This Is the Life

Album Review

The debut album from Scottish singer/songwriter Amy MacDonald, This Is the Life achieved a remarkable feat — it entered the charts at number two. MacDonald admits that the song "Poison Prince," which received a limited release as a single, is based on the life of Babyshambles and Libertines singer Pete Doherty but the first nationally released single, "Mr. Rock & Roll," has nothing whatever to do with him. With a finger on the pulse of news items of 2007, she sings on "Footballer's Wife" about WAG (wives and girlfriends) culture, famous for nothing much more than their celebrity partners. The title track, "This Is the Life," reflects the lifestyle she had always wanted to follow since the early days of practicing the guitar and honing her songwriting skills; "Let's Start a Band" is exactly that, a song about being successful in the fickle career of pop music, a theme that is further developed on the song "Barrowland Ballroom," named after a venue in Glasgow that many an aspiring artist wishes to play in. MacDonald captures the feelings of ordinary people in the crowd wishing that something exciting would happen in their lives ("I wish I saw Bowie playing on that stage"). There is a nostalgic feel to the album, conjuring up vocal images of Kirsty MacColl, and even the album cover evokes the album art of the '70s, looking like the corners have worn away with age. [A 2007 edition included a bonus track, "The Road to Home."]