Directory -- SproutFacts -- Discography -- Collectables -- More Sprout Info -- Paddy: On The Records -- Gallery -- PrefabLinks -- Sign Guestbook View
How did we get here? (UK release dates)
1984 -- Swoon
1985 -- Steve McQueen / Two Wheels Good
1988 -- From Langley Park To Memphis
1989 -- Protest Songs
1990 -- Jordan: The Comeback
1992 -- Life Of Surprises (previously released material plus two new tracks)
1997 -- Andromeda Heights
1999 -- 38 Carat Collection (previously released material)
2001 -- The Gunman and Other Stories
2003 -- I Trawl The Megahertz (Paddy McAloon solo project)
2007 – Steve McQueen re-mastered with some new acoustic versions of some of the tracks.
Here’s the Sony press release:
There is much lip service paid to the notion of “perfect
pop”, and there have been many attempts over the years to create the perfect
pop record, but few have come as close as Prefab Sprout did on Steve McQueen.
Released in June 1985, the second Prefab Sprout album received rave reviews and
saw mainman Paddy McAloon elevated to the pantheon of revered recording artist.
This seminal album will be available once again in a 2cd legacy edition with
eight acoustic versions for this release on April 2 2007.
Many writers and music aficionados list this among their top
LPs of all time. NME’s critics voted it at Number 90 in their 1985 poll of The
100 Greatest Albums Ever, while a similar 1988 NME poll, voted this time by
readers, put it at Number 24. Steve McQueen was everywhere throughout
1985 and the following year, a veritable mid-’80s student standby, as
ubiquitous as Dark Side Of The Moon had been a decade before and (What’s
The Story) Morning Glory? a decade later.
“Steve McQueen” was the second full length album
from Prefab Sprout. Reaching No:
21 and remaining in the UK charts for 35 weeks . The album contained the single
which first broke the band into the Top 25 with the heartbreaking classic “When Love Breaks Down”, albeit at the third attempt (the
single had previously been released twice before). Other singles taken from the album include “Faron Young”, “Appetite”
and “Johnny Johnny” (originally
entitled “Goodbye Lucille #1” on the
album).
Now
digitally remastered by original producer Thomas Dolby the album is sounding even better than ever. As if that weren’t enough it is
complemented here with a second disc containing eight sublime acoustic
versions, which have been specially re-recorded for this release by Paddy
McAloon.
These new stripped down versions will be highly anticipated
by the legion of loyal Prefab Sprout fans, showing sparser and subtle
renditions of the original tracks with guitar, vocals and harmonica replacing
keyboards in parts. Reduced to
their bare essentials but at the same time re-arranged to create stunning
refreshing new versions of the classic tracks, “Faron
Young” for instance
is a radical departure from the original album version with a new ending whilst
“When Love Breaks Down” showcases Paddy’s
mature deeper vocals - heartstopping stuff !
“Paddy did the new acoustic versions last summer – we were
laughing because they took longer than the original album,” said Kitchenware
majordomo Keith Armstrong. “It was partly due to Paddy’s inherent
perfectionism. It’s ironic that doing a simple record of songs took him three
times as long as it did to complete the fully polished original album – but
that’s Prefab Sprout in a nutshell.”
The new acoustic songs, explained the label boss, were the
result of a search for unreleased or hard-to-obtain material, although this was
easier said than done. “The reality is, the band only recorded stuff that Paddy
thought was good, and the singles B-sides – with a few exceptions like
‘Spinning Belinda’ or ‘Donna Summer’ - were done with a disdain for B-sides.
But we wanted to find good things to add to the package. Actually, it was Paddy
who suggested, ‘Why not do them acoustically and see how they sound?’ And
because his voice is deeper and more experienced now, it sounded like a great
idea.
I like the songs with all the glitter and
polish, but I also like them this way. I thought they’d be just his acoustic
guitar and voice, but he rearranged them quite differently. It was exciting. I
was expecting straight guitar and vocals, but because his voice had changed and
because of the changes in arrangement I was blown away. “
“’Bonny’ is my favourite,” he decides, “but then it always
has been my favourite Prefab Sprout song. The only reason it didn’t make it
onto Swoon is because I wouldn’t stop going on about it! ‘Moving The River’ is
quite different; so is ‘Faron Young’. ‘Desire As’ is the stand-out – where
before the sound was translucent, here it’s meatier. In terms of the experience
Paddy’s gained, these are like Johnny Cash versions.
The
album has been re-packaged in a deluxe digipack with new photographs and
sleevenotes written by journalist Paul Lester.
Digital Download Single :
“When Love Breaks Down” (Acoustic
Version) will be available as from 12th March.
Directory
-- SproutFacts
-- Discography
-- Collectables
-- More
Sprout Info -- Paddy:
On The Records -- Gallery
-- PrefabLinks
-- Sign
Guestbook View
Errors? Omissions? Comments? Contact me!
My
home page