I POLLED the Megahertz - ILM Artist Poll #100 - Prefab Sprout - RESULTS

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#27
TECHNIQUE
from Swoon (1984)
Points: 184
Votes: 10 (1)
Youtube audio

God this is reminding me how much I love ‘Swoon’...such a monumental album for me...

Same here. It's such a perfect album yet somehow only my third favourite of theirs.

Four tracks in a row for me, it turns out. (He says, finally refreshing his memory.)

make it 1-2-3-4-5!

must've been absurdly confusing to the drummer for the song to start with a 5 count. this is in 4/4, no? or at least until that crazy bridge, anyway.

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#26
ALL THE WORLD LOVES LOVERS
from Jordan: The Comeback (1990)
Points: 193
Votes: 12 (0)
Youtube: original promo video

too lowwwwwww

the height of glistening sophisti-pop

"ride" is the best from LCTWWM, such propulsive groove
"horsin' around" is one of the few inessential tracks on steve mcqueen, shocked it's higher than "when the angels"
"doo-wop in harlem" was in my top 10, a perfect closer
"jesse james bolero" was also in my top 10, a fantastic melody and an arrangement that feels sort of epic in scope
"the world awake" is one of the few protest songs tracks i like but it just missed my ballot

I'm pretty sure I had a carefully considered image set aside for this one but I seem to have misplaced it. So here's an emergency backup 'Paddy 1990' portrait instead!

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#25
MOONDOG
from Jordan: The Comeback (1990)
Points: 197
Votes: 12 (0)
Youtube audio

so many excellent lines in this one.

reason has to bow
if love demands it

'Technique' definitely a favourite of mine from Swoon - the chorus gives me New Pornographers vibes.

'All the World Loves Lovers' is perfect, the highest song on my ballot not from Steve McQueen.

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NIGHTINGALES
from From Langley Park to Memphis (1988)
#24
Points: 205
Votes: 10 (0)
Youtube audio

Grrrr. Sloppy cutting and pasting there.

#24
NIGHTINGALES
from From Langley Park to Memphis (1988)

the biggest non-voting regret

I didn't vote but Mercy from Jordan TC would have been my number one. I wonder If it will place?

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#23
THE KING OF ROCK 'N' ROLL
from From Langley Park to Memphis (1988)
Points: 206
Votes: 13 (0)
Youtube: original promo video

i voted it higher, but i'm not mad at its placement here

this is about the right place

Nightingales in my top 5. Thought it was more highly regarded for some reason

There are faint parallels here with my reaction to "Step Into My Office Baby" in the B&S poll. One of their best known songs. A goofy and potentially divisive opening track on a mid-career album. One has to appreciate the craft and, I guess, the, er, bold move that is the chorus. It was always going to place somewhere around here, like "SIMOB". But I probably wouldn't mind all *that* much if I never heard it again! :)

i do love the chorus but it's a bit below top-tier PS as charming as it is

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#22
IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME
from Life of Surprises compilation (1992)
Points: 211
Votes: 13 (0)
Youtube audio

Pet sprout boys

I’ll admit I didn’t realize how elementally beautiful the melody for king of rock was til I played it on my piano. the production is fun but does the song a bit of a disservice imo.

too low!!! my #3

"the king of rock n roll" does have a gorgeous melody but it's kinda offset by the very goofy backing yeah

^ #22 was another occasion where I was contemplating the reaction of a specific voter while posting! :)

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#21
CUE FANFARE
from Swoon (1984)
Points: 217
Votes: 11 (0)
Youtube audio

plane, plane...

My top rated song from swoon, what a fucking groove

Is it possible that Martin McAloon is a tad under-appreciated? It's so often the bass that lingers in my head after listening, not least with this era.

Events conspired against me submitting a ballot, but 'If you don't love me', in all its forms, woulda been my #1. Makes me blub every time

He’s fantastic throughout swoon

xp

I was going to pause here given ILX gets quiet around this time (and it's after midnight in PfS's timezone) but I'll post one more. Just a second...

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#20
CRUEL
from Swoon (1984)
Points: 220
Votes: 13 (1)
Youtube audio

There’s nooo chicagooooo

Wow, these pics are freaking great man.

wow i missed a lot

"nightingales" should've been top ten

"king of rock n roll" kicks ass!!!!!! jeez

great lyrics, so fun, probably the last glimpse of paddy's scream, "hiiiigh kicking dandy!!!!!!!!", the only prefab sprout song in american karaoke books... so fuckin good

‘Cruel’...what an absolute pearl of a song...heartbreaking and bittersweet...soundtracked the summer of 85 for me...’ my contribution to urban blues’

I remember that...
                                                       Rank     Votes   #1 Votes
20  Cruel                              Swoon (1984)    220      13      1
21  Cue Fanfare	                       Swoon (1984)    217      11      0
22  If You Don't Love Me               LoS (1992)      211      13      0
23  The King of Rock 'n' Roll          FLPTM (1988)    206      13      0
24  Nightingales                       FLPTM (1988)    205      10      0
25  Moondog                            JTC {1990)      197      12      0
26  All the World Loves Lovers         JTC {1990)      193      12      0
27  Technique                          Swoon (1984)    184      10      1
28  The Golden Calf                    FLPTM (1988)    180      11      0
29  Don't Sing                         Swoon (1984)    157       9      0
30  The World Awake                    PS (1989)       153       7      0
31  Carnival 2000                      JTC {1990)      147       9      0
32  Jesse James Bolero                 JTC {1990)      144       8      0
33  Hallelujah                         SMc (1985)      130       8      0
34  Enchanted                          FLPTM (1988)    128      10      0
35  Doo-Wop in Harlem                  JTC {1990)      127       7      0
36  Horsin' Around                     SMc (1985)      114       8      0
37  Ride                               LCtWwM (2009)   113       6      0 
38  Hey Manhattan!                     FLPTM (1988)    110       7      0
39  Jordan: The Comeback               JTC {1990)      110       6      0
40  Green Isaac I                      Swoon (1984)    107       8      0
41  Elegance                           Swoon (1984)    102       6      0
42  The End Of The Affair              B-Side (1997)   102       5      1
43  Wicked Things                      PS (1989)        99       6      0
44  Paris Smith                        JTC {1990)       88       6      0
45  A Prisoner of the Past             AH (1997)        85       6      0
46  I Never Play Basketball Now        Swoon (1984)     84       5      0
47  When the Angels                    SMc (1985)       79       7      0
48  Knock on Wood                      FLPTM (1988)     79       5      0
49  Earth: The Story So Far            LCtWwM (2009)    77       5      0
50  Til the Cows Come Home             PS (1989)        76       5      0
51  Donna Summer                       B-side (1984)    75       6      0
52  Billy                              C/R (2013)       74       4      0
53  Cornfield Ablaze                   TG&OS (2001)     71       5      0
54  God Watch Over You                 LCtWwM (2009)    68       5      0
55  Diana                              PS (1989)        65       4      0
56  Weightless                         AH (1997)        64       4      0
57= Machine Gun Ibiza                  JTC {1990)       62       4      0
57= One of the Broken                  JTC {1990)       62       4      0
59  Couldn't Bear to Be Special        Swoon (1984)     61       6      0
60  Tiffanys                           PS (1989)        59       3      0

XXXP: Haha. Cheers piscesx. A comically large proportion of the gap between posts has been accounted for by (i) last minute second thoughts about the images I'd provisionally chosen during the voting period, and (ii) triple-checking bb-code (and still mucking it up!)

"king of rock n roll" kicks ass!!!!!! jeez

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 19 March 2020 01:02 (ten minutes ago) link

great lyrics, so fun, probably the last glimpse of paddy's scream, "hiiiigh kicking dandy!!!!!!!!", the only prefab sprout song in american karaoke books... so fuckin good

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 19 March 2020 01:03 (nine minutes ago) link

oh absolutely, just picking nits.

I think I'll roll out a wee trickle later today (my time) and finish the final dozen or so very early Friday (my time, so probably Thursday afternon GMT, midday-ish in the US?)

I was the #1 vote for Cruel- such a great song. Love the bossa nova vibe on it. Strategic voting a bit though. I figured My #2 was likely going to be many voters' #1.

I for one approve of this strategic vote.

I'll start rolling out the final batch, when I wake on Friday morning (GMT+10), perhaps twelve hours from now. I'll drop a handful of the 'teens at a more leisurely pace in the meantime, starting with...