| Author | Message | ||
     Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 188 Registered: 03-2006 |
Just curious...Does anybody on this board particularly care about 'em? I love 'em, or I guess "used to" would be more accurate, since they seem to be somewhat defunct nowadays...and they're into a diminishing returns mode with those few records that have trickled out...But at the height of his powers, particularly "Steve McQueen", Paddy McAloon was some kind of genius songwriter...I even liked his extremely weird solo record, "I troll the megahertz", or whatever it was called... And Kev, you can't accuse them of getting slick or blanding out - they started out that way!  | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 254 Registered: 10-2004 |
I love 'em. To me, Swoon, Steve McQueen, Protest Songs, and Jordan are all totally brilliant. Their early singles are awesome too. I liked bits of Andromeda Heights, but that was a little to slick for me. I mean, that made Steve McQueen sound lofi! I also like I Troll the Megahertz, except that for some reason it always makes me really, really depressed when I listen to it. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 190 Registered: 03-2006 |
I would agree about those exact discs, Jeff. Their music is nothing alike, but they produce in me the same kind of thrill that the Go-Betweens do...without trying to sound pretentious, it's that literate pop that deals with adult-y kind of subject matter thing, I guess. Funny how many of his songs, particularly on "Steve..." deal, essentially, with a guy who f___s around (Appetite, Horsing Around), yet he makes it sound noble...good one, Paddy! Troll is, I'd agree, mega depressing - still valid, great art, but it seems to come from an uncharacteristically dark place. Isn't Neil Conti, their original drummer, supposed to be "ace"? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 300 Registered: 05-2005 |
prefabs early singles at the time were ace, still sound endearing all these year later, Swoon i played only the other week and was still amazed at paddy's high standards of wriing, pretty original. steve was good but too much emulator in places from mr dolby, rest of the follow up i can take or leave it. neil conti is a sesh drummer, he's ok but 'ace'? i think not, just churns out it out like any session drummer does... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 271 Registered: 05-2005 |
you got me there Hardin. actually I love(d) steve mcq - havent heard it in aeons so will dig it out.I'd need to check this but didnt neil conti spend some time in the drummers seat with Morrissey? | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 195 Registered: 03-2006 |
I'm shocked that so many people like them and that album, because it's so easy on the ears, but I guess the songwriting doesn't pussyfoot around...there's a line in Jesse James that's a good example: "In his dreams destiny towered, but in the cold light of day it came as a coward"...that, to me, is heartbreaking and sums up McAloon's genius. I may have imagined it, but I think Conti was in demand as a sesh drummer, so it wouldn't be surprising if he'd rotated through the Smiths.... | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 249 Registered: 05-2005 |
It's called I Trawl The Megahertz. I love it. I can see how it would be too depressing for some though. For any male it certainly makes you think about where your life might end up. That poor guy recorded from the late night talk show talking about how lonely he is. That really is heartbreaking and you would not be human if you did not think "There but for the grace of god..." I've always loved Prefab Sprout too and really regret not going to see them in Dublin a few years ago. I just thought there was no way they could reproduce their sound live, but people who went told me they did and it was a magical show. I was just listening to Hey Manhattan a couple of nights ago with my daughter and telling her how much I love that song and singing along with it. I also was thinking of the words a few years ago when crossing the Brooklyn Bridge in New York - "The Brooklyn Bridge stretches below me..." | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 203 Registered: 03-2006 |
Does anybody know if they have a new record coming out any time soon, or if Paddy has any more solo stuff coming out? Thanks for helping us finally get the name right, Padraig, of course it's Trawl, not "Troll"...LOL...that must've been a web-induced Freudian slip! And of course, Prefab's work as a group is pretty dang depressing, too, it should be noted, if one wants to dwell on what the songs are about...For instance, in "Bonny", why doesn't she live at home? Has she just left or is she dead? But at least a lot of the gloomy Gus notions in his songs are balanced by a sense of spirituality. | ||
| Bob Mail Member Username: Bob Post Number: 16 Registered: 03-2006 |
I think the Sprouts parted company with their management a while back. I think their website which was run by them was taken down. They do not seem to have any offical web site as far as i can tell now. This is a shame. I think the first albums are excellent. They lost me around Andromeda and the Gunman albums though but for the run of Swoon, SMCQ,Jordan, and even LPTM which has one of my favourite songs ever on it "I remember that" they where/are class! I did see them live in Dublin around Jordan the Comeback and they where superb. I believe it was in the Point Depot if memory servers me. | ||
| Bob Mail Member Username: Bob Post Number: 17 Registered: 03-2006 |
serves me even..:-) | ||
| Pat Boland Member Username: Pat_boland Post Number: 1 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Point Depot it was, Bob Mail. Early December 1990. A magnificent show and a total contrast to the (equally magnificent) shows in the Olympia a decade later both in terms of personnel and mood. Paddy has suffered from poor health in recent years - a number of pretty serious eye operations have curtailed his output. Indeed, in some ways 'I Trawl the Megahertz' was both a result of and a meditation on Paddy's health and the (still) very genuine prospect that he may lose his sight completely. Of course, 'Steve McQueen' and 'Jordan: The Comeback' are among the finest albums I have ever heard. His post-1990 work (excluding ITtM) has suffered from some woefully ill-advised production (as one reviewer put it, the X-Files whistles and ITV Drama influenced saxophones damn near destroyed 'Andromeda Heights' and actually did destroy the largely appalling 'The Gunman...') so I wouldn't write off the great man just yet. As for Neil Conti; insofar as everyone of the Sprouts bar Paddy himself is a session-musician, he could be termed a session-man. He toured with the band in 2000 - unlike Wendy Smith - and his absence was just one of the many problems with the last two albums. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 216 Registered: 03-2006 |
Sad to hear that, Pat...I was given to understand that his eye problems were behind him. Of course, my knowledge is based on occassionally picking up one of those excellent UK music mags, like Mojo... Agree about the diminution of quality on the last two, though I still found things to enjoy in them and still find his lyrics-writing, for the most part, spot on... | ||
| Bob Mail Member Username: Bob Post Number: 20 Registered: 03-2006 |
Thanks for the confirmation of my memory Pat Boland. Also forgot that I had seen them before that point depot gig also in Dublin. At TCD in the Buttery Bar when Swoon came out. Now that must have been 20 years ago aghhh! | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 223 Registered: 03-2006 |
Hey Bob, weird bit of trivia this, but is the Buttery Bar you refer to the same as the "Buttery" mentioned in Paul Kelly's song, "To Her Door"? Love the song, but always wondered what his reference about it meant. | ||
| Bob Mail Member Username: Bob Post Number: 23 Registered: 03-2006 |
Hardin - nope I am afraid not. It is a different bar in OZ see the link below for full story http://www.paulkelly.com.au/faq/faq-1.html | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 226 Registered: 03-2006 |
Ahhh...fascinating. Thanks for pointing me to that...yes, that would make more sense that he ended up in a detox clinic rather than a bar... | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 261 Registered: 05-2005 |
It was the Olympia gig I missed. I'd forgotten about the 1990 gig, but I spent a lot of that year abroad so maybe I was not around. I was also very very broke at the time, so going to it was not an option anyway. Though I did find the money to see the Pixies that year. Awesome show in the Stadium. | ||
| Pat Boland Member Username: Pat_boland Post Number: 3 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Trinity College show was in April 1984. Amazingly, it was Neil Conti's first ever gig with the band! | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 239 Registered: 03-2006 |
I'm jealous of those of you who got to see the Sprouts in action. They put on a good show - give value for money? | ||
| Pat Boland Member Username: Pat_boland Post Number: 5 Registered: 05-2005 |
Surprisingly good as it happens, Hardin. The Jordan-era live band featured Paddy on guitar, Martin on bass, Wendy on backing vocals & Neil on drums with Paul Harvey on guitar, Jess Bailey on keyboards and Karlos Edwards on, ahem, percussion. The 2000 tour was just Paddy on guitar, Martin on bass, Neil on drums and Jess Bailey again on keyboards. Naturally, the Jordan tour was a more polished affair but no less entertaining for that. The 2000 tour was totally laid-back but the musicianship was still spot-on even if Paddy was just getting used to singing the older songs in a lower key. He's a funny bloke into the bargain and some of his between-song banter is up there with Robert Forster's brand of self-deprecating humour. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 260 Registered: 03-2006 |
Sounds fantastic, Pat. Maybe if they ever get it together again, they should consider the stripped down approach: just guitar, bass, drums, with a little keyb for flava...I love ALL eras of them, but man, some of those early singles are astonishing - endlessly creative and innovative. I just heard "Lions in my own garden" for the first time recently, on the 38 Carat Collection - mindblowingly good...I've followed them since "2 Wheels Good" or, "Steve..." as its called over there, but the singles and various ephemera have just not been widely available here in the US... | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 51 Registered: 01-2006 |
For any Irish Prefab Sprout fans in Dublin, I saw the 'When Love Breaks Down' vinyl 12" (2nd hand)on sale in Spindizzy Records in George's arcade last weekend... | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 129 Registered: 01-2005 |
What was the deal on Steve McQueen being retitled in the US as Two Wheels Good? Did the McQueen estate complain, or was there a liscensing agreement problem with the label? Two Wheels Good was one of the first cd's I ever bought, way back in 1985. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 399 Registered: 05-2005 |
The McQueen estate did complain. Which was a pity. | ||
| Pat Boland Member Username: Pat_boland Post Number: 12 Registered: 05-2005 |
... 'Two wheels good' being a reference to a line in Animal Farm along the lines of 'Four legs good, two legs bad'. As it happens, Steve McQueen is due to be reissued in the very near future - more than likely it will get the Legacy Edition treatment (a la 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo', Matthew Sweet's 'Girlfriend', and 'Rattlesnakes') with unreleased demos, acoustic versions etc. It also looks like Paddy & Thomas Dolby will be working together on some new material too. Happy days. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 400 Registered: 05-2005 |
Hi Pat, I just bought the Legacy version of Girlfriend on Tuesday! I did not even know it existed but came across it while browsing in the nearest cool record shop. It was a no-brainer, I just thought "I'm having that". Haven't had a chance to play it yet though. I was playing Born Sandy Devotional last night though (original CD edition - though I'll probably end up getting the re-release too. It's more expensive in Australia than it is in Europe though, for some odd reason.) | ||
| Gee Member Username: Gee Post Number: 4 Registered: 11-2005 |
There's a new Sprouts web presence here www.prefabsprout.net Extensive rarities to download too, but I'd get there before they're 'advised' to remove them. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 458 Registered: 05-2005 |
Thanks for the link Gee. | ||
| Eke Member Username: Ekewebb Post Number: 90 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yes, thanks Gee. I forgot to download any of that last night so let's hope it's still there later. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 377 Registered: 10-2004 |
Yes, thanks so much for this link! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 536 Registered: 03-2006 |
Gee, thanks...these rarities are stunning! |