Customer Reviews

Jordan: The Comeback

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It's hard to believe that anyone will ever top this masterpiece. Paddy McAloon goes straight for the head, heart and soul with this astonishing group of songs about life, love, death and hope. The final set is the only truly great synthesis of thoughtful theology, mystical spiritualism and pop music that any contemporary artist has yet to produce. The ode to Jesse James/Elvis is the best narrative set of pop songs ever recorded, unique in terms of structure, sophistication and subtlty. McAloon's take on love is both wry and romantic: he'll fall for the girl every time, no matter how it's bound to end. And Carnival 2000 is the ultimate millenium song -- a prayer for forgiveness coupled with an anthem of hope for the future.

One of the best groups in pop history at peak form -- even if you've never heard these of guys, you owe yourself a listen. There's nothing else like Prefab Spout.

Great Beauty. Mastery. Breadth. Depth. Integral Balance. Humour. A dark streak. On and On and On.

And it came from that golden time: when alternative music was truly alternative and not a commercial peg; when the legacies of psychedelia, the singer-songwriter tradition -- and just about anything else you can imagine, had the opportunity to allign itself in the practiced, collective geniueses of McAloon and Dolby; there must have been hell to pay.

The album may prove to be hermetic though; its references may resonate for relatively few lucky people. Count yourself lucky.

"Jordan: the Comeback" is an epic. That means that yes, it's a loosely conceptual album that aims for a grand statement with impassioned songs, but yes, that also means quality control kind of went out the window. Prefab songwriter/singer Paddy McAloon revised the 70s prog concept album with "Jordan" making it a concept album in two parts: side 1 is a vague, romanticized American patchwork, with references to the Cold War and Jesse James, much of it loosely tying into an Elvis theme. Side 2 is apparently about love and God, and McAloon tackles the subject with his typically keen wit and insight, though he occasionally succumbs to sentimental sappiness.

Many of "Jordan's" songs are finely-crafted, lush, gorgeously melodic, deceptively simple, soulful, gossamer pop that may send chills down the spine of the most hardened misanthrope. "Looking for Atlantis," with its driving beat and airy melodies, gets the album off to an energetic start before slipping into the soul/jazz minimalism of the slinky "Wild Horses" (about an old geezer pining for jailbait). "Jesse James Bolero" is a beautiful, moody number set to an upbeat bolero, with lyrics that use the imagery of Jesse James as a metaphor for Elvis and all that he embodies in American culture. The song contains some interesting parallels with Brian Wilson's "Smile"-era work, particularly "Cabinessence."

The upbeat, catchy "Moondog" romanticizes and condemns America's Cold War "Red" paranoia. Other tunes worth mentioning are the dramatic, swoony beauty of "The Ice Maiden" and the soft, mesmerizing "Paris Smith." From there, however, "Jordan" slips noticeably downhill with tripe like "Wedding March" and the trite closer "Doo Wop in Harlem." McAloon could've easily shaved off the last quarter of "Jordan," and we'd still be left with a mind-blowing album of high consistency and tremendous depth. But, cutting it off there evidently would've left "Jordan" conceptually incomplete; it's just too bad things have to go south for McAloon to finish his ruminations on the subject. Regardless, "Jordan" is still a wonderful album that's easily as recommendable as "Steve McQueen" or "Swoon."

I first heard this album in college, not realizing the musical power of this band. After just two listens, I realized what a tremendous work of art it is. Everything single song has its own magical essence, with each note bringing forth a profound love of what is pure and beautiful. This is truly pop music at its apex, with such gems as We Let the Stars Ago and One of the Broken. Almost ten years later, absolutely NOTHING I bought or heard has come close to the pure musical joy of this masterwork. This album will be dear to me, long after the members of Prefab Sprout have faded away into musical oblivion and I approach the twilight of my own life. I absolutley love this album - forever.

A stunningly ambitious album, Prefab Sprout's four part "Jordan: The Comeback" is an old fashioned double album with a concept per "side." The first looks at love and the wildness of youth, the second explores American mythology of the 50's via Elvis, Jessie James and the cold war, the third, love as an adult getting married, and lastly, an examination of God and the Devil. Sterling production from Thomas Dolby complimented Paddy McAloon's folkish lyrics, and all together, this was as flawless an album as the classics xtc's Skylarking or Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden.

In addition to the flawless flow of the songs, there is an array of classic songs to be found. The waltz-time heartbreaker "We Let The Stars Go" should have been a hit. "Carnival 2000" looked optimistically at the coming turn of the century with a Brazilian Beat and the Irish Prayer

"We ask for any wrong we've done
the years ahead forgive us.
We ask for any good we've done
that all of it outlive us."

Then comes the chapter of Elvis and Jessie, as Elvis watches his own funeral and complains about Albert Grossman's hack biography. Jessie James is a "dance upon the run," bemoaning that he's not portrayed as a culturally adept individual. Looking for class in his departure, he wonders "Don't goodbyes deserve some Bach, not Barbershop?" Meanwhile, Elvis plots his final comeback as the side closes with "Moondog."

But the best, and most ambitious, part of "Jordan" happens as God and The Devil square off in the fourth part. God wishes that his songs came to him as simple pleasures ("One of The Broken") as The Devil petitions to come back home ("Michael"). We're finally left with Paddy contemplating the afterlife, praying that he and his loved ones will meet again. After all, he sings, "If there ain't a Heaven that holds you tonight, then they never sang DooWop in Harlem."

"Jordan: The Comeback" is just as good as Steve McQueen (recently reissued in a deluxe version) and was easily one of 1990's best albums. It was also one of Thomas Dolby's finest hours as a producer, matching his love for Joni Mitchell sensitivity to McAloon's complex lyricism. McAloon also must have felt the strain of his own ambition: he didn't make another album for another six years. As such, "Jordan: The Comeback" is a terrific album to rest his legacy on.

"From Langley Park To Memphis" is a masterpiece of lyrical literacy it is difficult for me to imagine anyone surpassing. However, McAloon in his heyday (1985-1990) was so skilled at writing lyrics that thrill me with their literacy that he attempted to outdo himself yet again.
Though the opener "Looking For Atlantis" is a slight misstep with its self-indulgent lyric, the music and playing are more impressive even than on "From Langley Park to Memphis." The next four songs are delicate pop, except for the dense funk of "Carnival 2000", a brilliant track highlighted by powerful horns and percussion. "Machine Gun Ibiza" is the most accessbile song on the whole album, but contains yet another wonderfully literate chorus in "Well you've earned the right to hang out with/Machine Gun Ibiza - Voodoo up rollmo' down/Machine Gun Ibiza/Hanging' ten with the hurrican sound.
The next four songs relate to the life of Jesse James and Elvis Presley, and are highlighted by the brilliant "Moondog" with its wonderful piano line. The next group of songs include the beautiful ditty "All Boys Believe Anything" and "The Ice Maiden", a tribute to ABBA [I'm not a fan myself] that shows McAloon at his most literate. "Paris Smith" is a dream of a bad marriage for McAloon's vocal partner Wendy Smith, a theme continued in the next song "The Wedding March", their sparsest song ever.
The next three songs represent a plea for mercy from God and include the beautiful "One Of The Broken" with its semi-spoken vocal, and "Michael" (a reference to the archangel) on which McAloon's vocal sounds quite like Tori Amos (before Amos' time!), but manages to pull it off with some brilliant lines like "Ambition took me speed of light/To God's exclusion zone". "Mercy" is another short and beautiful ballad, and these tracks show him distancing himself from the fascinations with witches and idolatry he showed on previous albums.
The record then takes a sharp turn with the hard-rocking but wonderfully tuneful, even beautiful "Scarlet Nights", with Neil Conti's most powerful drumming since "The Golden Calf", and Wendy Smith making more prominent vocal contributions than on previous albums. The final track "Doo Wop In Harlem" continues the themes outlined in "From Langley Park To Memphis"' "Hey Manhattan", but is an extremely slow piano-driven ballad.
On the whole, this is a more diverse set than the two previous masterpieces, and is probably not the best introduction to a band whose best music is essential for any music fan. However, no flaws can really be found with "Jordan: The Comeback" - it further solidifies McAloon's wonderful songwriting skills.

Ok you Lovers of this "Michelangelo's David" of the Music world.
Here's my story. 1990. I was in the middle of a Divorce. Life was all grey and sour...I fled to Capri, this great rock in the blue Mediterranean. I'm surrounded by lovers, honeymooners...Oh I'm ready to drown myself. Then in this tiny record store in some grotto comes Paddy's voice. "Sugar cubes..they're ok, but I don't think that I'll catch you that way." Hope stirs. The album had just been released. The king of lost love with aural salvation-such an honest troubadour. Poetry. I have the 3X2 Marquee for the Jordan Tour framed in my music room. Symbol of Love's wonder gently watching over me. Buy it and Believe.

I had always been a huge fan of Prefab Sprout's singles but had been disappointed by the full length cds. There were always one or two songs that just never seemed to fit thematically (blueberry pies on two wheels good for example). So when I bought Jordan, I assumed it would be the same result. At first I thought the cd was an unholy mess...I couldn't get the point. After finally driving on a long trip I listened to it several times in a row and the themes stuck out like a sore thumb. Now, not a week goes by when I don't put this on. First class songwriting and an unerring sense of melody. A definite desert island disc. Favorite singles: "Michael" and "One of the Broken".

Here is a slightly different perspective from the other reviews here. I love this album and most of the songs on it (it flags a bit toward the end). I think it is a work of genius and heart. But aside from any love of the music, critically speaking, this album is an epic masterpiece.

The other works in rock music that compare in scale are Trout Mask Replica (Captain Beefheart), Quadrophenia (The Who) and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis). Paddy chips away relentlessly at the sweeping themes of his epic. As an epic, it cannot help but be fragmented, but to condemn its thematic density is like condemning Mount Rushmore for lacking focus.

And like The Royal Scam (Steely Dan), Lola vs. Powerman and the Money-go-round (The Kinks) and Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd), Paddy does not let his vision overshadow his music. It is stunning to be held in the grip of PaddyÕs imagination and yet be treated to jewel after jewel, their striking differences all the more remarkable for the singularity of their vision.

I was first introduced to Prefab Sprout in college. Frankly, my taste in music has never been the same. I was never one for truly listening to the lyrics of songs. I always thought they were dull and somewhat boring. Prefab Sprout has turned this around. Prefab Sprout approach to music is interesting and definitely unique. I have found only one other ablum to come as close to Jordan: The Comeback that is Tears For Fears last ablum. Listen to the sounds of Prefab Sprout and you'll never be the same. You'll think of Prefab Sprout with this dreamy smile on your face and hum tunes like "Jesse James Bolero". And think WOW!- a little of heaven on earth.