From Langley Park to Memphis [Import]

Prefab Sprout | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 21, 1988)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony/Bmg Int'l
• ASIN: B000025TJB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,495 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Import edition of 1988 album for the critically acclaimed sophisti-pop act featuring singer/songwriter Paddy McAloon. Produced by Thomas Dolby, additional artists include, Stevie Wonder & Pete Townshend.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece from an unrivalled songwriting genius., April 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: From Langley Park to Memphis (Audio CD)

Paddy McAloon's ability to study American popular culture, evident on "Steve McQueen" reaches an absolute pinnacle here. His lyrics deal brilliantly with Springsteen ("Cars And Girls") and New York ("Hey Manhattan"), and he tackled hidden aspects of popular culture with brilliant linguistic skill, as on "Enchanted", "I Remember That", "The Golden Calf" and especially "The Venus Of The Soup Kitchen" (no doubt that one would annoy radical feminists with its tale of a witch casting an evil spell). McAloon's linguistic skill is so great that "The King of Rock'n'Roll" never appears to have anything to do with Elvis Presley at all. As a listener, one never tires of the way he studies and writes about the meaning of Western culture, and he even studies the mysteries of life on the wonderful "Nightingales" {"Tell me do something true and drop the fairytales/If singing bird must sing with no question of choice/Then living is our song, indeed our voice"}. Though McAloon can be melodramatic, his stories, even on "Knock On Wood" and "The Venus of The Soup Kitchen" are never unbelievable.
But this album would never be a masterpiece without the playing, and indeed Paddy's compatriots are vastly underrated as players. The playing is much tighter than on "Steve McQueen" and though it verges on pop in places, such as "Nancy", McAloon's jazzy roots are not fogotten. Neil Conti's steady rhythms provide a base for Paddy, his brother Martin, and Wendy Smith to provide exceptionally tuneful guitar and bass.
Though some may find Paddy's whisperish voice distasteful, he does not force himself and Wendy Smith to do more than they have to (as he occasionally did on "Steve McQueen"), espcially with the Andrae Crouch Gospel singers lending aid on "I Remeber That" and "The Venus of The Soup Kitchen".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful CD, September 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: From Langley Park to Memphis (Audio CD)

All the bickering about whether or not Paddy is slagging Springsteen misses the point. That is: This is a wonderful disc. It may not rate with Two Wheels Good or Jordan: The Comeback as one of the greatest discs of all time. However, it is so much better than most of the discs that dot the sonic landscape that you really owe it to yourself to buy and enjoy this wonderful batch of Sprout tunes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars among the best songwriters ever, September 20, 2000

By 

chris ormsby (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Langley Park to Memphis (Audio CD)

I love every Prefab Sprout album ever made. From the very beginning, before they had the slick production (thanx, Thomas Dolby), their songs were among the most lyrically and musically imaginative songs I'd ever heard. I've listened to every PS album a hundred times over and this one may be my favorite. You must check Jordan: The Comeback thought, if you don't know it!