Steve McQueen

How do you improve on perfection? The original release of Steve McQueen was the crowning achievement of both Paddy McAloon (the Sprouts' resident genius) and producer Thomas Dolby. The fact that the album is remastered to an immaculate finish is enough to thrill any fan. It's a masterpiece that reveals just how powerful great composition can be when coupled with exquisite production. But the "expanded" segment of this release is what will overwhelm listeners. Paddy, in stark solo acoustic performances, manages to reinvent eight of the 11 songs on the original album.

Now, I must admit, I didn't have high expectations when I heard Paddy's long awaited next project was an acoustic rehash of old material. It has been long reported that Paddy is hoarding a cache of songs (maybe a dozen albums or more). For much too long, those compositions have remained cellared like aging wine, leaving fans to wait in tortured anticipation of their release. The eight remakes in this expanded edition of "Steve McQueen," however, are so radically reconceived that it's like hearing new material.

The acoustic performances highlight not only the clarity of Paddy's vocal cadences, they isolate Mac's precise chording and his mastery of guitar. The mix is so intimate, the sound so warm, you can almost feel Paddy's breath on your ears. The stripped down sound of Prefab Sprout's "The Gunman" album is pretty much duplicated here.

So drastically are these songs rearranged that they seem to take on entirely new meanings and dimensions. "Appetite," surveying the pitfalls of sexual desire, is less harsh in acoustic form. Without the whip-like percussion of "Faron Young," in its original incarnation, the song takes on a more serene edge with dollops of richly enchanting calliope sounds. The most radical treatment is given to "Desire As," which features an extended introduction with new words and an epic style reminiscent of the great Jimmy Webb.

Perhaps the most surprising element of these new versions are the lyrics. Songs I thought I knew by heart, surprise with words I'd never noticed in the originals. In "Moving the River," for instance, I always knew the line "turkey hungry, chicken free," but I never noticed "bucket by spoon: do you think that they'll like me when they learn what I do?" The classic opening of "Desire As," was always a favorite: "I've got six things on my mind: you're no longer one of them." But in the reworked version, the following line is highlighted and repeated over and over: "desire is a sylph figured creature who changes her mind." "Faron Young," meanwhile, adds it's lonely late night driving rhythms with allusions to "warships in the Baltic" and "stumbling onto Pearl Harbor without warning." The words were always there: they just never seemed to resonate as clearly as they do here.

Juxtaposed against the brilliance of the original album, it's hard to say just which performances are better: the acoustic ones or the originals. They are both inspired in their own way. Plagued by worrisome health problems over the course of the past decade, it's comforting to know Paddy is alive and well-- and sounding better than ever. Perhaps one day we'll be blessed with more new material from Paddy. Until then, this will do just fine.

Steve McQueen is an album I've been hoping to be re-mastered for years, along with Prefab's other great album, Jordan: The Comeback. Jordan was an incredible album packed with great songs diverse both musically and lyrically. SM was, however, more ethereal in its production with a sound that really has not been duplicated, ever. Most people who listened to their first record, Swoon, are aware that Thomas Dolby, the producer, had an enormous influence on the outcome of SM. Not only is the production different but the structure of the songs is better crafted. Having at first listened to SM as a record, I always felt that the CD version lacked depth. It must be added that the CD version I am used to is the American version of SM (called Two Wheels Good because the estate objected to the title). That version included a fantastic extended version of Faron Young, a great county cover of He'll Have To Go and one more track. When Love Breaks Down is also in an inferior state on Two Wheels Good, being slightly edited and mixed

Now, more than 20 years after its initial release the album has been re-released, re-mastered by Thomas Dolby himself. The extra tracks from Two Wheels Good are nowhere to be found. That is understandable since Dolby had nothing to do with that production and they were also not really part of the original Steve McQueen release. On a brighter note, the better version of When Love Breaks Down is intact.

Although some recent re-mastered versions have improved the sound quality significantly, often it is simply because the transfer to the CD was initially incredibly sloppy. Despite not being satisfied with the sound quality of Two Wheels Good, I cannot say that it was bad. Many CD releases in their early stages simply were substandard and TWG was actually above the average for that period sound quality wise. This makes the difference even more astonishing. It is as if the music was transferred into 3-D. Not only is there (much) added depth, the clarity and yet softness is way beyond what I am used to. I even suspect that Dolby may have done some subtle re-mixing to obtain this effect because this is better than most productions done even in today's standards. The only re-release that I can think of having been re-mastered closely as well is Fleetwood Mac's recent 2-CD edition of Rumours, but that version was initially transferred in an atrocious manner. This re-mastered version would be worth the price alone.

There is, however, an extra CD included in this release. Paddy McAloon decided to re-record acoustically 8 of the 11 songs from SM, as opposed to the usual demo/different versions/live versions/omitted tracks route. This is admirable both in regards of bothering to set so much effort in a re-release project (recording of the acoustic set took supposedly much longer than the initial one) and also taking the chance re-recording classics that probably are a hard act to follow. What surprised me is how complex the arrangements are. Instead of Paddy strumming through the tracks with a guitar in his hands, most of the songs are complex interactions of guitars woven together. Many of them are also re-arranged in a fashion that they are almost like different songs. This works well on most of the songs but it most be kept in mind that in general people listening to these tracks are biased, being used to the older versions, including me.

The standout track is, surprising, Desire As. The acoustic version is almost unrecognizable from the original one and, dare I say, better than the original one. Another track which falls into that category is When the Angels, a lovely version that brings the text more to life. The two tracks that I feel are lacking are Bonny and Goodbye Lucille #1. Bonny is my favorite Prefab Sprout track, period, so maybe that makes it simply almost impossible for me being unbiased, but the singing is way below Paddy's usual standards and the arrangement lacks cohesion. Goodbye Lucille #1 needed actually more re-arranging because the vocal interaction makes the song special but with only one voice it does not work out. Faron Young has a Western feel in this arrangement and becomes very addictive after a few listens. When Love Breaks Down, however, has a sweet feel, approaching the performance with a gentle approach once again but from a different angle. Trying to maintain an objective stance, I rate this version as a 4 star record.

This set, however, is a 5 star project, both sonically and musically and very worth purchasing, both for those who own it already and others who still lack one of the most ethereal and stunningly produced releases in the last few decades.

Well, I was there back in 1985 when this album was a must-have and was played in student halls of residence up and down the country. It was just about perfect then, and still is.

The revelation is the bonus disc of acoustic versions: this on its own would qualify as one of the best albums of 2007, a 're-release' or not.

It doesn't matter if you're not a Sprouts fan: if you appreciate quality music of the sensitive singer-songwriter variety, I can't imagine how anyone wouldn't love this acoustic material. As a huge fan of Elliott Smith and The Blue Nile, this is now one of those indispensable albums of staggering beauty and subtlety.

Still some of the best lyrics every written:

"The sunlight makes a fence out of the forest

But here I am with head inside the bonnet ...

I've lost just what it takes to be honest."

Paddy's voice is exceptional, light and intimate in tone, hitting some rare and beautiful low notes here for a change. The multi-layered acoustic guitars create a detailed fabric of warm sound which, even without a vocal, would be worth a listen on its own.

It's very rare I get this enthusiastic about 'new' music, but this is exceptional. The kind of record you want to tell all your friends about. Makes you want to say God Bless Paddy, and without a trace of irony. Makes you want to swoon ... a lot!