release date: Sep. 7, 1990
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
Trackslist: 1. "Looking for Atlantis" (4 / 5) - 2. "Wild Horses" (4 / 5) - 3. "Machine Gun Ibiza" - 4. "We Let the Stars Go" - 5. "Carnival 2000" (4 / 5) - 6. "Jordan: The Comeback" (4 / 5) - 7. "Jesse James Symphony" (4 / 5) - 8. "Jesse James Bolero" - 9. "Moon Dog" - 10. "All the World Loves Lovers" - 11. "All Boys Believe Anything" - 12. "Ice Maiden" - 13. "Paris Smith" - 14. "Wedding March" - 15. "One of the Broken" (4 / 5) - 16. "Michael" - 17. "Mercy" - 18. "Scarlet Nights" - 19. "Doo-Wop in Harlem" (4 / 5) (live)
5th studio album by Prefab Sprout. The band has had a changing member list but the two McAloon brothers have been the only constant members. On this album the band consists of what was the most stable members in a period of 13 years, from 1984-97: Paddy McAloon on vocals, guitars, keyboards, Martin McAloon on bass, Wendy Smith credited vocals, guitars, keyboards, and Neil Conti on drums and percussion. Although, the band is founded with two brothers, the undisputed leader is the older brother, Paddy, who writes all songs for the band (not only on this album but on all their studio albums from 1982-present day). The album is untraditionally long, in terms of playing time, as it's more than 64 minutes long (also on the single vinyl edition). It reached number #7 on the albums charts in the UK (by the band only surpassed by the '88 album, From Langley Park to Memphis, which reached number #5). The track "Carnival 2000" had a lot of airplay on the Danish national radio station P3 that year, but other than that, the album contains so many great tracks that the whole album is the biggest hit of the release. Prefab Sprout initiated their career by playing guitar-founded jangle pop but this album is (like the majority) dominated by a sophisti-pop style that loans from other genres and styles, and the album is simply one the best pop /rock albums of the 1990s, in my opinion.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5stars ]
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[ live recording from 2000 ]
