Prefab Sprout's Steve McQueen remastered...

[Swish]

...by Thomas Dolby...and sounding fantastic. Was out at my best bud Bob's house for dinner last night, then down to his music room to hear some toonage played through new Focal spreakers. Hearing this cd brought back lots of good memories, and the remastered recording was incredible on his excellent system. In my opinion, this could be the best pop record ever recorded, and Mr. Dolby deserves high praise for making a great record sound even better.

I included Goodbye Lucille #1 on my very first comp (The Swish Mix - Brits and Others), although I could have chosen just about anything from this cd and it wouldn't have mattered much because they're all so good.

Your thoughts???

Swish

[Mike]

Hey that’s great news haven’t heard about that before, thanks for the tip I’ve just ordered it now. I’ve been a Sprout fan for years right from the early days of Swoon but when they did Steve McQueen (released as Two Wheels Good in the US) they moved up a gear and transformed their sound from a sparse sound to a fuller band sound, the whole album is chock full of timeless songs. The album Steve McQueen to me was always the Sprout sound before they became too polished and overly commercial, although saying that Jordan the Comeback is another favourite PS album, but the later PS albums don’t come anywhere near.

Just been reading some background to this remaster on T Dolby’s blog and other reviews it sounds like he’s taken an already great sounding album and made it even better. There’s also some additional acoustic tracks added which carry some merit i.e don’t appear to be the usual demo/out take/filler variety. Arrangements I always thought were Paddy’s forte but I never realised Thomas Dolby was the helm back then, knowing that now explains a lot.

Cheers
Mike

[3-LockBox]

no wonder I didn't know what you were tlking about...this album was called Two Wheels Good in the states...is it now called Steve McQueen officially or is it still called Two Wheels Good?

[Mike]

no wonder I didn't know what you were tlking about...this album was called Two Wheels Good in the states...is it now called Steve McQueen officially or is it still called Two Wheels Good?

At the time the Steve McQueen family objected so they changed the name to Two Wheels Good, pretty petty IMO.

But if you look for the latest re-issue on Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble it's listed with the original Steve McQueen title, so maybe they don't mind now, or maybe they became fans.

Cheers
Mike

[Swish]

no wonder I didn't know what you were tlking about...this album was called Two Wheels Good in the states...is it now called Steve McQueen officially or is it still called Two Wheels Good?

...listened to is titled 'Steve McQueen', and Amazon has itlisted with that title as well. Anyway, you may be interested in knowing how they came up with such a ridiculous name for the band and it's been alleged that Paddy McAloon, their main songwriter, misheard the line 'hotter than a peppered sprout' from the Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood song Jackson , thinking they were saying 'hotter than a prefab sprout', of course.

Swish

[3-LockBox]

But if you look for the latest re-issue on Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble it's listed with the original Steve McQueen title, so maybe they don't mind now, or maybe they became fans.

Maybe that line of Steve McQueen fanny-packs didn't take off like they thought it would. (obscure Papillon reference)

Maybe I should revisit Prefab Sprout since it didn't really grab me back in my youth (a tad too introspective and lacking in bounce, like say Thomas Dolby, Squeeze, Split Enz or even Howard Jones for that matter. I wasn't much into their adult oriented sound, but my tastes in music has changed considerably since the early '80s.

[audiobill]

just about anything from this cd and it wouldn't have mattered much because they're all so good.

Your thoughts???

Swish

I am completely interested in giving this album a spin. Listening to a trial copy, as I type, and digging it -- "Bonny" sounds mighty fine.

Thanks-a-ton for directing our attentions to this one. I've heard of the band, but never really gave them a listen.

Cheers,

Bill

[Swish]

I am completely interested in giving this album a spin. Listening to a trial copy, as I type, and digging it -- "Bonny" sounds mighty fine.

Thanks-a-ton for directing our attentions to this one. I've heard of the band, but never really gave them a listen.

Cheers,

Bill

Good to see you still check in here from time to time. This is one of those records that I would consider 'essential' to any fan of pop/rock. While it may sound a bit dated in spots, it holds up pretty well in my opinion. This was just wonderfully produced by Thomas Dolby, and his remastering has made it that much more enjoyable.

Regards,
Swish