Angel (Kirsty MacColl song)

"Angel" is a song by British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, released in 1993 as the lead single from her fourth studio album Titanic Days. It was written by MacColl and produced by Steve Lillywhite. For its release as a single, "Angel" was remixed with additional production by Gregg Jackman.[2] The song reached number 87 in the UK Singles Chart and number 26 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[3][4]

"Angel"
Single by Kirsty MacColl
from the album Titanic Days
B-side"Angel (Jay's Edit)"
ReleasedDecember 1993[1]
Length3:40
LabelZTT
Songwriter(s)Kirsty MacColl
Producer(s)Steve Lillywhite
Gregg Jackman
Kirsty MacColl singles chronology
"All I Ever Wanted"
(1991)		 "Angel"
(1993)		 "Can't Stop Killing You"
(1993)

Background

Speaking to Melinda Newman of Billboard, MacColl said of the song: "It's a euphoric song. It's kind of a feeling of being protected. It makes me feel better when I hear that one."[5] The artwork on the single's sleeve is from the 1989 painting "Guardian Angel" by Holly Johnson.[6]

Critical reception

On its release, Music & Media commented, "The holiday season will last a little longer with this folk song in a Christmas atmosphere. Traditional instruments and the modern rhythm track are living in perfect harmony."[7] Andrew Hirst of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner picked "Angel" as the newspaper's "single of the week" and praised it as a "Kirsty is one of Britain's top songstresses with the voice to match. Starts with mournful bagpipes and then gets better and better. Sincere, sensitive, honest – in short, first-rate."[8]

In a review of Titanic Days, Peter Holmes of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote: "By track 3 MacColl has hit her stride. "Angel", with its gentle hip hop rhythm and floating vocal, sounds as if it were written for her by Single Gun Theory, no small compliment."[9] Dave Hall of the Tampa Bay Times noted: "The songs themselves are exceptional. "Angel" soars amid a hypnotic dance tempo".[10]

Ira Robbins of Trouser Press commented: "The evanescent "Angel" has a bustling club beat and pizzicato violin plucks."[11] Gary Graff, in his book MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide noted the song's "mutant dub/hip-hop beat supporting MacColl's ethereal vocals".[12] Billboard picked the song as one of the album's "high points".[13] In 2005, Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork wrote: "Songs like "Soho Square" and "Angel" are shot through with a anticipation for something enormous and life-changing, whether good or bad."[14]

Track listing
7" single
  1. "Angel" - 3:40
  2. "Angel" (Jay's Edit) - 3:52
12" single
  1. "Angel" - 3:40
  2. "Angel" (Apollo 440 Remix) - 8:08
  3. "Angel" (Jay's Edit) - 3:52
  4. "Angel" (Stuart Crichton Remix) - 5:33
CD single
  1. "Angel" - 3:40
  2. "Angel" (Jay's Edit) - 3:52
  3. "Angel" (Apollo 440 Remix) - 8:08
  4. "Angel" (Stuart Crichton Remix) - 6:24
  5. "Angel" (Into The Light Mix) - 5:33

Personnel

Production

Other

Charts
Chart (1994) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[3] 87
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[4] 26

References
  1. "Angel". Kirsty MacColl. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  2. MacColl (1993-10-05). "Titanic Days - Kirsty MacColl | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  3. "Hit Singles 2" (PDF). Hit Music!. No. 64. 18 December 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 23 February 2023 – via World Radio History.
  4. Billboard. "Kirsty MacColl Angel Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  5. Newman, Melinda (11 December 1993). "Kirsty MacColl follows her 'Titanic Days' with (relatively) blissful nights of touring". Billboard.
  6. "Kirsty MacColl - Angel / Angel (Jay's Edit) - ZTT - UK - ZANG46". 45cat. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  7. "New releases: Singles". Music & Media. 8 January 1994.
  8. Hirst, Andrew (11 December 1993). "Beyond the Beat: Single of the Week". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. p. 3.
  9. Holmes, Peter (3 January 1994). "Time to wake-e up-e boys-e". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. Hall, Dave (5 November 1993). "Songwriter no longer a ghost". Tampa Bay Times.
  11. Robbins, Ira A. (1997). The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock: The All-new Fifth Edition of The ... - Ira A. Robbins - Google Books. ISBN 9780684814377. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  12. Graff, Gary (1996). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide - Google Books. ISBN 9780787610371. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  13. "Album Reviews". Billboard. 9 October 1993.
  14. Stephen M. Deusner (2005-06-07). "Kirsty MacColl: Titanic Days Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
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