prefab sprout - from langley park to memphis {poll}

Spotty follow-up to Steve McQueen but "Enchanted" is as good as anything they did in that era.

“the golden calf”

Cars and Girls

the stretch that goes cars and girls -> i remember that -> enchanted is probably in best music ever recorded territory for me

“I Remember That”…would love to hear Beyoncé cover that

exactly. thank you. unbelievable song

For reference:
"The King Of Rock'n'Poll" - The "From Langley Park To Memphis" Poll

Let's just rename this From Langley Poll to Memphis and keep going.

every song mentioned so far is really excellent. will add "nightingales," which is a little mushy even by sprout standards, but god what a lovely melody

the final 90 seconds of "i remember that" where he & the backing vocalists are all just going back and forth singing the chorus w/ vocal runs going off in all different directions is incredibly good. like, wow

“The Golden Calf” is such an outlier on here and in their catalogue. Can’t think of another track where they rocked so hard. End of “Goodbye Lucille #1” perhaps.

"The Golden Calf" could have been a Replacements song circa Pleased To Meet Me

I don’t think this is spotty really, maybe even his best collection of individual songs, but it doesn’t hold together like SMcQ, much less Jordan. Effect of multiple producers maybe.

Going to go for Golden Calf, Byzantium-upon-Tyne, because I always do (and that ‘but who on earth could I be?’) but Nightingales, I Remember That, Enchanted close behind.

Also Nightingales not mushy imo, lyrically at least - the way it carries the chorus metaphor through syntax and melody to persuade the you and the me that no we are not fading light remnants but a constant changing song sung by living at night is wild.

But could stand a bit of variation maybe? He knows it’s good, I know it’s good, but we just go through it a few times and the only variety is that cartoon cats verse.

I Remember That, though I love the whole album. Knock On Wood is a perfect palate cleanser between those two tracks.

The Golden Calf. Tough to choose though.

the lyrics to “nightingales” aren’t mushy, agreed, and they’re great as usual—more the arrangement and stevie’s harmonica. this band turns me into a big softie, tho, so i don’t mind at all

"Nightingales" is a beautiful song on all fronts, one of their best imo

Good piece about the making of it here: https://movingtheriver.com/2020/04/13/story-of-a-song-prefab-sprouts-nightingales/

"cars and girls"

this album is consistently good but never quite up with their best

"Nightingales" is great. I haven't heard this album in years so I'd have to re-listen to make a choice.

This is not spotty, at all. let's go for I Remember That.... love Golden Calf but always thought the mix on it was a little muddy/vocals a bit swamped by the guitar tone?

cars and girls is the best song ever so that

thought about throwing a vote to “king” but did indeed go with “nightingales”

I wish he flexed more guitar-hero moves like "The Golden Calf."

knock on wood i think

Wish they put "Donna Summer" on the album instead of a b-side. I'd vote for that.

^^^ that song is so good

Hot dog, jumpin' frog, Albuquerque

all my lazy teenage posts
are now high-precision ghosts
and they're coming 'round the track to haunt me

^^^ about reading an ilx thread from the beginning and encountering your old posts

I love the first six songs on this but it falls off after that. If they'd all been on that good it would be on the same level as Steve McQueen which is perfect. It's pretty the same way I feel about Scritti's Provision from the same year.

"Nightingales" is longing Paddy at his best.

Knock on Wood is perfect

I couldn't help but refresh my memory. For comparison, here's where 27 of y'all, with 30 ballot slots to fill, ranked these tracks within the broader PS oeuvre. Almost 4 years ago already, just as SARS-CoV-2 commenced disrupting everything. ( over here ). Pleasingly, nothing failed to attract at least one vote.

 8  Cars and Girls
15  I Remember That
23  The King of Rock 'n' Roll
24  Nightingales
28  The Golden Calf
34  Enchanted
38  Hey Manhattan!
48  Knock on Wood
79  The Venus of the Soup Kitchen
91  Nancy (Let Your Hair Down for Me)

Venus of the Soup Kitchen and Nancy (Let Your Hair Down for Me) ridiculously low in that poll.

Having not listened for a while, and speaking of Scritti Politti, I seemingly don't tend to remember the arrangements of the likes of "Knock On Wood" striving quite THIS hard for SP-ness. Bless. :)

I hated The King of Rock'n'Roll when I was a kid so I've always thought Prefab Sprout were a shit band, but it seems like people like them, am I missing something - does their other stuff sound like that song or is it different?

tbf I do have a legit reason to hate that song which I should probably not mention on the internet

just listen to steve mcqueen immediately and you’ll be cured

CP, surely you've heard "when love breaks down" on the radio?

apparently not that many times, I put it on and it took until 1:30 for me to recognise it, and yeah ok not for me, thanks anyway

I do think the album's a little frontloaded but stretches into new territory in the second half to interesting results. "Venus" is the only one I've never really clicked with

I do think the album's a little frontloaded but stretches into new territory in the second half to interesting results.

a thing i like about “golden calf” is how paddy puts on a deep american rocker voice like mccartney in “get back” or something

yeah, the affectations are something else -- I wish Matty Healy would try'em.

the performance of "cars and girls" at their final concert (second song in this video) is incredible. he sang the shit out of this

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

(the performances of "cowboy dreams" and "when love breaks down" are also great of course)

i love how on "cars and girls" he asks whether heaven is there being "all heavenly" ... it really cuts to the heart of the entire concept of heaven!

Knock on Wood is the sleeper hit.

I remember reading Junior Boys say Prefab was a big influence, but I never really heard it in their music. Then I heard Knock on Wood.

I don't really hear Junior Boys much in that song either... maybe in "Wild Horses"

Maybe few super-obvious facsimiles in their catalogue but such an 'influence' seems unsurprising, at least. Not entirely unlike, say, George Clanton also professing fandom.

I've cracked my problem with not having got into this album before: I don't like it starting with The King of Rock and Roll, which sets the whole thing off on a confusing footing

New tracklisting:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Z5K8z4YKCOLKHcj1Bdmnj?si=1243e665c5b04a2f

Anyway, I voted for Hey Manhattan before having done this and but now I wish I'd voted Nightingales

i agree that "the king of rock and roll" is the most cartoonish song on the album and makes for a bit of an oafish first step, but i also think the production flourishes make it a really fun song to listen to. i'm not even sure how to describe it but that part where the synths come in, then that little stabby guitar hits and paddy goes "hot dog!" in the crazy exaggerated falsetto... again it's not my fav song on the album by any stretch but that part rules

i'm also not even sure how to describe like... the little guitar riff that punctuates the verses on "golden calf," which might somehow be the catchiest part of the record just on its own? i kinda just walk around humming that riff

Yeah, that. Listening to it right now.

I thought it was Springsteen the first time I heard that song

Paddy goes a bit too hard on the vocal inflections on that song to do it for me.

nightingales by a wide margin

xp It sounds like he's singing about "the golden cock."

he reminds me of paul mccartney when he does his big rock voice like on “get back” or “back in the ussr” and other songs that don’t have “back” in them

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

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

don't remember if I voted or not but I'm cool with these results, though I'd probably flip 1 and 2

"Cars and Girls" is one of two Prefab Sprout songs that make me think of Gizmo from Gremlins learning to speak English by repeating Billy's phrases. "Appetite" is the other one:

Billy: He talks so well
Gizmo: talk so well?
Billy: It's pretty plain
Gizmo: pre-tty plain.

"The King Of Rock'n'Poll" - The "From Langley Park To Memphis" Poll

Cars and Girls 4
I Remember That 4
The King of Rock 'N' Roll 1
Nancy (Let Your Hair Down For Me) 1
Knock On Wood 1
Hey Manhattan! 1
Enchanted 1
Nightingales 0
The Golden Calf 0
The Venus of the Soup Kitchen 0

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, February 3, 2009 7:54 PM (fifteen years ago)

I'll accept the results but IRT still = goosebumps.