prefab sprout: jordan: the comeback

The Ice Maiden for me

My first impression is to go for Paris Smith, The Ice Maiden or Wild Horses. I'll have to give it another listen before voting. This album is ridiculously amazing.

We Let The Stars Go or Wild Horses for me...

it's pretty much between literally every track, but especially like, wild horses vs. carnival 2000 vs. moon dog vs. jesse james bolero vs. the ice maiden vs. one of the broken vs. scarlet nights vs. doo wop in harlem

Welcome to the glow of high octane affairs
Esperanto style and blonde disheveled hair

it's pretty much between literally every track, but especially like, wild horses vs. carnival 2000 vs. moon dog vs. jesse james bolero vs. the ice maiden vs. one of the broken vs. scarlet nights vs. doo wop in harlem

― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson),

The Wedding March is the only song that's below 10/10 here.

Wild Horses. a friend of mine turned me onto Prefab Sprout last year, he said that this song "presaged an entire genre/generation of music." it's an incredible song on its own, and it really is so ahead of its time. Love the syncopation in the chorus.

wild horses is the greatest

moon dog

We Let The Stars Go

Feels almost impossible. Might be my favourite album?

One problem might be that it doesn't really come apart - All the World… and All Boys and The Ice Maiden fit together and speak to one another and make each other better; the same for the whole redemption/religion/death run at the end.

Maybe Wild Horses as a stand alone? Always loved We Let The Stars go, but now I think it could do with an extra verse.

voodoo up, rollmo down

The smooth jazz vibe of Machine Gun is the only one I get enthusiastic about revisiting on Jordan. I prefer Steve overall

"The Wedding March" - "the grace that it takes / the grace you deserve / requires a lighter touch" - is a 10/10 for me. All 19 songs, killer, no filler. Love seeing people choose different tracks here.

One of those albums, over the years, every song has jumped out as being brilliant. So many lyrics to love - "Jesse James is thinking of the breaks he never had / and the gene that cursed his blood group Rhesus Bad", "Don't goodbye deserve some Bach, not barbershop?", "Girl, when I burn / hell, nothing's the same", "Can't forget His final words were 'Ain't no comeback gonna come your way.'" ....

I went with "Scarlet Nights" over "Wild Horses" (Jenny Agutter!) just because the guitar is always uplifting and cathartic after the previous three, and great on the car stereo.

After listening to this again, I've narrowed it down to either We Let The Stars Go or Paris Smith. We Let The Stars Go could get my vote because of the sparkling synths that appear as he sings the chorus. I could go with Paris Smith purely based of the line, "but I tried to be the Fred Astaire of words" combined with that beautiful swirling flute.

Ever since I got heavily into this band, I thought the hard decision was deciding if Swoon or Steve McQueen was their masterpiece. Now I'm starting to think it could be this?

Given that it's divided into four suite, how do you rate them? I'd go 4>1>3>2, 'Jesse James Bolero' and 'The Wedding March' are the weak points for me, but even they have their pleasures.

'suites'

Wild Horses has been a constant in my life since it came out so it was pretty clear cut in the end...

Apart from one or two tracks, this album drops off considerably after "all the world loves lovers" imo

idk how you could possibly choose just one

Given that it's divided into four suite, how do you rate them? I'd go 4>1>3>2, 'Jesse James Bolero' and 'The Wedding March' are the weak points for me, but even they have their pleasures.

― Dan Worsley, Thursday, July 13, 2017 1:40 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hmmmmmm

2>3>4>1

no that's not right

every song is great

i think i'm gonna go with "we let the stars go"

end of the road i'm traveling

Michael was my favourite when the album came out and on a recent re-listen it struck me as being weirdly beautiful. Probably not actually the best song on the album but my choice for this poll anyway.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Good results. Can't really argue with that top three.

The biggest surprise is that Looking For Atlantis didn't get a single vote.

"One Of The Broken" deserved a vote too.

Yeah, pretty rare album poll where the first track doesn't get a single vote.

this album is good

did they tour at all on this record? i'd like to hear wild horses live

a soundboard recording of a show from that tour recently surfaced

http://www.sproutology.co.uk/concerts/jordan-the-soundboard-dublin-point-december-9th-1990/

wow, amazing!!!!!!!! thank you!!!

i think this is my favorite album of all time now

Wild Horses came up on my shuffle yesterday and it sounded so heavenly. I think this album has finally caught up with how much I love Steve McQueen.

That soundboard Dublin show is great, thanks ufo. Paddy sounds quite the showman which I wasn't expecting for some reason.

No way to download that gig for safe keeping?

Most repeated stretch recently - “Jesse James (both)” - “Moon Dog” - “ATWLL”

I consider this one of the great "autumn" albums, probably because that's the time of year it was released...

Mercy getting no votes makes some sense since it's 82 seconds long but imo it's one of the best songs here

But Looking For Atlantis getting none too!? how!?!?

I've only just discovered this album, but is there an actual backstory behind the character of Jordan?

There are some great songs on this but Mercy is by far the greatest of them. I thought I’d voted in this poll but obviously not.

Fwiw, I find wild horses weirdly awkward.

Wow

Sorry wrong thread but weirdly right

Wild Horses is weirdly awkward but that's what makes it so great imo - the syncopation in the choruses specifically.

I assumed you were talking about the lyrics cos...

"I'm a wolf with an eye for the ponies" is an all time second verse closer line

This album!

the greatest album ever made

also an album somewhat ruined by the digital/streaming era (the last time i checked the spotify version is full of single edits)

are those actually single edits tho? they're labeled as such, but the song lengths are all pretty much the same as on the track listing from discogs. i don't have a digital copy to compare them to at the moment...

at any rate this record is amazing and kind of overwhelming.

also have yall heard nicholas krgovich flip wild horses into sleigh ride?? tis the season... https://nicholaskrgovich.bandcamp.com/track/sleigh-ride

are those actually single edits tho? they're labeled as such, but the song lengths are all pretty much the same as on the track listing from discogs. i don't have a digital copy to compare them to at the moment...

― J. Sam, Saturday, December 29, 2018 5:44 PM (thirty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

iirc the between-track transitions are all fucked up for he most part. gotta try again though

This was a Xmas pressie for me so I am still unpeeling the layers.

It amazes me that records such as this were released at a time when I was already deeply into music yet never appeared on my radar at the time (either due to the Melody Maker and NME not espousing it or, if they did, me discounting it). I can't help thinking that King of Rock and Roll did PS no favours as I probably thought of them as a bit of a novelty act when Jordan was released back in 1990.

Anyway, this sounds amazing and, at times, makes me think that Eitzel must have listened to a lot of PS as AMC's sound softened around the edges in the early to mid 90s.

I can't help thinking that King of Rock and Roll did PS no favours

McAloon alludes to this in an interview in this months Mojo

Missed this thread. This is an all-time favorite play start to finish set the mood album of mine.

If it was released today, maybe with a few subtle bells and whistles added, it would be...

listened to this a lot this time last year and their ability to explore emotional spaces both musically and lyrically is extraordinary. i had something of a damascene moment regarding them listening to We Let the Stars Go on a tube from Ealing. Wd agree with yugi ex that i missed out on them when reading the music press, feel i overlooked them rather than them not being represented tho. sure that Jordan made either the NME or MM EOYs.

You're right, mm had it at 27, mms at 23. Pills 'n Thrills topped both lists! Hmmmm.

are those actually single edits tho? they're labeled as such, but the song lengths are all pretty much the same as on the track listing from discogs. i don't have a digital copy to compare them to at the moment...

― J. Sam, Saturday, December 29, 2018 5:44 PM (thirty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ok so i double-checked and yeah: the single edit of "ice maiden" does not transition properly into "paris smith"

this is why i hate streaming btw

well actually it's probably apple's fault tbh, it's the same version of the record that's available on itunes. so i actually just hate the entire digital music era

try listening to sign o the times on any streaming service without constantly adjusting the volume

the drive to have only one version of a song available on digital/streaming services was so fucking destructive

sign o the times is a great example of a record where the vinyl vs. cd/digital is night and day

Funnily enough I keep thinking of Sign O'The Times as I am getting to know this, something about the scope, ambition and realised vision makes them seem aligned.

At the moment Jordan edges it as it doesn't have a Starfish & Coffee on it!

sign o the times is a great example of a record where the vinyl vs. cd/digital is night and day

I worked in a record shop in the summer of 88 and we had everything on cd, tape and vinyl. I remember doing a vinyl v CD sound test on Lovesexy and vinyl won by miles. The sound was indeed richer and more consistent but my abiding memory was how the snares crunched and smacked whereas on CD they just seemed to keep time.

Well, I'd never heard this (or had forgotten) before today. I've always had a troubled relationship with PS, finding them right on the cusp of the kind of arch and whimsical stuff that I struggle with. Anyway, talk about missing the obvious: it's glorious. And, stating the obvious, but I assume Dan Bejar has heard this once or twice.

Wow - did not know Natalie Prass was covering this - was made for the Spacebomb treatment now I think of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1jcxlnEK9Y

iirc dan bejar said this was one of the main influences on kaputt

xpost (Following Pure Bathing Culture's whole album cover of Hats, maybe 2019 is the year the sophistipop revival goes overground)

No idea who Natalie Prass is but that was a great cover.

"I Trawl the Megahertz", could also file under "puns I see now": "And, yes: ‘mega hurts’ – pun intended,” says Paddy in this Record Collector interview.

Lovely interview - the recent Mojo one is also a very good read.

When I sing "Looking for Atlantis" in my head I always sing it slower then I listen to it and think it's too fast. It is too fast, it's better in my head.

the September date for Femmes Mythologiques is new isn't it? looking forward to anything new from him

been a real jordan summer for me. it's between the title track, scarlet nights, or moon dog. or we let the stars go. the jesse james diptych also is kinda devastating at the right moment. lord, this album.

any music worth its salt is good for dancing

Just started really digging into this. Wish the production had a bit more oomphy low-end at parts... but wow lots and lots of a great songs.

death is a small price for heaaaaven

"I will sign it 'Lucifer regrets'" was warring with "Welcome to the glow of high octane affairs, Esperanto style, and blonde disheveled hair" as favorite lyric from a play last week. Every play, a new contender.

the earth was merely round
before the slapback sound

the moment where the heavy guitars come in on the ice maiden, jeez.

We're talking fire
We're talking flame
We're talking ice into ashes

He's been on their official Instagram talking about each of the newly reissued vinyl albums, some interesting and funny stuff on there; the Life Of Surprises comp was originally to be called Ten Years On The Launchpad.

arctic winds blow and still you believe
love makes you one of the chosen

a frantic phonecall from a friend has alerted me that the jordan demos have finally leaked

!!!

Woah, where?

yep

the j0rdan demos

The google link here worked for me.

Jordan demos anyone? https://t.co/lrFKDEvUTS and https://t.co/7gs4lz5Q2m - nothing to do with me but grab them while they’re there. From the PS unofficial FB group. Unreleased song too

— NicD (@Sproutology) May 19, 2020

Nice, many thanks! An unreleased song from this period is pretty exciting.

woa! this is amazing.
i love this record so much... never thought i‘d be able to hear alternate versions of every single song, and they are just beautiful! i love the shiny productions of the records but hearing these versions already carrying the same grand vision while keeping the naive purity of home recordings - even if pretty elaborate ones - is something else.

Well, these demos of one of my all-time favorite albums are such a gift. But are they demos or just rough mixes, perhaps a bit of both?

mostly seem like roughs, but scarlet nights is definitely a demo and it's 1000% worth checking out

while the arrangements are pretty fleshed out they seem clearly enough like demos

michael is so good

I usually try to avoid the comments on RYM but this one captured my feelings: "a good example of a band who whilst making a record, probably thought they were making their last." There's so much here, much of it great. If I had heard this album in time for the poll, I think I would have thrown my vote to "Looking for Atlantis" but there's like six or seven tracks here that could vie for best

my friend hates "horsechimes" but loves "the wedding march". i don't know how you can be so wrong

i love em both

wedding march gets a little too close to mccartneyesque granny music (which we also have very differing opinions on)

oh yeah, it's very 'when i'm 64'-esque. another song i love. it's corny, but paddy's sincerity and sharp lyricism shines through the corniness, just like on plenty of other moments throughout the album. tho, i understand why the wedding march is the hardest to take.

title track might have the strongest contrast of amazing chorus and what-were-they-thinking verses, although only paddy could even come close to pulling off the 'voiceover' style verses. but greatest chorus of all time! what a band

not only a voiceover-style verse, but delivered in a weak attempt at a southern-cowboy accent.

Yeah title track has quite a switch between the verses and chorus. I think there's a few moments like that on the album but I love how this album also feels like it contains every genre and every mood and so, switches like that are part of the deal. "Moondog" also has an abrupt switch from the section with the electric piano and fake brass back to the icy verses. Probably the only thing I wish I could change about this album is make more of the instrumentation live

the album is all about word painting too, so if he’s singing about angels and king david, he’s gonna add harps, if he’s singing about elvis, he’s gonna sing in elvis’s accent, if he’s singing about carnival in rio, you better believe there’s gonna be some samba.

i love it to death, tbh.

I don't think it's so much the arrangements as much as the slightly boxed-in nature of the synthetic sounds.

Still fucking slaps though.

Yes, I only mean to replace some of the synthetic instruments (like aforementioned brass) with real ones. Yes, the album is great anyway

I might be off base, but i think they layer real horns on top of synth horns in carnival 2000, which is kinda wild if that’s what they actually did

30 years old today

This album. I'd assumed it was the perfect spring listen but of course it makes sense at Christmas - it practically lights the fire for you. And all those bells.

I think I'd go for Scarlet Nights or Doo-Wop in Harlem if I voted today.

I get that wonderful spiralling feeling from this album, that every time I hear it, it just gets better and better - more coherent, more romantic and ambitious. And I only found out today that Jenny Agutter's line from Wild Horses is performed, not a sample.

Anyone know the story behind how they got her to do that line?

For those who want a bit of mini-history, critical response edition

To share this out with any Prefab Sprout fans out there -- posted this in response to a request asking for the writeups they and _Jordan: The Comeback_ got in the December 22 1990 year-end edition of _Melody Maker_ https://t.co/q29agyX527

— Ned Raggett (@NedRaggett) February 12, 2022

Definitely pushing into that time of year again.

It's time to admit when I listen to this for the first time in a while, I sometimes feel like I'm not making it past 'Machine Gun Ibiza'. "Voodoo up rollmo' down" makes me die a bit inside. Then 'We Let the Stars Go' comes on and I realise everything is going to be fine.

"machine gun ibiza" is silly but the bass is sumptuous

there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. rollmo forever.

But “hot dog jumping frog” didn’t bother you? I love Machine Gun Ibiza. Their lyrics are sometimes corny and sometimes sublime.

oh yeah, extreme sincerity boldly crossing over to corniness is certainly a feature, not a bug on this album. wouldn't have it any other way

Machine Gun Ibiza is BAD. The Ice Maiden into Paris Smith is the PEAK.

Criminal "looking for atlantis" received no votes. A perfect opener, that running baseline, "rain or shine", the acoustic guitar that seems like another synth background layer until you listen closely, "lesson 2 the worlds a cherry, but tomorrow maybe not, lesson 3 come on and taste it". That chorus melody, the inflection on the word "AND" a thing of beauty. A harmonica solo outro?!?!?!? And those lyrics. It might be my favourite prefab song

xp the very essence of this band to me is "corny + sincere"

as I mentioned upthread, I would've given "Looking for Atlantis" a vote if I'd heard this album when the poll ran. probably my favorite Prefab song too

Especially love it's message as described by the mouth of Paddie, "Go find someone to fall in love with and fall in love". With all the love songs in the world, that's a message that isn't very common!

it would never have occurred to me that a prefab fan could dislike machine gun ibiza

it’s prob my least fav on jordan, but still good. i like the way he sings “nitro-glycerine”

A perfect opener

Indeed!

Listening to this album for the first time in a while thanks to this thread. It's one of those rare albums that can move me to tears.

Not really fan of "Ibiza" either TBH. IIRC it wasn't all that popular in the ballot-based poll three years ago either.

*checks notes* Okay, it got 4 mentions there too. ( From 27 voters with up to 30 ballot slots to fill; ultimately tied for #57 across their whole oeuvre. )

Play this in a moving car and I will sing most of it loudly and mostly in tune.

love jordan so much. I wrote the wikipedia page for it because it used to be a stub.

Thanks for your work. Had a good read today

I will NOT countenance this criticism of Machine Gun Ibiza. Dude's a stone dead-a bluesman! And like you're getting that hurricun sound anywhere else.

Definitely pushing into that time of year again.

Hard for me to imagine listening to this album in the fall! I always think of it as basically Christmas music. Real sun-glinting-off-the-snow vibe.

Also can't believe "Looking for Atlantis" got zero votes.

It's a great autumn album as this is the time of year when it was released.

Machine Gun Ibiza is towards the bottom of this album for me, but it is undeniable that he is a top rollmo star.

If someone uploaded this to soulseek as "Ween - Machine Gun Ibiza (1999)" I would not doubt it for a second

Machine Gun Ibiza is BAD. The Ice Maiden into Paris Smith is the PEAK.

― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Tuesday, September 26, 2023 10:49 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

otmfm

PADDY JOE, say PADDY JOE runs through my head most weeks. What a perfect pop song. Every bar full of novelty. Those synth bells at "leeeeet theeee staaarrrrs gooooo" elevate me everytime they cut through. The backward guitar in the outro, the breath noises coming from the synth's filling the background of the 1st verse. The "aaaahhahahah" at remembering her. The harp and church organ halfway through the 2nd verse as "the light is gone", the beautiful snare roll leading into the 2nd chorus. That wobbly, "future days"-esque sound rolling through the final refrain. I love it all

Baffling that they left Looking for Atlantis of the Greatest Hits album two years later.

If you're looking for Atlantis
You should cast your eye on me

we let the stars go is perfect, no doubt. my favorite part is when the reverie ends and paddy’s acoustic plays us out

the second verse is such a gut punch

but the light is gone and it is dark
and what used to be the sky
is suddenly embarrassing
to the naked eye

Paddy’s acoustic guitar an undeniably great element of all prefab songs. Man knows how to play

Listening to the title track as I read that . . . otm.

I think 'suddenly embarrassing' gets close to how Machine Gun Ibiza makes me feel. There's something very specifically English in it, something I've felt at holiday camp talent shows, pantomimes and end-of-pier shows. It's a mythic (small r) romanticism that tips into something else; it's a zone McAloon has been exploring for decades.

This may be my favorite couplet of all time:

You and I won't lose our heads the way some lovers do
Saying "This will last forever" when it's just a year or two