to an advertisement placed in the NME by a new production company set up by songwriters Pete Wilkinson and Sarah Erasmus called Melodramatic Records.

In an interview with HitQuarters, Wilkinson said he was “literally aghast” at her song writing abilities when first he heard Macdonald play the songs ‘This is the Life’ and ‘Mr Rock n Roll’. ” “I said, “Amy, who wrote those songs?” And she said, “I did.” I said, “No, you didn’t,” giggling, hoping she really did. She said, “I bloody well did!” I told her she was extraordinarily talented, and the moment she sang those songs I remembered her voice and the hooks, which out of 500 [demos submitted] was a very good sign.” ”
- Pete Wilkinson

Wilkinson then spent around eight or nine months recording demos with Amy at his home studio with a view to securing a record deal for his new client.

This album was for me the most anticipated and most disappointing. But the problem is not the voice or songs, it is the massive over-production that’s typical of a successful pop artist who has money thrown at a follow-up to a number 1 charting album. Opener ‘Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over’ is a typical example of a good song and voice drowned in overblown orchestration. As with most of the songs here, it starts in acoustic style but descends into oblivion. ‘Spark’ is a driving pop song where the orchestration works reasonably well, but it’s a rare example here. ‘No Roots’ opens with a gentle guitar strum and the most sensitive, contemplative vocal with at first quite subtle orchestration, but then the song picks up pace and a combination of rock and orchestra sounds that lands in a territory that’s difficult to identify; it loses its way. ‘Love, Love’ is a fast-moving, hyper-conventional pop song with a rocky vibe that even the rampant piano notes can’t rescue. ‘An Ordinary Life’ is a good song that is again submerged in extraneous drum beats and orchestral sounds - a criminal ruination of a perfectly good song and potentially one of the best on the album. The vocal can barely be heard above the noise, as MacDonald attempts to communicate her views on fame and fortune; it’s a total contradiction in the way it’s been produced. ‘Give It All Up’ repeats the production debacle. ‘My Only One’ is a moving narrative with a strong personal message which opens in stripped-down acoustic style, but eventually is drenched in heavy orchestral melancholy that comes dangerously close to killing another very good song. ‘This Pretty Face’ works well, with its strong melody, lighter vibe and better balance between instruments and voice. This is mainstream radio material with its bouncing vibe and hook-laden choruses.

‘Troubled Soul’ is a mediocre song in this company, while ‘Next Big Thing’ is a rampantly-paced, very poorly produced radio song. ‘Your Time Will Come’ is strong radio fodder which just about survives the massive orchestral string interventions, and the similarity to other songs I’ve heard over the years. Finally, ‘What Happiness Means To Me’ delivers a strong and simple piano/vocal compromise in a song that is moving, sincere and quite beautiful. But, then a mountain of orchestral sounds and dance beats descend to close a song that, for me, is already over, mission already successfully accomplished. A short talking passage would have been much more effective than this cacophony of sound. A secret track then appears with a lovely live acoustic cover of Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In The Dark’, and for the first time one can hear the quality of MacDonald’s voice… This is one of the worst examples I’ve heard of a producer fucking up a perfectly good record.

3/5

Goldfrapp HEAD FIRST (Mute)

Alison Goldfrapp began her musical career in the early 1990s as a guest vocalist with the electronic band Orbital and trip hop artist Tricky. In 1999, she was introduced to composer Will Gregory after he had listened to an early version of the song “Human”. Gregory felt a connection with Goldfrapp and invited her to record a demo for the film soundtrack he was composing, to see if they could work together. The demo was never completed, but the recording session had been pleasant. Following several months of phone calls, they decided to form a musical band and began performing under Goldfrapp’s last name. In August 1999, Goldfrapp signed a recording contract with London-based record label Mute Records. The pair began recording their debut album over a six-month period, beginning in September 1999, in a rented bungalow in the Wiltshire countryside. The recording process was difficult for Alison, who often found herself alone and disturbed by the mice and insects in the bungalow…

Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, the ambient sound of their 2000 debut album FELT MOUNTAIN did not chart highly. Goldfrapp’s second album BLACK CHERRY, which incorporated glam rock and synth-pop sounds into their music, was released in 2003. The album experienced success across nightclubs in North America and influenced the same dance-oriented sound of their third album SUPERNATURE. It took Goldfrapp’s work further into dance music, and enjoyed international chart success, produced three number one U.S. dance singles, and was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 49th Grammy Awards. Their fourth album SEVENTH TREE placed a greater emphasis on ambient and down-tempo music, drawing inspiration from nature and paganism.

I’d already heard the single and album opener ‘Rocket’ prior to receiving the album, and frankly couldn’t understand how an established and talented artist could release such a mediocre song. It does nothing and goes nowhere - it’s dreadful. How about this for a lyric: “I gotta rocket, oh oh oh you’re goin’ on it and never comin’ back” - how awful is that? It’s an example of some of the worst synth dance-pop I’ve heard, and I just don’t understand how she could have even considered recording it. Not unnaturally, I did not have high hopes for the album… ‘Believer’ is only marginally better, and is sort of like paint undercoat, still waiting for the topcoat to finish the job. ‘Alive’ is marginally better again but sounds like other much older songs that are also much better. ‘Dreaming’ sports a wobbly synth backdrop and wanders around aimlessly, leading nowhere. I’m starting to think, ‘there must be one decent song here, somewhere.” ‘Head First’ at last delivers a piano-backed song that shines in this company. A strong melody and somewhat darker vibe, stronger rhythmic heart and powerful choruses combine to make this a good but not great song. I’m not even going to mention the remaining songs. This is one comatose and complacent album of just 9 songs. At the weekend I read a glowing review of it in the Saturday Telegraph and held out some hope, but I now wonder just what the reviewer was listening to… I think it’s about time she hooked up with people who recognise what a wonderful voice she has (and having seen her perform live on a couple of occasions, I know), and matched it with songs that are worthy, and competitive in a market that has moved many miles ahead.

2/5

AND THE WINNER IS…

By a tidy margin,  Marina And The Diamonds. Amy MacDonald came second with an album that could have sounded so much better, while Goldfrapp came last with one of the most disappointing records I have ever heard. As for the over-hyped Ellie Goulding, I really wonder why and how…

BUT, I’M NOT DONE YET…