All I Ever Wanted (Kirsty MacColl song)
"All I Ever Wanted" is a song by British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, released in 1991 as the third and final single from her third studio album Electric Landlady. It was written by MacColl and Marshall Crenshaw, and produced by Steve Lillywhite.[2] The song reached No. 154 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.[3]
"All I Ever Wanted" | ||||
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Single by Kirsty MacColl | ||||
from the album Electric Landlady | ||||
B-side | "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis (Live)" | |||
Released | October 1991[1] | |||
Length | 3:30 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Kirsty MacColl Marshall Crenshaw | |||
Producer(s) | Steve Lillywhite | |||
Kirsty MacColl singles chronology | ||||
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The song was remixed for its release as a single. Three live tracks were included across the single's different formats: "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis", "Walk Right Back" and "A New England". The tracks were recorded live for BBC Radio 1's Into the Night on 26 June 1991.[4]
A music video was filmed to promote the single. It was directed by Jeff Baynes, produced by Michael Brown and features Rowland Rivron.[5][6]
Background
In a promotional video on the making of Electric Landlady, MacColl commented: ""All I Ever Wanted" is a song I wrote with Marshall Crenshaw some time ago. We actually wrote it by post. He sent me a cassette from New York of some chord patterns that he'd put down. Then I put down some vocals and got the lyrics together, and sent it back to him. And he was like 'Well I can't sing this, this is a girl's song', so we put it on hold and now I've finally done it. I recorded it in New York with the Latin band. It sounds great, it sounds like Buddy Holly and Acapulco."[7]
Crenshaw later submitted the song when asked to provide a song for the film That Thing You Do! but it was not selected.[8]
Critical reception
In a review of Electric Landlady, Steve Pick of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch commented: "Several songs feature Latin musicians. Sometimes they add a light rhythmic touch; "All I Ever Wanted" implicitly connects the early Beatles with the bossa nova that had to influence them."[9] Mike Curtin of The Post-Star described the song as "the best 10,000 Maniacs song that the Jamestown, N.Y., folk-rock band never wrote."[10] Casey Seiler of the Jackson Hole Guide noted the song's "rock-guitar twang".[11]
John Kovalic of the Wisconsin State Journal commented: "The solid, catchy pop of "All I Ever Wanted" may be the [album]'s strongest selling point".[12] Barbara Jaeger of The Record wrote: "The collection has its share of folk-rock tunes, the catchiest of which are "All I Ever Wanted" and "He Never Mentioned Love". The delightful melodies of both are the springboards from which MacColl's voice soars."[13] In The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock, Ira A. Robbins said of MacColl's 1995 compilation Galore: "Galore gives Electric Landlady short shrift by omitting the pure pop delight of "All I Ever Wanted"."[14]
Track listing
- 7" and cassette single
- "All I Ever Wanted" - 3:30
- "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" (Live) - 3:49
- CD single (UK #1)
- "All I Ever Wanted" - 3:30
- "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" (Live) - 3:49
- "Walk Right Back" (Live) - 3:38
- "A New England" (Live Acoustic Duet with Billy Bragg) - 3:27
- CD single (UK #2)
- "All I Ever Wanted" - 3:30
- "What Do Pretty Girls Do?" - 2:38
- "Walk Right Back" (Live) - 3:38
- "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" (Live) - 3:49
- CD single (US promo)
- "All I Ever Wanted" - 3:30
- "All the Tears That I Cried" - 3:31
Personnel
All I Ever Wanted
- Kirsty MacColl - vocals
- Pete Glenister, Elliott Randall - guitar
- Ian Aitken - acoustic guitar
- Oscar Hernández - piano
- Judd Lander - harmonica
- Sal Cuevas - bass
- Robbie Ameen - drums
- Milton Cardona - conga
- José Mangual Jr. - bongo guiro
- Marc Quiñones - timbal
Production
- Steve Lillywhite - producer on "All I Ever Wanted" and "What Do Pretty Girls Do?"
- Jon Fausty, John Brough, Alan Douglas - engineers on album version of "All I Ever Wanted"
- Jon Fausty, Pete Lewis - mixing on album version of "All I Ever Wanted"
- Steve Lillywhite, Howard Gray, Trevor Gray - mixing on single version of "All I Ever Wanted"
- Paul Williams - producer of live tracks
- Paul Roberts - engineer on live tracks
Other
- Kirsty MacColl, Bill Smith Studio - sleeve design
- Charles Dickins - photography
Charts
Chart (1992) | Peak position |
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Australian ARIA Singles Chart[15] | 154 |
References
- "All I Ever Wanted". Kirsty MacColl. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- AllMusic Review by Stewart Mason (1991-06-25). "Electric Landlady - Kirsty MacColl | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- "Kirsty MacColl ARIA chart history, received from ARIA on 17 March 2020". Imgur.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- "All I Ever Wanted (CD single 2)". Kirsty MacColl. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- "Kirsty MacColl - All I Ever Wanted". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- From Croydon to Cuba... The Videos [All I Ever Wanted] (Motion picture). Virgin, EMI. 2005.
- Kirsty MacColl (2005). From Croydon to Cuba... The Videos [The Making of Electric Landlady] (Motion picture). Virgin, EMI.
- Call, Len Righi Of The Morning. "'Walk Hard' songwriter Marshall Crenshaw gets serious". mcall.com. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
- Pick, Steve (28 June 1991). "Kirsty MacColl has some new tricks". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Curtin, Mike (6 October 1991). "MacColl's eclectic 'Electric'". The Post-Star.
- Seiler, Casey (17 July 1991). "MacColl's 'Landlady' takes charge with grab-bag pop". Jackson Hole Guide.
- Kovalic, John (8 September 1991). "Kirsty MacColl cool and catchy". Wisconsin State Journal.
- Jaeger, Barbara (8 August 1991). "MacColl's signs of progression". The Record.
- 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 2020-04-04.
- "Kirsty MacColl ARIA chart history, received from ARIA on 17 March 2020". Imgur.com. Retrieved 4 April 2020.