Amy Macdonald

About this product

This Is The Life is the debut album from Amy Macdonald and showcases the rare song-writing and vocal talents of one of Scotland's youngest and brightest new stars and features the hit singles 'Mr. Rock And Roll', 'This Is The Life', and 'L.A.'. This 2 CD version comprises 19 tracks and includes both acoustic and live performances of Amy's biggest hits.

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.