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Ever the latecomer to musical talent, I first heard Kirsty Maccoll's smoke-edged alto as it sauntered through her number In These Shoes during the credits for Kinky Boots. Which if you haven't seen, do! Rent, download, whatever. Quietly hilarious flick about lemons turning into lemonade, unwanted oxfords turning into four feet of heeled, red sex, and people who've never quite felt at home in the world turning into heroes, to themselves and others.
If you're looking for an artist who is relatively predictable in style or song material (cough bubblegum-popgirls like, hrm, Britney cough), Kirsty is not for you, I'd say. I haven't listened to all her offerings (some of which are finally on Napster), but each one has its own distinct flavor. From the quietly but unapologetically senorita-sexy In These Shoes (an indispensible party song) to the “I Shot the Sheriff” black humor-reality mix of Walking Down Madison (kudos and thanx to Augusts1 for that recommendation!), Kirsty doesn't fail to surprise and often delight.
As Augusts1 notes, a number of her pieces are indeed quite airy Brit-pop, though even those pieces vary widely in background treatments and how Kirsty massages her voice into the piece. But if like me you're more a fan of the quirky, lightly smirky and occasionally bizarre selections, check out Us Amazonians, a tongue-in-cheek tune about “modern” women that has touches of Frankie Valli and the musical South Pacific to it.
Fabulous Garden feels rather Simon and Garfunkel, but could just as easily be a DeVotchKa tune with the appropriate Polish additions. Can't Stop Killing You plays a reasonably light musical backdrop against occasionally almost nihilistic lyrics, though the instrumental section flirts dangerously if irregularly with the darker aspects of the song.
The remixes available on Napster, mostly for Angel, may be disappointing for folks expecting something more along the Paul Oakenfold line, but those who enjoy lighter electronica approaches that leave the song largely intact as is should enjoy some of them, particularly the slightly Tangerine-Dreamish Apollo 440 remix.
To hear In These Shoes?, you can visit one of two webspots: either the song listing at her main site or at mp3raid.com. If you go to the first site, you'll need RealPlayer to hear the song; the second site provides a built-in Windows Media Player.
Other songs mentioned are either available on Maccoll's MOG page or on her website (whose link is posted on her MOG page), with the exception of Can't Stop Killing You, which is available on Napster and iTunes.
OK, so I'm a mini-review hound. I like to read some feedback on an artist before I go mucking around with mp3s and samples, even if I end up completely disagreeing with the reviewer. So if you don't know who the heck I'm talking about in my "Artists You Should Know" section...
Rebekah Del Rio (sometimes spelled Dehlrio) caught my ear with her rendition of "Llorando," speaking of unexpected covers. The title means "crying" in Spanish, and as you can likely guess, we're talking about Roy Orbison's hit.
"Llorando" takes many pacing and dynamic cues from the original, though Del Rio's version sports a throatier vibrato and more modern percussion elements, particularly via synth and techno additions Viro used in their remix. But the background doesn't overpower Del Rio's voice as so often happens in such compositions, partly due to the native power of her voice. If you're familiar with Ofra Haza's work, a similar balance is struck here, though the flavor is quite different.
I'd upload an mp3, but I'm new and unsure of permissions -- and I tend to rent, not buy, mp3s. However, most if not all my recommendations are available through Napster.
UPDATE: The only scrap left of Del Rio on Napster is her singing the Star Spangled Banner for the movie Southland Tales. Pleh. I can't even find the Viro remix online, though you can find downloads of several other versions of the song here. I'd post a clip here, but the sampling doesn't match the player, so it sounds like a Chipmunkette instead....
Lea DeLaria is something else again -- comedienne, actress, and jazz singer. You may know her from the soundtrack of Rocky Horror Picture Show, though she didn't actually appear in the show itself.
While her album Play it Cool is less than representative of her range, the piece "Welcome to My Party" serves as a good introduction to not only her vocal style, but also her brash, beguiling sense of humor -- though her inveterate raunchiness is toned down for the album as a whole. And don't miss her "Ballad of Sweeney Todd," both for its own merits and as a tribute to the upcoming Burton/Depp movie.
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Maybe I wasn't clear, sorry. In the "update" paragraph, I say there are downloads of Llorando available "here" (that word is a link). The link works for me; is it working for you? Also, I should warn you the bit rate is kinda low on those downloads. :p Lemme know if you can get to them OK.
oh cool. yes, the link works. thanks for pointing that out/clearing that up. she does a great job with the song!
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I only own one Kirsty release, Electric Landlady, which I bought for the Marshall Crenshaw song, but the album is stuffed with great tracks. Lusting after that Kirsty box set now...