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This Is the Life
 
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This Is the Life

~ Amy Macdonald
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (105 customer reviews)

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5 used from £6.51

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Product details

  • Audio CD (19 Aug 2008)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Universal Int'l
  • ASIN: B0017OLUUC
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 369,869 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

1. Mr. Rock & Roll
2. This Is the Life
3. Poison Prince
4. Youth of Today
5. Run
6. Let's Start a Band
7. Barrowland Ballroom
8. L.A.
9. Wish for Something More
10. Footballer's Wife
11. Road to Home - Amy MacDonald, Amy MacDonald

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Amy MacDonald is that proverbial old head on young shoulders, a Scottish singer-songwriter who, despite her tender 19 years, writes songs with the grace, wisdom and proficiency of one with a score more on the clock. As influenced by The Libertines as any venerable old folk hand, the eleven songs on This Is the Life combine a traditional, acoustic folk-rock sound with a youthful spirit and self-assured lyrics that veer between the observational and the confessional. "Poison Prince" is a jagged guitar strut dedicated to some Doherty-like bad boy, a song every bit as pathos-laden as The Libertines at their doomed, romantic best with a closing treatise to find "An upbeat song/So we can dance the night away", while "Mr Rock & Roll" begins as a wryly withering jibe at some perennial party animals, but by the chorus, has softened into a subtle, touching tale of human coupling. MacDonald’s age doesn’t seem to have been an impediment; "Youth of Today", reportedly written when she was 15, is one of the better tracks here, while "Footballer’s Wife" is a clear-headed attack on vapid Barbie Doll celebrity that suggests this girl is very much on the right track. "Rolling Stone, here I come, watch out everyone/I’m singing my song" she sings on "Let’s Start a Band". Let that be a warning to you. –-Louis Pattison

CD Description
'This Is The Life' is the debut album by Glaswegian singer-songwriter Amy McDonald. Taking her musical cues from Travis, The Libertines and Razorlight, the album brims with well-crafted songs sung passionately. Includes the singles 'PoisonPrince' and 'Mr. Rock And Roll'.

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Customer Reviews

105 Reviews
5 star:
 (88)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (105 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Room On The Bus, 5 Mar 2008
By The Wolf (uk) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: This Is the Life (Audio CD)
Is there room on the bus for another young female singer/songwriter ?
On this showing I can only give you an unequivocal "YES".

In this quite extraordinary debut album Amy Macdonald delivers 11 songs demonstrating a depth of musical and lyrical sensibility which belie her nineteen years on the planet.

Her vocal delivery displays obvious limitations but the strength of the melodic content and a winning way with words carry the material into a realm not matched by many of her peers.

It's hard to choose a favorite from such rich pickings but I would have to say that the truly wonderful 'Run' is as good as anything that the late, great Roy Orbison wrote in his entire lifetime.

The sympathetic production manages to wrap up a rootsy home-grown feel with the potential for a hugely successful transatlantic crossover.

Where she goes from here will be dependant on supportive and sensitive management. The careers of too many bright young things have been stifled or crushed by a business which often demands too much too soon.

Well done Ms Macdonald I will eagerly await your next offering with bated breath.
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44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This will certainly be the life for Amy...........after releasing this cracker!, 7 Aug 2007
By S. MCBEATH "Stmcb" (uk) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: This Is the Life (Audio CD)
This is the debut album from much talked about Amy MacDonald. Currently the female music scene is full of `The Streets' equivalents such as Kate Nash/Lilly Allan, and then there's Rihanna who seems to be on the radio 24/7. So when this 19 year old from Bishopbriggs came onto the scene with her catchy folkish acoustic pop songs; it felt like a breath of fresh air.

The album title `This is the Life' is appropriately named as it reflects the theme of the album as a whole. The songs give you the impression, she never had any doubt about what she wanted to do with her life and that she has always had the drive and ambition to achieve it. You can almost picture her when she was younger sitting in her bedroom with her acoustic guitar dreaming of making a career out of music. Unlike many who continue to dream, she did something about it and penned her thoughts about her dreams and ambition in to her songs. In fact the tune, `Lets start a band', is like seeing Amy's thought process in how she decided to make music. The song starts off with trumpets, singing about dreaming of being in a successful band and appearing in Rolling stone magazine. Furthermore she would only enter a band with someone if they wanted the same things as her. The middle section of the song goes into a kind of opera style singing which acts as a good build up because it gathers the momentum of the song leading to its climax; chanting "Let's start a band", repeatedly, you can feel the excitement.

Another song which echoes the theme of dreams is the joyful `Barrowland Ballroom'. For those of you who don't know `The Barrowlands is a legendary venue in the East end of Glasgow. Its one of those venues many artists aspire to play and from this song, it shows Amy is no different as she sings; "I wish that I was on the stage". In this song, Amy captures the essence of `The Barrowlands' brilliantly, "The lights outside are as bright as the sun, their much brighter than everyone". To me the song also implies that Amy's influences are from the 70s and 80s rather than more modern music through the lyrics:

And I wish that I saw Bowie, playing on that stage,
I wish that I saw something, to make me come of age

However her `My Space' page shows that most of her influences are modern, with bands like Guillemots, Kings of Leon and Arcade fire, to name but a few.

As well as the feel good chirpy folk/pop songs; Amy gives an insight into the other side of her song writing through `Youth of today' and `Footballers wives'. These songs are lot more scaled down, as if Amy is making people hone in on the lyrics because the issues covered are ones she feels more strongly about. In `Footballers Wives', Amy vents her annoyance about footballers wives getting lots of press coverage just because they are married to a famous footballer, e.g. `she thinks she's some kind of star, yes you know who you are, I don't think so'. While in the `Youth of Today' she sings about the older generation not giving enough respect to the younger generation, e.g. `It's just your one sided opinions that keep getting in my way'. These songs show that MacDonald is not afraid to say what she thinks and turning them into songs which convey powerful messages.

Having not even mentioned the superb hit single `Mr Rock n Roll' and her great take on Dougie MacLean's `Caledonia', which reflects well on the strength of the album as a whole. From this effort, it is more than apparent she has an abundance of talent, and at just 19 years old; I get the feeling the best is yet to come...

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars girl wise beyond her years, 21 Feb 2008
By Baldman "Mikey" (Durham,England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: This Is the Life (Audio CD)
great album - sparky production, intelligent lyrics that actually say something wrapped in catchy tunes that stay in your head - you will be humming these songs long after you've listened to them. The perfect mix of style and substance. As long as we can listen to stuff like this the future of popular music is safe in young hands who play and write for real instruments, not a loop or sample in sight. This young woman has a great future if she doesn't do a Joss Stone and get too far up herself.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars 1+1=
2. And that was less predictable than this album. 11 songs that sound very similar to eachother and are no progress on any music that's been made in this genre. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Mr. F. Beckett

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is The Life
I love this CD......so much that i wore out my first one!!! Nice and uplifting but not too much. Easy listening.
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. J. Herbert

4.0 out of 5 stars Amen.
This album contains a fresh, original, notable, enjoyable medley of well-written folk-rock songs, performed by a young musician with talent and nerve. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tras de las palabras

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best debut albums ever
I bought this CD after hearing Amy MacDonald for about 20 seconds on Radio 2. Her voice immediately attracted my interest and I took a chance on buying this album. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dr. W. H. Konarzewski

5.0 out of 5 stars Music at its very best!
I bought this album after hearing This is the Life and Poison Prince.
I put it into my CD player and listened to the whole thing through- there is not a single song that I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kay Scarlet

3.0 out of 5 stars A life less ordinary
I have to say that this debut album has generated an awful lot of hyperbole here; Amy's album deserves three stars for the three opening tracks alone: 'Poison Prince', 'This is... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Binro The Heretic

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Album
As with others I bought this album after hearing `This Is the Life' which is an excellent and definitely a five star song. Read more
Published 2 months ago by I. M. Knight

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
This is the Life
A friend recommended this CD to me and I'm so glad I bought it. All the songs are great and I listen to it all the time.
Published 3 months ago by Anne Charles

5.0 out of 5 stars As I expected
The CD was as I expected. I knew only "This is the life", but almost all the other songs have the same rhytme and style. I like it very much!
Published 4 months ago by Elisa Manassi

4.0 out of 5 stars This is the life
I bought this album having heard only one Amy MacDonald song, and I'm really glad I did, they grow on you! Unusual, and really good fun.
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. D. Mercer

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