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This Is The Life | 
 enlarge | Artist: Amy Macdonald
Label: Mercury Records Ltd (London)
Category: Music
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £4.98
You Save: £5.01 (50%)
New (35) Used (5) Collectible (1) from £4.47
Rating:  92 reviews
Sales Rank: 73
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Running Time: 44 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 1732124
UPC: 602517321243
EAN: 0602517321243
ASIN: B000S0H0JG
Release Date: July 30, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Mr Rock & Roll | | • | This Is The Life | | • | Poison Prince | | • | Youth Of Today | | • | Run | | • | Let's Start A Band | | • | Barrowland Ballroom | | • | L.A. | | • | A Wish For Something More | | • | Footballer's Wife | | • | The Road To Home |
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| Similar Items:
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| Editorial Reviews:
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 This will certainly be the life for Amy...........after releasing this cracker! August 7, 2007
S. MCBEATH (uk)
40 out of 43 found this review helpful
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...
The weight of expectation October 4, 2007
Music Man (England)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
This is truly a stunning debut album from someone of such tender years. Like most great debut albums, they get around by word of mouth. Not having any previous history or fan base to call upon, they have to rely on impact and this has an impact like a cube of ice thrown down the back of your shirt. It forces you to sit bolt upright and say............wow!
The sheer quality of the songs on this CD shines like a beacon in the dark. Tremendous folk/pop stories, none better than "Mr Rock & Roll", "This is the life", "Poison Prince", "Youth of Today" and ...........well all of them if I'm honest. Wonderful melodies and thoughtful lyrics.
I repeat a stunning debut. I've bought more than my share of so called "rated" albums only to try and convince myself that by the 8th listen I must be missing something because I don't like it. Not so with this, I keep playing it because I simply love it.
Worries? I hope that such a carefree talent doesn't get crushed by the sheer weight of expectation that will surly surface when she gets around to recording her follow up. I really hope that she comes through because I want more from Amy MacDonald. If that's being selfish.............you're absolutely right.
Believe in the word of mouth and the written word................this is sensational.
Fantastic! September 4, 2007
A little penguin
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
I have never written a review before but this album is so good I feel compelled to write to encourage more people to try it. All songs get better and better with listenning and her lyrics are superb. Thoroughly enjoyable, well worth buying. Well done Amy MacDonald!
Brilliant February 22, 2008
gillan (Wales)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
After hearing This is the Life on Radio 2 I had to listen at the end to find out who was singing. When my daughter noticed the name written down she said she already had her album and how good it was. After listening to it myself I can only agree with the other reviews. It's very rare to find an album that all the tracks sound great on the first listen but this is one of them and they just keep sounding better and better.
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