Titanic Days

Following the release of her third studio album Electric Landlady in 1991, MacColl continued to write songs that would be recorded for her follow-up release Titanic Days. However, in 1992, when Virgin was sold to EMI, MacColl was dropped from the label, leaving her new material to be recorded without a record deal. Much of the album, including vocals and overdubs, was recorded in MacColl's small home studio at Ealing, due to the limited budget. The musicians who appeared on the recordings, largely from MacColl's own live band, agreed to wait for payment for their contributions until a record deal was finalised. MacColl and her band spent two days at Townhouse Studios in London, where all the backing tracks were recorded.[7]

The album was recorded over an approximate period of eighteen months. MacColl told Sunday Life in 1994: "In many ways this album was recorded back to front. I was writing songs, playing them live and knocking them into shape, then recording them for the album, when normally it would be the other way around."[8]

When the album was completed, ZTT Records agreed to release the album as a one-off release.[7][9] In the United States, the album was released by I.R.S. Records, which MacColl signed to after being introduced to the head of the label, Jay Boberg, as he happened to be the husband of a childhood friend.[10]

During the time of writing and recording the album, MacColl's marriage to Steve Lillywhite was disintegrating. As such, much of album's material reflected MacColl's personal issues.[11] She told Billboard in 1993: "There were big things happening in my life, and then every time you turned on the TV, there was a war going on and countries changing. It was such a strange period, it was so huge, that's why we called the album "Titanic Days"."[10]

Both "Angel" and "Soho Square" were performed on Later... with Jools Holland in November 1992.[12][13] "Can't Stop Killing You" was performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in November 1993 and "Bad" on Kenny Live in February 1994.[14][15]

Speaking to Gilbert Blecken in 1994, MacColl described "Last Day of Summer" as being "lyrically quite dark, but musically very bright".[16] "Tomorrow Never Comes" was recorded in a single day, with Nevin playing guitar, bass and organ. In MacColl's The One and Only biography, Nevin described the song as his favourite on the album.[17]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Pitchfork	8.2/10[18]

Upon its release, Andrew Boyd of Reading Evening Post felt the album had a "satisfying diversity of styles on offer" and was a "commercial and pleasingly varied effort which should cheer MacColl fans everywhere".[19] Neil McKay of Sunday Life noted the album's "tales of domestic violence and strife, intercut with a neat turn of phrase and sense of humour".[20]

Billboard described the album as "a brew of pure pop sense and biting wit at least as satisfying as her previous work". They picked "Can't Stop Killing You", "Soho Square", "Angel", "Bad", "Big Boy on a Saturday Night" and "Titanic Days" as the album's "high points".[21] The Age picked Titanic Days as their "Album of the Week" and commented: "Titanic Days builds on the strengths of [her] last effort - strong songs, memorable hooks and a gentle ebb and flow between acoustic and electric."[22]

Adapted from the album liner notes.[23]

Musicians

• Kirsty MacColl – vocals, guitar (3, 5), keyboards (6)
• Mark E. Nevin – guitar (1–11), bass (11), harmonium (11)
• Dave Ruffy – drums (1–3, 6, 7, 9, 10), programming (3, 10)
• Gary Tibbs – bass (1–3, 5–7, 9, 10), backing vocals (9)
• Pete Glenister – guitar (1–3, 6, 7, 9, 10)
• Jamie West-Oram – guitar (1, 9)
• Chester Kamen – guitar (6, 10)
• Roy Dodds – drums (4, 5, 11), percussion (4, 5, 11), congas (6)
• Steve Nieve – keyboards (1, 2, 7, 9)
• Kate St. John – oboe (2), Cor Anglais (5)
• Kim Burton – keyboards (4)
• Simon Edwards – bass (4)
• Roger Beaujolais – vibraphone (5)
• Andy Kowalski – additional programming (10)
• Ken Rice – violin (3)
• Fiachra Trench – string arrangements (1, 2, 4–11)
• Gavyn Wright – string leader (1, 2, 4–11)

Technical

• Victor Van Vugt – producer, engineer (1, 2, 4–10)
• Kirsty MacColl – producer (1, 2, 4–11)
• Mark E. Nevin – producer (1, 2, 4–11)
• Steve Lillywhite – producer (3), mixing
• Andy Kowalski – mixing assistant
• Alan Douglas – engineer (11)

CD two

• Steve Lillywhite – producer (1, 9–12), remixing (11)
• Victor Van Vugt – producer (2, 7)
• Kirsty MacColl – producer (2, 7)
• Mark E. Nevin – producer (2, 7)
• Peter Kaye – producer, mixing (5, 6)
• Stuart Crichton – additional production, remixing (1, 10)
• Gregg Jackman – additional production, remixing (9)
• Apollo 440 – remixing (12)

Notes

• As co-producers, Kirsty MacColl and Mark E. Nevin are credited as Baboon Farm on the album cover on tracks 1, 2, 4–10, and tracks 2 and 7 on CD Two.[24]
• Tracks 3, 4 and 8 on CD Two are unreleased demos from the Titanic Days sessions.

• Titanic Days at KirstyMacColl.com