Customer Reviews

From Langley Park to Memphis

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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".

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.

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!

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE JAPAN-ONLY 2009 REMASTERED VERSION - MINI LP REPRO SLEEVE ***

"From Langley Park To Memphis" was first issued March 1988 on Kitchenware Records in the UK and on Epic Records in the USA. It felt like a more commercial version of its brilliant predecessor "Steve McQueen" from 1985 - and building on that incredible groundwork - it was eagerly awaited and so raced to Number 5 in the UK charts.

It was released on LP/MC and CD at the time in fairly good sound - but a remaster has been long overdue. Some of its hit singles have been remastered for "Best Of" compilations, but this is the first time the entire album has been sonically upgraded - and it's an absolute wow - even it is only available as a limited edition import from Japan...

PACKAGING:
This 26 August 2009 Japan-only CD is on Epic EICP 1245 (Sony Music Japan) and is part of 6 albums reissued there - all in remastered form (45:32 minutes). It's one of those mini LP replica sleeves in an Obi and resealable outer plastic, which also reproduces the original inner sleeve. The inner sleeve's nice to look at, but of course because of its 5-inch size, virtually illegible - hence the need for the separate lyric booklet. There's also another insert advertising further Eighties CD titles, but it's entirely in Japanese...

SOUND:
CD sites in Japan have claimed that each has 2009 remastering, and although I can't actually find this in writing anywhere on the disc or packaging (that I can understand), I don't need to see it in writing because I can hear it. The sound quality is simply GLORIOUS.

Highlights include the beautiful melody of "I Remember That" (lyrics above) and an incredible punch out of "Knock On Wood" and an absolutely HUGE feel to "The Golden Calf". A lot of the time, you're just in awe of Paddy McAloon's superb songwriting and how well so much of it has held up - the arrangements, the clever lyrics, the melodies that grow and grow on each hearing - 20 years plus and they still move me...

It is of course a shame that the many unreleased tracks off the singles "The King Of Rock & Roll", "Cars & Girls" and "Hey Manhattan" are not on here, but this release doesn't pretend to be anything other than a straightforward transfer of the album.

With no sign of British or US remastered versions on the horizon, fans of this superb British band and their brilliant albums will need to own this.

Recommended wholeheartedly.

PS: the other albums reissued in this Japanese Limited Edition series are:
1. "Swoon" (1983) on Epic EICP 1276 (21 October 2009 release)
2. "Steve McQueen" (1985) on Epic EICP 1244 (26 August 2009 release)
3. "Jordan: The Comeback" (1990) on Epic EICP 1278 (21 October 2009 release)
4. "Protest Songs" (1985 Recordings Released in 1989) on Epic EICP 1277 (21 October 2009 release)
5. "Andromeda Heights" (1997) on Epic EICP 1279 (21 October 2009 release)

PPS: see also my review for "Jordan: The Comeback" from the same series - and thanks to TIM SQUIER of Revival Records for a lend of the 2 CDs

the songs on this record are just too friggin' good. the most romantic, intelligent, catchy, what else can you possibly want? "nightengales" is sublime, sublime, sublime. "knock on wood" is stunning! the whole record is. there are none more pop and i can't think of many records which stroke your libido your brain and your ear like this. for god's sake buy this! i'll pay for it, just buy it!

Every now and then you stumble across some piece of cultural treasure that you love so much, you want to do nothing more than share its joy and sheer brilliance with everyone you know. "From Langley Park to Memphis" is that kind of record - sparkling, thought-provoking, playful, witty, and thoroughly enjoyable. Forget Clapton or Springsteen. Paddy McAloon IS God!

ONE OF FAB'S BEST ALBUMS, EVERY TRACK IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AWESOME SHM AUDIO FORMAT. MUST HAVE FOR ANY CD COLLECTION, BUT DON'T PAY THESE RIDICULOUS OVER-INFLATED PRICES, I BOUGHT MINE FROM THE MUSIC SPECIALIST ON E BAY, THEY ALSO HAVE A STORE IN GEMM, ANTEATERMUSIC. SAVE YOURSELF A TON OF CASH.
CHEERS!

Prefab Sprout may have been the best band of the 1980s. That is arguable. But one listen to Langly Park to Memphis makes their place near the top of the list undeniable.

Paddy McCloon introduced us to his band with the far more anoluge sounding Swoon. Right away it was evident he had mocho Mozart Melodic abilities. But soon, he started using these with then new digital production.

Langly Park is one of the few albums I know where the sheen actually adds to the music. The music--which has all the compositional sophitcation of show tunes and jazz, and all the hooks of Jim Webb or Burt Bacharach--makes this glaring, shining like 1980s candy on the Family Ties Keaton's Christmas Tree.


With a lot of music from this era, you have to hear through that big sound before appreciating the music. But here the writting is so good, the chord changes so stirring, you embrace the album, production and all. This is top notch composition, amazing on a technical level. But hearing reminds you of walks on snowy New York Nights, long talks with a lover, all the romanace that life, and songcraft, has to offer.

Music heads will love deconstructing this album for its amazing technique, and there is much to be learned and apprciated here. But listen to and feel this music first. It brings tears to the eyes--happy ones. The heart flutters.

Top flight work

A little uneven all together - but some great songs are on this cd. A must have in my collection.

This isn't Paddy McAloon's best. That would be "Jordan The Comeback." It's not his second best. That's probably "Two Wheels Good" a.k.a. "Steve McQueen." Not his third, fourth, or even fifth best. You could make an argument that it's the sixth best, but what's the point?

Buy this one if you're deep into your Prefab Sprout collecting. It's a very good, clever, almost ingratiating record. It's a little too slick. Thomas Dolby's production is a little too polished. Paddy's trying a little too hard for pop stardom. But "The Golden Calf" is as good as anything in McAloon'r repertoire. "Knock on Wood" too. Yeah, the "King of Rock 'N' Roll" is an irritating novelty song, but it's ironic, folks! It's about a singer stuck doing his novelty hit over and over and over and over ...

The biggest clunker is "I Remember That." ANd "Hey Manhattan!" doesn't really belong on a Sprout record, either. But this one is worth owning. Once you've bought all the rest of the Prefab Sprout catalog.