Customer Reviews

Andromeda Heights

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If Paul McCartney had consistently good taste and Brian Wilson could stay focused, disciplined and clear-headed, either might, on a good day, hit Paddy McAloon's level. But for now, the leader of Prefab Sprout stands alone -- as he has for 15 years -- as the classiest, smartest and most consistently performer/composer in pop music.

Andromeda Heights could have been McAloon's Smile. But he waited until he got it right, and produced another superb album. It was impossible to top Jordan: The Comeback, so Prefab Sprout didn't even try. With this gorgeous, hearfelt album, the Sprouts grab the note of mystical transcendence that closed Jordan and, incredibly, push it to the next level. There's the almost psychopathic anger of Prisoner of the Past, the bittersweet warnings of Swans and the seemingly fatalistic resignation of The Fifth Horseman; mixed in with these strains, and ultimately triumphant, is the joy of Electric Guitars, the hope of Avenue of Stars and the metaphysical triumph of Andromeda Heights. One gets the sense of a man settling down and beginning to deal more directly with the meaning of and relationship between life and love while confronting the specter -- or promise -- of eternity.

A tour de force -- from the one person in contemporary music who has the courage -- or audacity -- to take on the hard issues, and the talent and vision to pull it off.

Fans had to endure 6 long years of dead silence before getting to hear Prefab's follow-up to the brilliant "Jordan: the Comeback." Some hoped that McAloon was using this time to create the masterpiece that would actually surpass the unsurpassable genius of the preceding albums. But as the years dragged on, some lost hope, fearing he'd thrown in the towel, or that the band had unceremoniously vanished into obscurity. But seemingly out of nowhere, McAloon came out with this strange album that scarcely resembles Prefab's past work.

My feelings on "AH" are bittersweet. Interestingly, its sound indicates that McAloon was completely oblivious to mid to late-90s recording developments. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but whereas mid-90s contemporaries like the High Llamas, Stereolab, and Aluminum Group were reaching back in time to analog synths, Farfisa organs, and Bacharach/Brian Wilson horn/string sections, McAloon took a different and altogether more VH-1 route with "AH," slathering it in a grotesquely slick, Elton John/Disney-soundtrack production, forcing one to wonder if he had shifted his target audience to sentimental, middle-aged, suburban housewives who cry when they hear "Candle in the Wind."

The orchestral arrangements combine with prevalent, irksome X-Files sounding synthesizers. The music is devoid of any underlying tension (partly due to the absence of drummer Neil Conti), and instead possesses a languid, spacey, cinematic feel. Sometimes this works, but proves numbing over the course of the album.

The songs themselves are hit and miss. "Electric Guitars," "Four Horsemen," and "Weightless" retain McAloon's tried and true knack for infectious, effortlessly brilliant, pop genius. Other tunes, like "Whoever You Are" and "Prisoner of the Past" are okay, but pale when compared to past glories like "Cruel." Everything else is dull, uninspired, and irreparably damaged by the icky, sterile sound.

Adding insult to injury, the lyrics are laced with unforgivably awful, sentimental, Hallmark dross that would make any "Precious Moments" collecting simpleton feel warm and fuzzy. This may reflect McAloon's settling down into middle-age and shedding his youthful angst, but settling down never got the better of Mark E. Smith or Cathal Coughlan!

If you're a Prefab diehard, you'll find a few songs here to make it worthwhile. But, it's truly disappointing and alienating to hear McAloon lose the edge that made his work in the 80s so crucial. It's only appropriate here to mention Cathal Coughlan's mantra of "keep music EVIL!"

I agree with my fellow Glass City Sprouts fan. If Paddy McAloon set out to make an album full of simple melodies and lyrics, he succeeded. I don't, however, listen to Prefab Sprout to hear such music. This album, front to back was a profound disappointment, even compared with the usual pop drivel out there. Compared with earlier Sprouts efforts, it was a tragic disappointment. There is very little musical or lyrical depth and substance on this record. It is simply uninteresting.

Don't waste your money. If you haven't heard any albums from the band, check out Two Wheels Good, Swoon and Jordan. If you have, be extremely wary before buying Andromeda, and find a record shop that will let you listen to it before purchasing. On a positive note, I look forward to seeing what follows Andromeda. I'm confident that Paddy has some more platinum in the vault.

Perhaps the only thing this CD has going against it is that it will always be compared the the Sprouts preceding album, Jordan: The Comeback. That album stands as one of the greatest pop music recordings of all time. Andromeda Heights is merely a wonderful disc.

The mood here is mellow. The use of saxes could almost qualify some songs for play on smooth jazz radio stations. However, we still have the wonderful wordplay and vocals of Paddy McAloon. On previous releases, Paddy's lyrical themes would include everything from love to the plight of refugees to the meaning of life to...What is Green Isaac? Here the theme is LOVE. So, while there is less breadth in his scope, he mines the theme of love with incredible depth.

Musically, this disc is less adventurous than other Sprout releases. However, I have listened to Andromeda Heights more than 100 times and it still brings joy and revelations.

Paddy and I are contemporaries and if your new to Prefab, I don't know if it's possible to go back and try to get in on the ground floor. Honestly, I'm really just glad Sprout is still around and making music. No overdose or tragic car accident, just Paddy singing about what has always intrigued him--Love,God,Loss,Hope and how it all seems to mix together. Beautiful melodies and awesome harmony. At this point in their lives they're not making music for us, music is how Paddy deals with life. I'm just glad to listen in one more time. Camelot to Heaven to Andromeda Heights. It's just poetry folks but don't you want to go?

There is a thin line between sensibility and downright cheesiness. While I still admire Paddy McAloon, I have to say that he went overboard on this one. Songs such as "The Fifth Horseman" exemplify the Sprouts' sometimes risible music in this album. You can still get a glimpse of this very fine band's genius in other songs such as "Weightless", "Andromeda Heights", and "Electric Guitars". However, I have listened to this album for several months hoping that it would grow on me to no avail. In case you're new to the Sprouts, try "Swoon". It is one of the best pop albums ever made. It will challenge you at first with its musical and lyrical whim, but it will definitely grow on you. Also, "Two Wheels Good" is an absolute classic.

Paddy McAloon and Prefab Sprout had 6 years and enough brilliance to create some of the best alternative music of all time in the 80s, it is such a disappointment that he and the band has fallen into such simple melodies and melodramatic topics. This is not worth the import price (I paid 35.00 by becoming impatient and not buying through Amazon.com--about 33.00 too much)

4 days before the release of their next album, I am hooked on this album - one friend reminded me of how good this band was and is.

Steve McQueen and Jordan are 2 superb CDs and this, more tranqil, album is excellent for those of us growing older and getting into more jazz based music!

Let's keep our fingers crossed for the next one...

Paddy McAloon is Britain's most underrated songwriter and it is therefore something of a disappointment that he hasn't produced another masterpiece this time around. Any other musician would give their eye teeth to produce something of this quality but we just expect something more with each new album.

None of the songs really rocks but that is not the Sprouts stock in trade. Rather the ballads are the ones the remain in the memory though nothing hits the heights of say, "Scarlet Nights" from 'Jordan'. It's the spacey rather ethereal "Weightless" and the lovely title track that stand out as they seem to indicate something of a new direction. "A Prisoner of the Past" shows that they can still produce good pop songs, but we are still waiting with baited breath for the next truly great album.

I own everything they have ever put out and I was never more depressed when I bought this cd and was not immediately enraptured by it. I thought it would grow on me and it still hasn't. I just felt like the cd was audio wallpaper and I was never engaged by it. Some of the songs are quite touching, but as a whole it seems to be lacking.