Prefab Sprout CD Box Set?

Good luck with that!
eBay has a few copies around the £25 mark.

 

Ahh "Nightingales". Wonderful song.

 

I got mine for about £20 and I don't regret it. It's a stunning album, very different from PS being mostly orchestral, but beautiful and full of melodies which are tough to shake

 

Box set?
Wishful sinful.

 

I really like Prefab Sprout. Right Now, these are the only two albums I have:

• Two Wheels Good - US LP, sounds absolutely amazing
• Langley Park - US CD

What should I pick up next, "Kings of Rock N Roll" or "A Life of Surprises"? Or something else? Which version of Jordan should I get?

Last month in the used bins, I saw a comp called "When Love Breaks Down - the best of PF" or similar title. I didn't buy it because I was not confident in the quality of tracks or sources.

 

Addicted stuff .. Get them all.

It's all good.
Though those two titles are perhaps the most consistent. Two wheels ' got the edge, more than good.

 

Which two titles? TWG or FLPtM? Or the compilations I mentioned?

I'm ready to buy some more Prefab Sprout, help me choose what's next

 

No, sorry, I meant your previous post where you asked for a copy of "Megahertz".

Wishful thinking indeed!

 

I was just listening to 'Two Wheels Good' a couple days ago and thinking how good it is. Thanks for the conversation, I think I'll look for some more of their releases.

 

It's all subjective, but I'd rate Jordan as well along with Steve McQueen and Langley Park.

 

Really love the arrangement of the old Jim Reeves hit " He'll Have To Go".
Sublime, indeed.

 

Gah! "The Golden Calf" might be my fave off of FLPTM.

 

Don't skip Crimson/Red just because its a Paddy solo effort - and has a very demo-ey feel to it. The songs are solid and I find it plays great from start to finish.

The Gunman and Other Stories has it's moments but again its (mostly) Paddy solo.

 

Without a shadow of doubt your next purchase should be Jordan: The comeback. I'm not sure about different versions, but the one most people are familiar with is the 19 track album, beginning with 'Looking for Atlantis' and ending 'Doo-wop in Harlem'. Jordan is a sumptuous celebration of Paddy McAloon's songwriting genius, beautifully recorded and put together.

Don't forget their first album 'Swoon'. Us first generation fans were all massively into 'Swoon' back in 1984, but it often seems to get overlooked these days in fan discussions. It's faster and choppier and lyrically more obtuse than their later stuff, but it blew me away back in the day and is still worth a listen....after 'Jordan'!

 

A Prisoner Of The Past "
from Andromeda Heights is a masterpiece.
Blurb on the cd sticker says it was a hit single. How high did it chart?

 

Geographical inaccuracy?

The band being from Witton Gilbert (soft "g" there) rather than Langley Park...

Why, yes, I am originally from Durham, I did once work with a cousin of the MacAloon boys, my grandmother and her sister did teach members of the MacAloon clan and do get picky about aspects of local geography...

 

Thanks. So you don't think I need either of the two Greatest Hits listed above, even if for B-sides, etc?

 

Is there any auto / biographical books on the band/Paddy ?

 

It's not a bad song, I just think it sounds out of place on that album. It would have made more sense on something like "Protest Songs", which I think is very underrated.

 

#30 in the UK, so one of their bigger "hits".

And no, there is no (auto)biography, as far as I know.

 

This is a personal opinion, but I think the key Prefab Sprout releases are the original studio albums. Others may disagree, but I would use the greatest hits albums to fill in the blanks at a later date. Everyone's journey is different, but I never really played 'A life of surprises' very much. For me the original studio albums just seem to hang together better.

 

I second (or third) the advice that Jordan is the best next stop.

After that, I would start at the beginning with Swoon and work your way forward, plugging the holes of what you don't have. Prefab doesn't have that many releases and they can all be had for cheap (and they all sound damn good imo - well, the earlier ones, later ones have more compression but are not unlistenable). So you might as well go that route since you seem to really dig them.

I have everything except Trawl and am of the mind each one has plenty to offer.

The comps, even the 2 disc ones, are mostly album released tracks - there are a couple non album tracks on the anthologies so there is an argument to be made for getting those but it will mostly be overlap.

 

Let's Change The World With Music must be the most uptempo album from Pepper Sprout.

 

My least favourite album of theirs.

 

It's a grower i found.