The Album Review Club - End of Round #9 Break (page 1904)

[RobMCFC]

I'm somewhat surprised by how quickly some of the reviews on this thread appear after a nomination.

I generally listen once on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday before casting my vote. There are some albums that will benefit from having time to bed in but I don’t think that this is one of them. There are some well constructed and performed songs here but on all but about 4 of the songs, the sonic palette is just not suitable for my ears.

 

[Saddleworth2]

I'm somewhat surprised by how quickly some of the reviews on this thread appear after a nomination. Not wanting to judge because some of us have more time to invest than others but for me I need probably at least three listens to start getting a proper sense of whether particular music is for me or not. I go through phases of listening to a lot of new stuff (usually just after I've got the new copy of Uncut and earmarked albums after the reviews) and then returning to the familiar. First impressions can count for a lot but second and third probably add a bit more to an understanding.

Prefab Sprout are another band I've rarely listened to although I'm aware they can bang out a great tune and I have had one or two randomly on my playlists in the past and always thought I should listen to more so a good shout that they have turned up here. My preference when listening to albums is to listen in it's entirety but even with my not too pressured life I struggled to do that initially here (I mean, an hour... good value but...) but managed on the way to the match yesterday to follow the end of the second piecemeal listen with the full thing.

Impressions are it's a definite 80s vibe. The comparison with Deacon Blue seems a fair one and the other artist from (I think) that era that came to me was Black (Wonderful Life anyone, a criminally underrated album). Interestingly Black for me suffered a bit of what I think PS have suffered here in that his first two albums were very good (and I'm assuming that to be the case with PS) before becoming a bit bland and generic in the aim of, well I don't know what.

Not that this album is bland. In places it's good. I don't know if it's the "overproduction" or over writing but there were bits I found irritating. I'm being picky but the affection of how "wild" is sang in Wild Horses and a musical shift in Moondog spoiled what I thought were potentially very good songs.

The straighter they play it the better I like it and songs like "All the World Loves Lovers" are fine but the Jesse James songs I thought, well why? And the middle suite of songs Ice Maiden, Paris Smith etc were not for me although I think I understand what was being aimed for.

I'm aware that Paddy McAloon is considered something of a genius but I didn't think I was in the presence of genius here, rather someone striving too hard to show he is one.

After my second listen ended yesterday Apple Music very kindly provided me with a playlist of "similar" music which was instructional. No Black and no Deacon Blue so what do I know? China Crisis who I've also never listened to and then the Blue Nile, another band I did listen to after reading a gushing retrospective about their lost genius only to think, what, is that it?

I think Prefab Sprout are probably better than this. I always like to read up on the nominations and can see how lauded the album is but for me it's over reaching, too varied and in going for grandiosity has lost something. I imagine I'm going to listen to Steve McQueen later today and who knows it might lead me back to a greater appreciation of this but for now, with a slightly heavy heart, it's a 5

I am aware that they are likened to Blue Nile, another group I have a lot of time for, I have to say though, other than extensive use of synths I can’t see it. Deacon Blue definately not.
Mcaloon quotes his influences as Beach Boys, T Rex and Roxy Music.

Shame you didn’t like it better but thanks for giving it a proper go. I do find that once an album gets labelled, in this case, ‘overproduced‘ it’s very hard to shake that off. I do get that, particularly when time is tight, it’s tempting to pick up stuff from other reviews and you start to get some repetition of themes.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

I am aware that they are likened to Blue Nile, another group I have a lot of time for, I have to say though, other than extensive use of synths I can’t see it. Deacon Blue definately not.
Mcaloon quotes his influences as Beach Boys, T Rex and Roxy Music.

Shame you didn’t like it better but thanks for giving it a proper go. I do find that once an album gets labelled, in this case, ‘overproduced‘ it’s very hard to shake that off. I do get that, particularly when time is tight, it’s tempting to pick up stuff from other reviews and you start to get some repetition of themes.

I’m guilty of that here Saddles.
I had a work mate years ago who I also knew from growing up in the same area, who used to do local radio and a bit of DJaying. Back in the 80’s I remember him trying to convince me that McAloon was a genius and Prefab Sprout were fabulous and I just couldn’t see it.
All I had in my head was ; hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque! - and I thought no thanks, not for me.

So after your wonderful write up, I was really looking forward to listening to them with fresh, perhaps more mature ears. I’m on my third listen at the moment and have to say, yes there are some decent tunes on here, but I find myself nodding in agreement with other posters as I listen.
Particularly @journolud who sums it up better than I could, I’m sure.

I find similarities with Steely Dan in parts. Another wonderful band who have some fabulous tracks that I like. Unfortunately another wonderful band that I really couldn’t take much of though.

Each listen here, I’ve had the same problem. My mind just wanders after three songs and I struggle to see it through to the end.

It’s fine background music if you are reading or something, because I don’t find it grabbing my attention. Whereas the likes of Dan has maybe more grit or Steel in the jazzy undertones, with Sprout I just hear saccharine sweet or sometimes movie score or a musical. I would agree with you that it has an upbeat vibe and can see how if you are into the overly smooth sound (for me) that it would be a great mood lifter. But the bottom line is I didn’t like the sound back in the 80’s and this hasn’t convinced me otherwise. It is overly long for me. I keep checking the next song to see how much is left.

I’m tempted to go with a 5 also as I cannot see myself coming back to it again in the future, but as it’s so well produced, which is a bonus in this case, although others don’t agree, I’ll give it a 6……
Just for you. ;-)

Edit: One of the Broken is a nice tune and Mercy too.
Probably deserves the 6.

 

[Saddleworth2]

I’m guilty of that here Saddles.
I had a work mate years ago who I also knew from growing up in the same area, who used to do local radio and a bit of DJaying. Back in the 80’s I remember him trying to convince me that McAloon was a genius and Prefab Sprout were fabulous and I just couldn’t see it.
All I had in my head was ; hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque! - and I thought no thanks, not for me.

So after your wonderful write up, I was really looking forward to listening to them with fresh, perhaps more mature ears. I’m on my third listen at the moment and have to say, yes there are some decent tunes on here, but I find myself nodding in agreement with other posters as I listen.
Particularly @journolud who sums it up better than I could, I’m sure.

I find similarities with Steely Dan in parts. Another wonderful band who have some fabulous tracks that I like. Unfortunately another wonderful band that I really couldn’t take much of though.

Each listen here, I’ve had the same problem. My mind just wanders after three songs and I struggle to see it through to the end.

It’s fine background music if you are reading or something, because I don’t find it grabbing my attention. Whereas the likes of Dan has maybe more grit or Steel in the jazzy undertones, with Sprout I just hear saccharine sweet or sometimes movie score or a musical. I would agree with you that it has an upbeat vibe and can see how if you are into the overly smooth sound (for me) that it would be a great mood lifter. But the bottom line is I didn’t like the sound back in the 80’s and this hasn’t convinced me otherwise. It is overly long for me. I keep checking the next song to see how much is left.

I’m tempted to go with a 5 also as I cannot see myself coming back to it again in the future, but as it’s so well produced, which is a bonus in this case, although others don’t agree, I’ll give it a 6……
Just for you. ;-)

Edit: One of the Broken is a nice tune and Mercy too.
Probably deserves the 6.

Where some find blandness, I find beauty.
Where they find over production, I find perfection.
Where they find horrible, I find heavenly.

it was ever thus ;-)

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Where some find blandness, I find beauty.
Where they find over production, I find perfection.
Where they find horrible, I find heavenly.

it was ever thus ;-)

There is nothing horrible about this though.
Won’t be everyone’s taste, but for me to give a 5, I will have to be straying into the serious dislike area. Anything lower and it gets towards the hate and terrible/horrible end of the spectrum.

This is listenable stuff even if it is not to taste.

 

[RobMCFC]

I am aware that they are likened to Blue Nile, another group I have a lot of time for, I have to say though, other than extensive use of synths I can’t see it. Deacon Blue definately not.
Mcaloon quotes his influences as Beach Boys, T Rex and Roxy Music.

Shame you didn’t like it better but thanks for giving it a proper go. I do find that once an album gets labelled, in this case, ‘overproduced‘ it’s very hard to shake that off. I do get that, particularly when time is tight, it’s tempting to pick up stuff from other reviews and you start to get some repetition of themes.

Maybe “overproduced” is the wrong word. I like hearing the sound of individual instruments in the mix. Whatever I’m listening to, I like it to be well produced rather than ramshackle. However, I’m not keen on albums where there’s so much keyboard that it all washes together and you lose the sound of the other instruments. That’s why I made the comment about “We Let The Stars Go” - it doesn’t last long, but you can definitely hear the sound of something hitting the strings and it’s a great song that doesn’t sound too cluttered.

That’s not to say that I don’t like production that uses a lot of keyboard. Some of Bruce Hornsby’s earlier albums use it in creative ways, where the sound is just a pad on top of which everything else rides and you don’t lose the sound of the piano. The Fountains of Wayne album is a slick production, but not at the expense of the piano or electric guitar or acoustic guitar.

Just my two-penneth, but that mix of instruments is almost always what I’m listening for first.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I’m late again but am dutifully listening on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Not what I expected! Prefab Dan? Steely Sprout?

Some Aztec Camera in here too.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I’m getting my haircut this week, and me and my wife and kids all go to this same 50-something woman who has been our stylist for years and years. She’s equally adept at doing fancy stuff like my wife and kids want, but also my rather utilitarian doo (which she charges a lot less for). I bring this up because this is exactly the type of record I could hear there – pleasant, quietly colo(u)rful, innocuous save for a rolling tempo and sometimes a little curious, but somehow soothing.

So after listening, I was looking over some of the reviews of this record at release time, and I was a little surprised to see what a cause celebre some claimed it should be. I don’t really hear that. If one is looking for an off- or nearly-on Broadway soundtrack I can see that as, lyrically, there is some brilliance here. But musically despite is style mixtures, it doesn’t take as many chances as a pop record could, nor as many as I anticipated given the notoriously quirky Thomas Dolby was so involved.

I do hear a LOT of bands I like in here. The opening three, as I mentioned, sounded like a new wave Steely Dan, a comparison I find many others have made about this band both here and at the time they were releasing this record. I especially liked the opener “Looking For Atlantis” (though – yet again – I could do without the harmonica at the end); no surprise it was a single. I was hoping some more of the record would sound like this one – upbeat, optimistic, some nice turns of phrase, but a tune that will get you moving. At 19 songs I think this could have been winnowed down to 10-12 of the best and little would have been lost and quite a lot gained.

While tune-wise they weren’t really me, I very much liked the lyrics to the “Jesse James Symphony” and “Bolero”, which almost sounded like they came right out of a musical, albeit perhaps a parody of a musical. “We chopped a billion trees / To print up eulogies” from “Moon Dog” is another nice turn of phrase, and a tune where the snare drum and true-80s bridge takes over in a good way. I think this is my second fave. Actually, there are nice little clever, interesting lyrical touches like this all over the record, which add a layer of pleasure the music doesn’t quite meet. It’s almost like the music is purposefully slight, though then again that’s okay too because it doesn’t overwhelm Paddy’s voice, which I really find enjoyable (and I remember liking a lot from their earlier stuff).

Elsewhere, “All The World Loves Lovers” has a Pet Shop Boys feel that nudges the record dancier (always a plus), and the Bowie impersonation on “The Ice Maiden” HAD to be intended. After that, I think things devolve some (“The Wedding March” was definitely not a favo(u)rite). “One of the Broken” with its spoken word background reminded me of Peter Gabriel’s worst tendencies in his early solo work (and I LIKE him), while “Michael” was better Genesis but with Phil Collins singing. We get better near the end with "Scarlet Nights", when we return to up-tempo with a good tune which is more what I was hoping for.

I’m wavering between a 6 and a 7 here, but I think I have to go 6 in that there is a 7 here, and there are definitely moments of beauty even, but it’s cluttered/buried with songs that trip numbers like 3, 4 and 5 for me. But if the intent is to get me to spend a little more time with PF and Paddy’s lyrics, mission accomplished. I can also absolutely see why this would be a favo(u)rite with some folks.

This was a fun and interesting choice -- thanks Sadds!

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I am aware that they are likened to Blue Nile, another group I have a lot of time for, I have to say though, other than extensive use of synths I can’t see it. Deacon Blue definately not.
Mcaloon quotes his influences as Beach Boys, T Rex and Roxy Music.

Shame you didn’t like it better but thanks for giving it a proper go. I do find that once an album gets labelled, in this case, ‘overproduced‘ it’s very hard to shake that off. I do get that, particularly when time is tight, it’s tempting to pick up stuff from other reviews and you start to get some repetition of themes.

Ah, that's another I almost mentioned -- I was thinking a little Roxy Music in here too. I actually like the keyboard wash a lot -- in fact I wish there'd been more of it and more snare/pace. The good songs here are quite good though I think.

 

[BlueHammer85]

I’ve listened to this about 8 times so far, mainly on train into work. But around the house and any chance I get I’ll stick the album of the week on.

this for me had a Marc Almond/Erasure kind of vibe, totally unexpected after only knowing ‘the King Of Rock n Roll’ - even after all these listens it’s still challenging to keep interest in the concept going on here - Love, American Culture, Elvis,Religion? I’m not sure - the songs sounded so samey that it really was a struggle to get through.

I just can not find a stand out at all. Opener looking for Atlantis’ is lively and upbeat but the rest just floats along into nothingness - in fact I nodded off listening a few times.

it was well received by the critics by all accounts and from someone that thinks early David Gray is good on the ear - who am I to judge.

Did like the opportunity to hear Prefab Sprout and it was interesting to know there’s a different side to them.

but unfortunately it’s my lowest score review yet. Apologies.

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