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Prefab Sprout
Steve McQueen: Legacy Edition
(Legacy)
First Appeared in The Music Box, August 2007, Volume 14, #8
Written by John Metzger
For anyone who either is completely unfamiliar with Prefab Sprout or didn’t
understand the fuss that surrounded its sophomore set Steve McQueen after
its release in 1985, here’s a tip: Avoid reading Paul Lester’s liner notes until
after the album’s contents have had time to come into focus. Over the years,
Lester has played the role of Prefab Sprout’s biggest fan to the hilt, and every
album that the band has released has been greeted by heaps of his glowing
praise. Here, he refers to Steve McQueen as "the Pet Sounds of the
’80s," and although his enthusiasm undeniably is genuine, his statement raises
expectations that the endeavor can’t possibly meet.
Recently reissued, Steve McQueen has been augmented with a bonus disc
that contains acoustic versions of eight of the album’s 11 songs that Prefab
Sprout recorded last year. Not all of the new arrangements are successful, but
in stripping away the highly glossy production of the original endeavor, the
smartly crafted lyrics of front man Paddy McAloon are brought to light. Despite
their outward appearance, these are not ordinary pop songs. Like a wolf in
sheep’s clothing, they sneak in quietly, and strike at the most unsuspecting
moments.
Initially introduced to the U.S. market as Two Wheels Good, Steve
McQueen is a conceptual work about the male experience, though McAloon
escapes from the typical rock star posturing by viewing his behavior through the
lens of the future. He never really apologizes for his array of misguided
thoughts and misdeeds, but his regrets certainly are palpable. Desire As,
for example, begins with the arrogant kiss-off, "I’ve got six things on my
mind/You’re no longer one of them." As the song progresses, however, its
perspective shifts, and McAloon comes to realize his mistakes. On When Love
Breaks Down, he chisels away at the lies that men tell until he reveals that
the reason that they do it is to avoid both commitment and heartache. Meanwhile,
Moving the River outlines how the chase often becomes more important than
getting the girl, while on Horsin’ Around, he offers a blunt admission
that his infidelities have left him with nothing but shame.
The arrangements employed by Prefab Sprout on Steve McQueen are,
however, somewhat more problematic in that the collection forever will be tied
directly to the sounds that were emanating from the U.K. in the 1980s. Although
a lot of the material falls into the same vein as the works of Howard Jones and
Spandau Ballet, the band also found room to incorporate into its work the new
wave-pop of Squeeze, the angry bite of Elvis Costello, and the jazzier
tendencies of The Style Council into its work. The only track that continues to
hold up completely, however, is Faron Young. As its title suggests, the
tune is a tribute of sorts to the classic, honky-tonk country artist whose work
inaugurated CMT in 1983. The rolling banjo that underscores the song further
highlights this connection, thus allowing McAloon to use the image of the man
known as "The Hillbilly Heartthrob" to launch his opus.
Unfortunately, time has not necessarily been kind to Steve McQueen.
When it was issued in 1985, its polished production already had undercut a lot
of its punch. To be fair, producer Thomas Dolby did everything that he could to
distinguish the set from its rivals without alienating it from commercial radio,
and if it is given a chance, the music actually proves to be quite complex. The
backing vocals of Wendy Smith, for example, are gloriously ethereal and
haunting, and tucked inside the sophisticated ambience are intricate textures
that lurk like the demons that McAloon is trying to confront. Although it’s not
quite the classic that Paul Lester wants it to be, Steve McQueen is a
prime example of how the vacuous pop world occasionally can be subverted by a
gifted, literate lyricist. In the end, this may be what he ultimately was trying
to say.  ½
Steve McQueen: Legacy Edition is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2007 The Music Box
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