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[ntriani]

The Beatles White Album in its right place Illustration: Anna Jokela As The Beatles' White Album turns 50, Nick Triani essays the album's standing in 2018 whilst admiring the new possibilities the reissued and remixed album still promises. Despondent My year in music has been a redux kind of affair. Oldish, older and simply old sounds have been a constant. Yes, I’ve listened to a lot of new stuff too, but as my own personal retromania takes over, the past feels like a place where the endless promise of pop music still lives, rather than in the stale present. As we dive further into music being defined by numbers – FB likes, streaming figures etc., a real sense of adventure is required. The one album that felt progressive for me in any sense was Double Negative by Low, a record that not only shows a thrilling re-invention for the band, but offers that aforementioned sense of promise and a world of new possibilities for the genre Low have felt comfortable in for many years. If that other new wheeze, bedroom pop offers a possible changing of the guard moment in 2018, it somehow feels insubstantial. New beginnings Meanwhile, in that older world, The Beatles continue to cast a defining shadow. Criticism of The Beatles as a concept is not new. It has always been there. Yet, now it feels like a growing weariness permeates in some quarters regarding any Fabs related activity. It’s quite fare to compare The Beatles’ own standing to some of classical music’s most iconic specimens. Bigger than Jesus? Not sure, but obviously bigger than Beethoven by now. Mojo and Uncut magazines surely can’t offer anymore insights or untold stories to justify another front cover? But there we are, Mojo’s 300th issue is a White Album special. And here I am at OQM, adding to the noise. Fawning over the band’s catalogue in general terms makes The Beatles ripe for disdain. For many, it’s “all too much” as George Harrison once sang. We know every word of every song. What more can we find out about The Beatles that we didn’t know? Why should we care and honestly, what relevance should this bare on 2018?   The 50th anniversary reboot of The Beatles – AKA The White Album – has had a slow burn build up with new mixes, videos, acoustic demo releases, making of the remix video clips etc, all teased to the media and gobbled up by a still adoring public. What none of this teasing gives you is a sense of The White Album’s standing today or the context of what’s been happening since it was first released. The Apple machinery of curating the band’s repertoire is as meticulous as ever, but none of this pre-teasing conveys the true sickness or creepiness that permeates most of The White Album. The new message is clear: The Beatles were not falling apart during the making of the album, they were having fun – listen to the in-between song banter found on the literally dozens of unreleased outtakes included with the super deluxe edition (more on that later) Changing lanes Most of the songs for The Beatles were conceived in India on a transcendental meditation course in Spring 1968. Yoko Ono was now in a relationship with John Lennon; perspectives, relationships and priorities were shifting within the band. George Martin, forever the 5th Beatle, was discarded for the album recording sessions, The Beatles initiating their own Brexit and taking back control. During the long sessions for the album, engineers would quit and  Ringo Starr would quit then return. Tension was in the air. Richard Hamilton’s sleeve for The White Album discarded much of the visual colour that had preceded it, a blank canvas – this was the first album cover not to feature the band on the front. Across the four sides of The White Album a sense of solo adventure pervades, especially on most of the material supplied by Paul McCartney, where his multi-instrumental skills are utilised to the max. As many have commented, The Beatles were no longer operating as a unit at this time, exasperated by the decision not to tour anymore. None of this is news. There is a sense of fun and childlike whimsy displayed here, but overall, the mood is odd and sometimes real dark. Of far more interest is the role The Beatles would take in 1968, where we find the band no longer bathing in flower-power positivity as the late 1960s hippy-era drew to a stark conclusion. Like no other Beatles album before it, The White Album was poured over and scrutinised – with many theories and thoughts deducted from its grooves. Some of this pointless conjecture can only leave one to surmise that the drugs were particularly strong at the time and people read a little too much into the lyrics. Left leaning commentators felt much of the intent behind The White Album had seen the band lose their edge and their political direction, especially seeing Lennon’s “in/out” declaration on ‘Revolution’ as a political betrayal. In the USA, Charles Manson foresaw “an apocalyptic message predicting an uprising of oppressed races” in the albums lyrics, aligning the feel of the texts to the Book Of Revelation. The most gruesome murders and Beatle lyrics written in blood were to follow.

It’s also worth noting that The White Album is The Beatles record with the widest world-view commentary. We find peak Cold War (‘Back In the U.S.S.R.’), an American perspective on culture (‘Rocky Racoon’, ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’) and a cynicism born of post-Imperial England (‘The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill’, ‘So Tired’, ‘Piggies’ and ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’). Compared to the predominantly English focus of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, this outlook shows the band looking further afield for inspiration. The Beatles was also the first release on The Beatles’ new label and imprint Apple. Despite all this supposed turmoil and repositioning, The White Album was a huge success. In America alone the album has been certified as a 19 times platinum seller. The White Album has sold well in excess of 10 million copies. Phew. The many contours and roads of The White Album are as convoluted and strange as the music on the record. Past, present, future So why do we need a new The Beatles in 2018? I still have the original version on vinyl and a 30th anniversary edition on CD. Can I muster any more hope for this double album 50 years on? Well, yes – quite a lot in fact. As with their Sgt. Peppers… 50th anniversary release of last year, The Beatles have decided to give The White Album a new lick of paint. Giles Martin (son of George, who remixed Pepper) and mix engineer Sam Okell do the deeds on this new edition. In fact, what Martin and Okell achieve here is more substantial than the Pepper remix. They give the meandering White Album some focus and a contemporary sheen. It’s an impressive achievement. An album that I’ve worn out from repeated listens now sounds re-energised. There is no sacrilege here. A slightly beefier drum sound, strings now seem razor sharp and swoon (especially apparent on the new remix of ‘Glass Onion’),  backing vocals which were once muddy mumblings all of a sudden sound rich and transcendent. By adding a little widescreen, without sacrificing the proto lo-fi sound, this new White Album reveals its inner workings. Small details that were always there, now reveal themselves to be a vital part of the song arrangement – which in turn shows The White Album to be far more constructed and nuanced than the reputation of the record suggests. Some songs are instantly improved. ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, a George Harrison song I’ve always struggled with, now soars on the chorus with more urgency. ‘Piggies’ – a track that particularly appealed to Manson, now has a great string arrangement you can really hear in the minutest detail. Likewise, the extra clarity and punch on ‘Martha My Dear’ suit the song better without sacrificing any of the tracks’ power pop. ‘Long, Long, Long’, ‘Sexy Sadie’, ‘Happiness Is a Warm Gun’ all sound like new discoveries amongst the familiar. Anything that doesn’t work here didn’t really work before. The mellower, pre-single version of ‘Revolution’ really comes across as too ironic in sentiment and performance. ‘Revolution #9’ was always one of the tracks that freaked me out when I was a child. Now it suffers poorly from the remix and feels genuinely dated as opposed to being the grand Stockhausen experimental statement. Followed by the Ringo Starr sung mawkishness of ‘Good Night’, The White Album ends with a whimper rather than a ‘A Day In The Life’ like gesture. But it’s more in keeping with the general ethos of the record to end it this way. Extra gravity The extras will draw the disciples. The much bootlegged Esher Demos find 27 songs the band had written in India put to tape at Harrison’s home on their return. These are good value to fans, especially to find songs not featured on the final album. Otherwise, they are a little boring. Three more discs of outtakes seems and are excessive. There are some gems here still – a breezy ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ is less annoying than the original. Harrison’s much recorded but never used ‘Not Guilty’ finally gets an airing. But various versions of ‘Helter Skelter’ requires dedication. Some insights are given, but at no point does it feel like any of these takes supersede the originally released version. So, The Beatles and The Beatles, still pushing and revealing more 50 years on. I always felt The White Album was the last weary hurrah, where all the final great songs from the band appeared. Mood and weirdness – an at times a creepy Victorian sounding affair, an album to revisit over time and not in one stuffed helping. Always revealing more, the 2018 version more so than before. The White Album is the last great Beatles record before the grim failings of Let It Be and the more polished calculations of Abbey Road. There are more ideas here than we could have really hoped for from a band at this point in their career. From their perch at the top of the tree, The Beatles rejected a lot of what they helped create in 1967 by delivering a dream-state sigh of an album in 1968. It still sounds like nothing else out there.

(Source: onequartmagazine.com)

[ntriani]

 B-Side Botany: Prefab Sprout Illustration Anna Jokela In a new series for One Quart Magazine, B-Side Botany looks at the art of the 7” single flip-side. Nick Triani starts the series with a detailed look at the extra curricular music found within the Prefab Sprout discography. The B-side exists in my memory as a long standing alternative, a different view, another side. As the ubiquitousness of the Seven Inch single decreases and struggles for survival, one could surmise the art of the B-side is closing in on extinction. Of course, this is mere conjecture because in 2017, vinyl is popular once again (or so we keep reading). I could perhaps argue that the heyday of the B-Side, the peak exposure of the form, was reached sometime around the end of the 1990s. That awful idea, the double cd-single release, an unwanted format that in the best light still managed to prolong the idea of the B-side. Many a buried treasure was to be found strung out across those dual discs. Since then the prominence of the b-side has lessened, as outtakes and unreleased track now form part of the expanded/deluxe edition of many an album and the single steadily resembles a one track experience. Prefab Sprout have never received the recognition their relative popularity or craft deserved. Across nine official albums Prefab Sprout and mainman Paddy McAloonarguably created some of the subtlest, yet most refined pop music of the 1980’s  – and still continue to release great albums (admittedly, intermittently). That McAloon is not held in the same esteem as other songwriters who gained prominence in that era – Paul Weller, Elvis Costello, George Michael, Kate Bush (for example) – is one of life’s mysteries. Sure, Paddy has a serious following and a real appreciation of his unique song craft and lyrical dexterity, but it still feels the accolades are missing in these post-pop music times. The flip side to this (ahem) is everybody remembers that song about “hot dogs, jumping frogs and Albuquerque” (still one of the most eccentric Top Five singles ever). The albums Swoon, Steve McQueen, Protest Songs and Jordan The Comeback are indispensable. The rest are merely excellent Prefab Sprout were keen purveyors in the art of the B-Side. The second side to their singles and 12 inch’s offered us a rougher, yet no less potent window into the prolificness of Paddy McAloon. McAloon is famous for unrealized album projects and concepts. Total Snow (a Christmas album), Zorro the Fox (yes, an album about Zorro), Behind the Veil (a whole album about Michael Jackson) are just some of the ideas that at some point McAloon was working on. Rumours concerning these ‘almost’ albums have since passed into legend amongst the band’s followers. Occasionally the fruit of Paddy’s labours would wind up on a B-Side and offer us an insight into some of these unreleased projects. Prefab Sprout B-sides gave us a more angular and experimental side to the band than could be found on any of their more ‘produced’ albums. Their B-side adventures signpost an end to the art of the non-album track in general, as singles became more of a one sided affair. No Prefab Sprout B-side exists post 1997 – as if to cement that point.

But let’s cut to the chase. Many of these fine songs have been lost to the ether (or at the least the digital vacuum). If you pay special attention, a quirkier Prefab Sprout (as if possible) appears. One hopes that at some point, someone turns these mostly amazing tracks into an official collection.

NB: I’ve decided to include tracks that appeared on official singles and 12″ releases, cd singles and cd double single releases. I’ve discarded officially released album tracks added to singles to make up the numbers – only stand-alone exclusives to each release are included on the playlist. I’ve also excluded remixes and extended versions. Not everything is here, but You Tube offered the largest selection of Prefab Sprout B-sides outside of actually owning the physical releases. All B-sides are listed in chronological order, as per their release date. Enjoy.

Listen to the Playlist

1. Radio Love (Kitchenware 1982) The flip side to the debut Prefab Sprout single ‘Lion’s in My own Garden’, ‘Radio Love’ begins with the dial moving and static (and makes a fine connection with McAloon’s only solo album, I Trawl The Megahertz from 2003). The track is unmistakable Prefab Sprout, sweet yet melancholy. There’s a yearning vocal from Paddy, which ends with a foreign voice talking over the track (not sure what language that is?) A paean to the radio waves and repetition, McAloon’s lyrical verbosity is evident even at this early stage. Key Lyric:“Could you sustain fate like Bathsheba Some would say it’s futile to try”

2. Walk On (Kitchenware 1983) The first appearance of Wendy Smith on a Prefab Sprout song. Along with A-side ‘The Devil Has All the Brightest Tunes’, ‘Walk On’ brings us one of the best Prefab sevens. Legend has it Smith used to collect the money on the door at early Prefab shows and this was her favourite cut from those times. Could easily have been an A-side. Key lyric:“Amber lights imprint themselves In your soul and in your brain.That smokey blue transfusion Will keep you warm beneath the rain”

3. He’ll Have To go ( Kitchenware/Epic 1984) Prefab Sprout moved to a major label (CBS) after their first two singles, yet remained under the Kitchenware umbrella. The first single to precede their debut album Swoon was ‘Don’t Sing’ – and the gentle country tones of ‘He’ll Have to Go’ (which is a cover of the Allison/Allison song). This can be found on the 12″ version of the single. A quality rendition, seemingly recorded at the same sessions as Swoon.

4. Spinning Belinda ( Kitchenware/Epic 1984) The second side to ‘Couldn’t Bear To Be Special’, ‘Spinning Belinda’ is a busy yet beautifully arranged song (notice extra curricular sounds), which could easily have fitted on Swoon itself. A theory has it that all these early B-sides were slated for a pre-’Lions In My Own Garden’ album, when the band were still a three piece. Key Lyric:“I found a note in a pothole It said ‘you’ve just lost a fortune’ It said ‘look on the bright side, you could be in jail.'”

5. Donna Summer (Kitchenware/Epic 1984) This is one of the great Prefab Sprout B-sides. Rumour has it ‘Donna Summer ‘was conceived to be part of an album called Famous Fakes, which consisted of songs using famous names. Steve McQueen‘s ‘Faron Young’ would have been another for that release. The perennial B-side (find it on many other future singles) – the gorgeous ‘Donna Summer’ originally appeared on the 12″ of ‘Couldn’t Bear To Be Special’. Key Lyric:“The aging count, he waits on you Beneath the ivy-walled towerThe chimes ring out the summer light Also marks the hours”

6. Diana (Kitchenware /Epic 1984) ‘Diana’ would later appear in a much barer and slowed down condition via the demos released as the Protest Songs album (1989). As well as being very different to its later incarnation, Paddy’s Princess Diana song appears on the B-side of the first release of the much re-released ‘When Love Breaks Down’ 7”. Another key factor with the single was the the first appearance of the quintessential Prefab Sprout drummer Neil Conti. One of the band’s most energetic cuts, the lyrics here are seriously good. Key Lyric:“Her eyes china blue saucers, she’s born that way She tastes of apple strudel, you can tell she does With arms that hold sweet William to her breast”

7. The Yearning Loins (Kitchenware/Epic 1984). An angular track (much like the uptempo ‘Diana’), ‘The Yearning Loins’ is another great sidelined to the bonus cut category (it first appeared on the ‘When love Breaks Down’ 12″). It also turned up on Four Wheels Good, the US version of the Steve McQueen album. Key Lyric:“You college boy, you’ve read it all All your questions loaded Describe for me, the point at which The yearning loins exploded.”

8. Silhouettes (Kitchenware/ Epic 1985) Featuring a very rare Wendy Smith lead vocal, ‘Silhouettes’ has the same rhythmic leanness that would characterise much of the Steve McQueen album. But here Prefab Sprout go even sparser (especially on this longer version to be found on the 12″ of the ‘Faron Young’ single). This would start a period of Sprout B-sides that would err on the experimental, ‘Silhouettes’ still manages to engage and keep the B-side quality high. Key lyric:“Here we are, clutching straws Hope’s a thing that leaves you sore”

9.Oh, the Swiss! (Kitchenware/Epic 1985) As if to emphasise the fact that Prefab Sprout were using the B-side to experiment, this ‘Appetite’ single flip side is a slight instrumental, but beautiful (and discordant) nonetheless.

10. Wigs (Kitchenware/Epic 1985) The 12 inch to ‘Johnny Johnny’ (the renamed Steve McQueen cut ‘Goodbye Lucille #1’) features three tracks of experimental fare. ‘Wigs’ is beguiling and can be put down to typical B-side filler, but listen a bit more closely and something is going on towards the songs’ denouement that begins to move through a collision of loudly mixed keyboards and Wendy’s repetitive vocals. Key lyric:“He’s the man Who let the hat box Rule his head” 11. The Guest Who Stayed Forever (Kitchenware/Epic 1985) One of my favourite Prefab Sprout B-sides. Another cut from the ‘Johnny Johhny’ 12″, TGWSF is unhinged (check Paddy’s moronic soloing), yet somehow beautiful (as always). The sole verse here sees Paddy channelling his inner John Lennon (it’s the slap delay doing it). A demo for sure, but an interesting one. Key Lyric:“Every day he packs the bag Every day he settles up Every day he waves goodbye Everyday he bottles out”

12. Old Spoonface Is Back (Kitchenware/Epic 1985) The last track on the ‘Johnny Johhny’ 12″ continues along the same vibe as ‘Wigs’, though perhaps is slightly less vague in execution. Drum machine and repetitive synth chords are the basic ingredients, ‘Old Spoonface Is Back’ ably demonstrates that even when in experimental mode, Prefab Sprout can still deliver mood and technique. It’s worth noting that with these more experimental cuts, McAloon dispenses with any notion of a lyrical narrative or to even attempt to try and tell a story. Key Lyric:“Who’s that whistling outside? He disturbed the dark Who’s been gone since who knows when? Move over buddy, make space”

13. Vendetta (Kitchenware/CBS 1988) The B-side tracks that appeared surrounding the From Langley Park To Memphissingles tended to find the band back on more conventional song structure (though some of the tracks sound like the demo variety). ‘Vendetta’ is a surprisingly straight ahead rock song with some traces of rockabilly even (so a closer cousin to ‘Faron Young’). It’s steeped in a kind of Americana, which is ok and nothing more. McAloon finds his lyrical acumen once more. Found on the flip side to the exquisite ‘Cars And Girls’ 7″. Key Lyric:“Behind the mirror Of his wardrobe door Stands Captain Barclay And his regiment”

14. Nero The Zero (Kitchenware/CBS 1988) Nero the Zero veers very close to a Bryan Adams (not even Bruce Springsteen)/AOR level of songwriting, surprisingly free of that Sprout-like-quirk that distinguishes many of these B-sides. The drum sound alone reveals the demo quality. What brings the interest is a strange yet revealing Paddy lyric. This can be found on the 12″ for ‘Cars and Girls’. Key lyric:“It always rains in Durham CountyYour ears are raw and your hair is wet But don’t you worry in Durham County What you’re really feeling you soon forget”

15. Real Life (Just Around The Corner) (Kitchenware/CBS 1988) An extra cut to be found on the cd single of ‘Cars and Girls’ ( a four tracker no less) ‘Real Life’ is one of the great Prefab Sprout B-sides. Yes, it has that very long experimental proto-funk beginning, but stick with it as a lovely synth laden anthem unfurls, this part of the track is good enough to be a hit single for anyone. ‘Real Life ‘ is relegated rather bizarrely to cd single bonus track status. Key lyric:“Never say your days are numbered Every one’s a bright surprise Some take refuge in their numbers Some big day will tan their hide”

16. Dandy Of The Danube (Kitchenware/CBS 1988) The high quality continues with ‘Dandy Of the Danube’, another gem found on the flip side of the 12″ for the band’s biggest hit, ‘The King Of Rock N Roll’. This isn’t afforded the best production (the drum sound has a demo-like feel), but otherwise one wonders how a fully produced DOTD would have sounded like, had it appeared on the Langley Park… album itself. ‘DOTD’ was a very early Prefab’s number apparently written as part of the songs for that pre-’Lions..’ album. Key Lyric:“Old Bermuda floats out there Heiress of a thousand tunes Trees are wound in purple vine Somehow seem to reach the moon”

17. Tin Can Pot (Kitchenware/CBS 1988) Coupled with ‘Dandy of the Danube’ on the flip side to ‘King of Rock N Roll’,’ Tin Can Pot’ is as rough and edgy as the Sprout have ever sounded on record. A rawkus rockabilly splurge of noise, ‘Tin Can Pot’ lacks sophistication, but is a lot of fun. Key lyric:“Your cut reflections are jealous as you leave a lot to train, Left to die at the station, thoughts of me again. Aah the only things worth keeping are scattered in the rain.”

18. Bearpark (Kitchenware/CBS 1988) Gorgeous 4-track demo found on the 12″ for the ‘Nightingales’ single. According to Sproutology, this track is “A wistful ode to the place where the hard as nails Geordies live”. Paddy gives some extensive notes on his demo process on the back sleeve of the 12″ too. As stripped back and vulnerable as Paddy has ever sounded. A wonderful track. Key lyric:“Home sweet home, Geordies Hard as nails, GeordiesWell out of my pram, Hard as nails, Geordies We am”

There was a huge break in B-side action for Prefab Sprout at this time. Apart from ‘Tornado’ from 1989 (sadly unavailable online) – none of the singles from the fourth album Jordan The Comeback had new material on the b-sides. An almost ten year gap appeared (yet many a single was released). Then, a flurry of B-sides returned in 1997, along with the Andromeda Heights album, minus drummer Neil Conti.

19. Just Because I Can (Kitchenware/Columbia 1997) The wait for B-side action was worth it. ‘Just Because I Can’ is solid gold Prefab Sprout. The tracks that appear on the Andromeda Heights related singles are apparently all from an unreleased PS album Knights in Armour, predating the material that would comprise the much later released album Let’s Change The World With Music. Got that? Good. ‘Just Because I Can’ was released on the CD maxi single of ‘Prisoners Of the Past’. Key Lyric:“Ever since the world began Ever since the dawn of man It’s just because I can”

20. Where The Heart Is (Kitchenware/Columbia 1997) For many, ‘Where The Heart Is’ has become the most recognizable Prefab Sprout song, mainly down to its use as the theme song to the ITV soap of the same name. Paddy’s probably still eating out on the royalty checks. Later released as a single in it’s own right in 1999, WTHI originally appeared on the ‘Prisoner Of the Past’ maxi single as track five! Easily mawkish in the hands of any other performer, McAloon invests enough sincerity in the vocal to make this worthwhile. Key Lyric:“Maybe other streets are wider Than these narrow streets I know Still you’ll find here, ties that bind here Where the heart is”

21.Dragons (Kitchenware/Columbia 1997) Another song from the Knights in Armour project (fairytales, princess’ dominate the themes), ‘Dragons’ finds McAloon alone with an acoustic and you can revel in the sparse beauty afforded us here. Actor Jimmy Nail recorded a version on his Paddy McAloon penned album. The Prefab Sprout version is found on the ‘Electric Guitars’ single. Key Lyric:“The first time I saw you I realised at once You were an angel in torment how could I desert you? I vowed in that moment that nothing in this world or any other Would ever threaten or hurt you”

22. Girl I’m Here (Kitchenware/CBS 1997) Another track found on the ‘Electric Guitars’ single and another with the now familiar themes of Knights and dragons that the B-sides from this period contain. ‘Girl I’m Here’ is lush and worthy. Key lyric: “There are pills and potions, Freud’s exotic notions Quack cures – honey, none of them come cheap”

23. The End Of the Affair (Kitchenware/CBS 1997) To emphasise the capability of the maxi single, ‘The End Of the Affair’ isn’t even the last B-side track found on the ‘Electric Guitars’ single. The track itself has a slightly poor execution, with a nervous drum pattern – whilst the lyric does verge on cheese. One of my least favourite B-side cuts from the band, this still may appeal to some. And yet the final two chords almost promise magic (so keep listening till the end).Key Lyric:“I could tell the story of my love for you With a detailed list of every rendez-vous Discreet hotels we’ve checked into”

24.Never Trust A Spell (Kitchenware/CBS 1997) Out with a bang, the last known Prefab Sprout B-side released thus far. ‘Never Trust A Spell’ is yet another cut from the ‘Electric Guitars’ single and another unreleased song cut from the mooted Knights in Armour album (princess, kings, frogs and the wands of the lyrics give a big clue). Eccentric and actually featuring a spelling machine segment, this is a fine track to release as your final B-side. The seven minute running time almost feels like Paddy new this was to be the case. ‘Never Trust A Spell’ was originally conceived for Cher – but sadly rejected. After this, all related singles were either one sided or had the obligatory album track as its flip side. Key Lyric:“There was a princess who one day waved a wand I gained a palace, lost a pond”

Bonus cut: 25. Rebel Land (John Peel Session 1985) A lost Prefab Sprout classic you could say. I remember catching Prefab Sprout twice on the live dates surrounding the release of the Steve McQueen album and ‘Rebel Land’ was a highlight from both shows. Subsequently ‘Rebel Land’ only ever surfaced on a Peel session. Essential Prefab Sprout is found here. Key Lyric:“Saw her young face on that picture She really had the horniest eyes Now they are bluntedBlunted with living Living with compromise”

In putting this feature together, much information was gathered from two Prefab Sprout related websites: Sproutology (rare track/bside info.) prefabsprout.net(lyrics)

Discogs supplies some valuable access to many of these tracks if you have the money, and most singles are still very affordable.

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[ntriani]

My Lawyer Will Call Your Lawyer: The Black Panthers - Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)

“Racism, anti-muslim sentiment and good old-fashioned ‘blame the foreigner’ rhetoric remain prevalent.“

Illustration Juulia Niiniranta