I might have seen Prefab Sprout five years before this album was released, when as a duo they supported The Rezillos in Durham, but I don't remember them and it's much more likely I stayed in the bar until Fay Fife graced the stage.
So my first real earful of the Sprouts came when I bought this album for my brother for Christmas, and taped it first. It's been a firm favourite ever since, although in recent years, I've been more drawn to listening to Paddy McAloon's acoustic versions of these songs. I haven't heard the 'full fat' versions for a while now, so this should be interesting.
From the start, the infectious bounciness of Faron Young and McAloon's oblique lyrics engage, while at a slower pace Bonny and Appetite do much the same. However, I've never counted When Love Breaks Down as a favourite, and it sounds tired and cliched to me. Goodbye Lucille #1 doesn't really move me, either. Perhaps I'm being harsh here, neither are bad songs and both are an easy listen, perhaps expectations are too high? Hallelujah is much more angular, wordy and just feels more Prefab Sprout than the previous couple of songs. Moving The River opens the second half brightly, then Horsin' Around swings along with a slower bossa-nova beat followed by the gentler Desire As. Blueberry Pie flies by almost unnoticed, before we're shaken awake by When The Angels (that synth-brass accompaniment - so 1980s!).
I think this is an album which, while not in any way a concept album, hangs together as a whole better than the individual songs might suggest. I don't think it's my favourite Prefab Sprout album (we'll see, won't we?) but listening all the way through in one sitting, it's certainly a great one. And that, kids, is why Spotify shuffle is shit.
4* - a better listen than I was anticipating, still sounding great.
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