Steve McQueen

When people say they don't understand this album, or that it's "too 80's" , what they really mean is that they have never felt soaring, impossible limerance and soul-wrenching heartbreak; their lives have been absent of love and loss. Or, even worse, that they have bad taste in music. Five soulful stars suckas

A nice if unexceptional record. I’d never heard of this group before, but this further confirms my theory that this list is mostly made by white British critics in their forties and fifties picking their favorite stuff rather than trying to get a list of the most important albums of the modern era. Bony was my favorite tack, it had great production and a nice little melody, as was when love breaks down. Maybe I should have known about this group and missing something?

This was one of the least memorable albums I’ve ever heard

My god. What part of this album did they say “wow people need to hear this before they die?” Maybe it’s something British that I don’t understand but the whole Steve McQueen bit doesn’t work at all for this album. I’d bet money that one of those tossers saw that bike on the road and said “Oy! Look at me I’m Bullet” and that’s how they took their album cover. I’m not sure where they came up with their name either but nothing about this band and album makes any sense to me. To be clear, I did like Bonny. That was a good song, but like a few others on this list, one good song shouldn’t get you this far. This is just a case of one too many bands of the time trying to vie for my attention. The last thing I am looking for is a new 80’s British Pop band to add to my collection. I’m also enjoying the beat on Horsin’ Around but this whole album kind of feels like that is what they were doing. Also the guy in the back standing up looks like Bill from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

What kind of shit joke is this? Prefab sprout without the hotdog jumping frog song? Who knew they were a serious outfit, I though they were just the 80s version of las ketchup. Should have stuck to novelty.

Never heard of these chaps, but blimey, this is some great '80s pop. The opening track had me thinking this would sound like a cross between Oingo Boingo and the Smiths, but that notion faded quickly as the album went on. They have a cool, optimistic sound. Wikipedia calls it "sophisti-pop" which is funny but seems fitting. Nowhere near as bright and synthy as the usual '80s fare, but I think that works to their advantage, as it doesn't sound so dated. At times, this even reminded me of acts like Beach House and Tame Impala, real hipster stuff. I really dig this album. Favorite tracks: Bonny, Goodbye Lucille #1, Desire As. Album art: Hell yeah. A soft British pop band dressed in tough guy jackets and paying homage to Steve McQueen. I'm pleasantly surprised to learn that the woman featured is actually in the band! Keyboards and some vocals, like a Vicki St. Elmo. The jackets are cool, the motorcycle is cool, the fog, the barbed wire fence, everything is cool. Steve McQueen is cool. This band is really cool. 4/5

Christ. Fagan flashbacks. I almost called it at track three but persevered. Not rewarded.

This album was obviously meant for the 1001 insipid albums list. They almost grabbed my attention on Goodbye Lucille which built up to a chorus where the singer started putting in a bit of feeling. Then back to the humdrum verse. Then they really crushed my interest with the next song, followed by the next ad nauseum. I didn't know them. They were only successful in the UK which really tells the story. Lots of great British music hit our charts during the 2nd invasion (I'm Australian) but this stuff has nothing of interest. Horsin' Around is the final nail in the coffin. This album may end up with only one star. Yep. One star. It went from insipid to annoyingly twee.

Wow that was truly miserable, I have no idea how anyone could connect with this: music is the driest, most unsoulful pop goop imaginable, the lyrics are weird, and the whole thing has a locked in a dark closet humming to himself vibe.

Maybe I just don't get it, but this album sucked ass and was super boring. Blegh.

Starts off as a strong alternative LP but quickly loses itself in dated synths and truly awful songwriting. I swear everyone in the 80s set their Juno-6 to the same vocal-esque patch and used that for pads.

If I want synthy 80s pop, I want it to be loud and proud! This gives me a feeling like garlic skin sticking to you all floaty and annoying. It's kind of half arsed never quite lets you climax or never gives 100% which is insanely irritating haha. I hate albums that are this long almost exclusively unless I really love all the songs. An irritating experience. Also just to counter a lot of reviews I've seen on here, I am British and I do not get this!

Yuck. Basically 80’s crap pop. This has everything I hate about 80’s music. Synthesizers, cheesy lead vocals, cheesy backup vocals, piano rhythms. Way too much emphasis on lousy singers and no real music behind it. Hated it.

New wave hoedown on compact disc

Smart, sophisticated, and timelessly stylish, Steve McQueen (titled Two Wheels Good in the U.S. after threats of a lawsuit from the actor's estate) is a minor classic, a shimmering jazz-pop masterpiece sparked by Paddy McAloon's witty and inventive songwriting. McAloon is a wickedly cavalier composer, his songs exploring human weaknesses like regret ("Bonny"), lust ("Appetite"), and infidelity ("Horsin' Around") with cynical insight and sarcastic flair; he's also remarkably adaptable, easily switching gears from the faux country of "Faron Young" to the stately pop grace of "Moving the River." At times, perhaps, his pretensions get the better of him (as on "Desire As"), while at other times his lyrics are perhaps too trenchant for their own good; at those moments, however, what keeps Steve McQueen afloat is Thomas Dolby's lush production, which makes even the loftiest and most biting moments as easily palatable as the airiest adult contemporary confection.

Every song is interesting! The lyrics are interesting on every song though occasionally stretched to make a rhyme work. I had never heard any of the songs on the album. Very 80s synth but in the best way. So much variation in instrumentation! I LOVE this album! My favorite song was Horsing Around mostly because of the brass

This didn't make a huge splash in the US, but it was a vital piece of 1980's college radio. It's among the best Side A to be found, with solid tracks back-to-back. This re-listen gave me a reason to revisit why I never "flip over the record", and was reminded that the second side is considerably less consistent. However, the rush of Faron, Bonny, Appetite, When Love Breaks Down, and Goodbye Lucille #1 more than justifies a solid rating. I'd give it 9 our of ten, but will round up for sheer nostalgia value and Thomas Dolby's production.

I have always admired Paddy McAloon as a songwriter. The 80s frequently get a bad rap musically. While I have a lot of issues with a lot of the production (overproduction) in the 80s, there is a great deal of good songcraft to come from that decade. For fans of sophisticated pop, Prefab Sprout’s Steve McQueen is near the top of that list. With obvious tips of the hat to Pasul McCartney and Elvis Costello, with some additional jazz-pop elements thrown in, Steve McQueen is a great listen from start to finish.

Astounding record without a single bad track. The songwriting by McAloon is phenomenally done, and the instrumentation sounds gorgeous. This album could have came out yesterday, it sounds that great. This is another band I had never heard of prior to listening to the track, but this has become one of my favorite listens all year.

I love this album so much, I've become so obsessed in such little time. It's just that good. The first 5 songs.... just hit after hit for me. Highlights: Faron Young, Bonny, Appetite, When Love Breaks Down, Goodbye Lucille #1, Hallelujah

Holy shit did this album catch me by surprise. I had never even heard of Prefab Sprout before this and I loved every track on this album. This might be the first album this generator has introduced me to for the first time that I absolutely, fully enjoyed. Literally don't have enough good things to say about it. Fav songs: bonny, when love breaks down, goodbye lucille

Have this one on vinyl. A fan obviously. I'm a sucker for most British sophistipop. Love the Thomas Dolby production. Very crisp and three dimensional. Sounds great on headphones. So many nice touches in the arrangements throughout. The banjo on Faron Young may be my favorite use of banjo in all of recorded music. The more I listen to this the more details I enjoy.

Great album, wasn't aware of the high craftmanship of pop music on this record. Pleasant surprise.

Innocuous.

J'ai passé un très bon moment devant cet album de manualisme

Jesus, that is one British album cover. Aaaaaaand it's a mix of new wave and pub rock/pop - exactly as expected. Fairly listenable in an inoffensive way, but I lost interest towards the end. 3/5.

Lame, boring 80s pop. The author of this list seems to favour this type of music for some unfathomable reason.

I’m not entirely sure what the first song thinks it’s doing on this record, the cow-punk on that track doesn’t really fit with the overall sound of this record, which, in a few spots, sounds closer to a less-technical Sea And Cake or maybe latter day Cornelius, to make a somewhat modern comparison. The production here is the highlight for me. Thomas Dolby’s vibrant production keeps this album from being an absolute snore.

Oh boy, it started ok but quickly became incredibly uninteresting. A catchy hook here and there got me hoping for more but it just kept getting worse. Just unoffensive and dull album that I don't need to (and definitely don't want to) listen to again.

Parts we ok, but really I just found it boring.

Oh my, this was dreadful. Really, really painful. It was like the worst form of elevator music imaginable.

This is bad. It has some of the 80s tone to it but it isn't good. Thankfully it is only 45 minutes but it is not memorable. It is not the worst album on this list but it is not a 2.

I'm very sad that I haven't heard about this album until now. I'm getting pretty strong smiths vibes and kapput-era Destroyer (which is my favorite album of all time, so I'm pretty happy about this). The guitars are so crisp on this album, really kind of fresh and refreshing sounding. The melodies are absolute jams, that sometimes go in strange directions that I didn't expect at all, so I was kept on my toes. I feel like bands like War on Drugs and other modern synth rock/pop really encapsulate this same sound, but I found that this album was surprisingly more forward thinking, experimental and interesting than modern synthpop. There's something so smooth about these songs that make them extremely listenable despite throwing in experimental-isms throughout the album. This is definitely going on my "listen again" list.

Wait a minute. I actually love this.

Hit me in a very fitting time of my life

feelgood experience

Steve McQueen Prefab Sprout are one of those bands that for a long time I overlooked. While I’m not fully acquainted with all their stuff I do listen to their first few albums occasionally, they really made some great extremely well crafted 80s jangly indie pop. From memory this is probably their best or most fully realised album, even if it does dip a little in the second half and get a bit bogged down by itself. The run from Faron Young to Goodbye Lucille #1 is great, the lovely jangly 80s indie pop with country rockabilly guitar of Faron Young, the weary feel of Bonny, the synthy and propulsive Appetite, the jazz inflected pop craft of When Love Breaks Down, the tenderness and delicacy of sentiment of Goodbye Lucille #1 as builds to moments of tension. I like the guitar on Hallelujah and it has some great backing vocals and nice wry lyric, but has a slight adult mundanity to it. Moving the River is a good track, but I’m not a fan of the little sax motif. Horsin’ Around I really like, similar to When Love Breaks Down with its jazz inflection. I get the idea behind Desire As, but it has a woodenness and self seriousness that feels a bit overbearing. I struggle with the melody of Blueberry Pies and the overall mood is creates. Itrap. Obviously they have enough about them to be a cut above some of their contemporaries, and it’s fine line between wry and well crafted ‘sophisti-pop’ and slightly dull adult pop, and this one falls into that trap a little. When The Angels is a bit of return to the form of the first 5 or 6 tracks, bringing a bit of life and energy after the dip of Desire As and Blueberry Pies. When the songs dip on the second side the Thomas Dolby sound can be a bit anodyne, but on the rest of it I love the sound, clean and spacious, suiting the observational theme of the lyrics. If the quality of the first side carried on to the end I think it would be a 5, but as it is it lands as a solid 4. A very very good album from a very very good band. 🥬🥬🥬🥬 Playlist submission: Goodbye Lucille #1

Conocía When Love Breaks Down. Un 4.

Really enjoyed "Steve McQueen" from Prefab Sprout, and thought that musically - is was really next-level 80's pop... Most 80's bands - no matter how popular, were sort of basic level pop from a musical perspective, while this album was much more sophisticated musically... The album starts out incredibly strong - with "Faron Young", "Bonny, and "Appetite" - as I kept hearing hints of The Smiths in their music - which is quite a compliment... This was also a pretty diverse album musically, so I appreciate them playing around with that experimentation, as it was really well-done... The album lost a little steam as it went on, but the musicianship and vocals were top-shelf throughout... Definitely a solid 3 from me, and while I had heard of the band - I would NOT have been able to name a single song of theirs... Glad I listened...

Le groupe Prefabs Prout n'a jamais percé et il en est très complexé. Cet album concept intitulé "Steve McQueen" du nom de l'acteur connu n'aborde qu'un seul thème : la célébrité. Le projet est en quelque sorte une réponse à la deuxième ligne de leur page Wikipedia française qui avait semé la zizanie au sein du groupe.

This has as many boring songs as good or great ones, but even the boring songs are interesting. I read that Paddy McAloon trained to be a priest, which fits his delivery: “Desire As”, one of the flat tracks, sounds like it is being read from a codex. Why is “Horsin’ Around” on this record? God knows.

Side 1 full of classic tunes, Side 2 cheesy and boring as hell [EDIT - You might think this would be a fey classic, Mark, and you would be 50% correct]

Mix of pop-like softer rock music initially like the Goodbye Lucille track was enjoyable... then tracks like Blueberry Pie that felt more like someone on open mic night...

Started off strong, but by the end I was waiting for it to be done. Still fairly decent Brit pop I guess.

Can’t do the English Beat, etc

Nooo this was so bad 1/5

Not good, this is more evidence that 1985 may very well be the worst year in music

Gets too 80s poppy in the middle but liking the songs that feel like the clash and the smiths had a baby

Always missed that band, but this album is amazingly beautiful

This was a pretty good find. Another great 80s Art Pop and New Wave album that I hadn’t checked out before. It has a wonderful nostalgic and reflective quality, paired with smooth and polished lush production. An added bonus is that it was produced by Thomas Dolby.

Never seen or herd of it before… The album opens with Faron young it’s not my favourite song of all time but the echoey vocals and the chaos the song goes into at the very end are both really awesome. Bonny ( according to spotify) is their most popular song ( but isn’t a single) It’s a nice track a slower poppier mostly acoustic based track with great backing vocals so yeah good! Appetite has a great slow (yet poppy) booming intro but then forms into this glossy little masterpiece; these songs are so good. When love breaks down sounds like walking into the gates of heaven another glossy pop rock masterpiece with amazing lead and backing vocals. Goodbye Lucille #1 ( aka Johnny Johnny) has got some of my favourite subtle guitar workings in any song. The slow romantic verses juxtaposed with the booming chorus makes this into a centrepiece to the album. The first half of the album ends on hallelujah it’s not my favourite track on the album but it’s still perfectly made 80’s pop music with amazing lyrics. Moving the river brings back some energy missing from most of the album’s first half while still keeping the same sounds that make this band sound so special, I don’t think the lyrics are as good as that of the ones on the rest of the album but it’s still a good song. Horsin’ around has a great kinda optimistic sounding orchestral keyboard work contrasted quite well with the gloomy lyrics. After the halfway point the song takes a brief left turn into a more old fashioned sounding track but with the same lyrical content. The bass at the end is also cool. I love the synths in desire as this song seems like a break from the rest of the album as it is a super slow 5 minute angelic but still a well written pop song. I love the little sample at the start of the penultimate track blueberry pies speaking of the sonic is an odd mix of of creepy yet lovely dovey its good but no where near a favourite. When the angels closes off the album with one of the faster paced tracks. Other than lyrical content I find this an odd closer but it’s still one of the stronger songs on here. This album is amazing I’am a bit doubtful of if it truly deserves it but I can’t not give it a 5/5.

Sophisti pop genius.

Actually super awesome! Listened to the 2007 remaster and didn't really care for much of the accoustic 2nd disk, but the first half is really stellar. Lyrical ambition is always great to see, and some of the guitar playing in particular is really groovy. Loved it, interested to see their other stuff. BONNY BONNY BONNY

There are so many cool impressive little things going on in this album. Unfortunately it didn't grab me. But I'll admit, I was continually impressed while waiting and waiting to make my own great escape. I'll probably listen again and end up liking it more. There are individual moments I really like, especially on the track Faron Young. I felt like I was being led into one musical trope, buy they would weave it beautifully into another, and yet another, over and over. Pretty cool. Lots of what seemed like unexpected and complex chord progressions too. I love it when music gives me hints to go listen to other music. Be it the lyrics, liner notes, a sample, a riff, whatever. I like the invitation to explore something I didn't know about. I did not know of Faron Young and will certainly be checking out the song "It's Four in the Morning". I gave it another spin and I definitely enjoyed it more the second time around. What a great sounding record. I'd love to listen to the non-remastered version sometime. I usually don't like remastered copies. Also, the deluxe version or whatever it's called on goes straight into disc two on streaming services. That's not the end of the word, but the album ending on the fade out of "When The Angels" is a nice place to end it. That Faron Young song was pretty good too.

From every note to every emote this is one of the greatest albums ever created. The lyrical dexterity, the songs built on melody and complex chord structure and Thomas Dolby's peak as a producer. Paddy McAloon is one of the greatest songwriters these isles have produced. This is one of the great albums of all time. I got to it by chance - I won a competition for 4 tickets to the gig in Stoke that evening. Me and my mate went. I still have the other two tickets. Wendy was ill. It didn't matter, I was introduced to some sort of genius.

This could have been recorded by The 1975. Sounds great, really catchy end to end.

That was delightful and being added to the permanent collection

An album that is hard to pin down, both on the outside and the inside, is a tricky thing to pull off well, as a poor mix of styles can cause an album to feel distracted, while the vague image presented on the cover can lead the listener to think of many genres before something like sophisti-pop comes to mind. So, with that initial run down, you may expect just another longue-y new wave run with perhaps some rock roots due to its leather clad, motorbike riding cast of characters. What you get, however, is far more fascinating, with those jazz infused keyboards and sleek guitar riffs being assuredly sophisticated, but that Thomas Dolby production leads the record to be far more in depth, with great, moving musical passages, more change-ups in some tracks than some twenty minute prog masterpieces, and just a consistency between each track that can always make you dance and sway with the best of them, and sure those Dire, Dire Docks-ass sound font may be cheesy, but do you really care when you're being carried into 80s pop bliss in a way every other album from the era can only dream of achieving. It narrowly avoids cheesy and is instead incredibly endearing, and Paddy McAloon's vocals benefit it even more so. It's more lush, more passionate, and more thoughtful than its contemporaries, and with the very underrated Horsin' Around being like the perfect bittersweet odyssey to really carry the B-side to the finish line after an amazing A-side and let the listener ride the last three tracks off the highs it produced makes it easily one of my favorite songs from the era. It may feel like bona fide 80s gleam, but for one of the few times in musical history, that is certainly not a bad thing.

Fantastically produced and a delight to listen to. Side 1 is banger after banger!

A wise man once told me to eat all my sprouts or my dick would rot off. I didn't believe him. By age 14 all I had left was a rusty, festering wound where my dong should have been. My predicament forced me to construct a new cock out of an old dildo and newspaper. It was a disaster.

Loved it

I was incredibly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I'm familiar with one Prefab Sprout song, The King of Rock and Roll, and I like it quite a bit, but I've always thought of it as quite unserious, cheesy, and a bit of a dated 80s aesthetic. But this album bares little resemblance to that track. Instead its comprised of sparse reverbed soundscapes, with flourishes of beautiful guitar, only occasionally verging into danceable pop territory, as on Moving the River. Other tracks like Goodbye Lucille #1 remind me of Talk Talk. I kept waiting for this album to fall off and it doesn't really do it, though the strongest tracks are certainly on the first half. Fave Tracks: Faron Young, Bonny, Appetite, Goodbye Lucille #1 4.6/5

It has a kind of 70s sound that I feel was lost in the following decade amidst so many synthesizers and metallic instruments. I'm not saying the 80s sound is bad, just different. But there are some cases where an artist manages to bring back some 1970s aspect to the contemporary sound in an excellent mix. Good examples of this are the albums that Fleetwood Mac released in the 80s: Mirage (1982) and Tango in The Night (1987). And today I just discovered another excellent example. And once again I ask myself: where was I all this time that I never heard of these guys? Prefab Sprout managed to bring to Steve McQueen the musical essence from two different decades, without hiding the fact that it was released in 1985, all bathed in a top quality pop sound. Besides, it's been a while since I've heard of an album with a name as badass as that, seriously, even I wanted to be called Steve McQueen! That's it: I loved it!

DOPE AF. Makes me nostalgic for an era I never lived in. 11/10

Mullets. Synth-Pop. Margaret Thatcher. New wave. Power suits with shoulder pads.

Totally surprised by this album!

I really enjoyed this album. Like soft indie or something like that.

Excellent

Immer wieder geile 80s Vibes

- Honestly this had great vibes - Can feel the emotion in the lyrics and singing - Sounds like it would be a soundtrack to a great movie - Horsin Around and Bonny were my favorites

I was immediately impressed by the catchy country-tinged post-punk opener (especially that distorted instrumented ending), but then it took a completely different turn from there into sophi-pop, and I love it all. This is peak 80s, jazzy, smooth, with beautiful lush synths while retaining minimalist punk beats. Gives off Steely Dan vibes in the vocals and how fast the melody twists and turns. It's consistent too, with tracks following patterns from one to the next, like the bossa nova percussion between "Horsin Around" and Desire As." The first side is perfect, the second side a bit weaker, but it's all good. Everything stands out and has their gorgeous moments to appreciate. Only two tracks I didn't like were "Blueberry Pies" and "When the Angels" but I don't mind stopping at "Desire As" anyway.

WOW! What a pleasant surprise. Totally new to me. Smooth jazzy pop with constant charming production surprises ‘round every corner. Obviously a lot of heart and skill was poured into this album. Still sounds insanely crisp and modern despite the eighties-tinged synths. This is what modern producers try to emulate. Reminds me of one of my favourite albums: Kaputt by Destroyer.

Það sem ég er búin að bíða eftir þessari plötu á listanum! Albesta gáfumannapopp sem gefið hefur verið út. Algjör demantur.

Classic then classic now

Incredible album. Definitely one of my biggest inspirations musically. Fave song is Appetite.

Two Wheels Good here in the colonies. Loved it from first listen, when it was new, and it’s just as good now.

Engineered by the great Thomas Dolby, the sound quality of this album is superb. This is an album of perfection that never tires or grows old. Why can’t all albums be this way?

An immaculately produced jazz-pop record... Technically every song is a winner. Every song invokes a mood, and that’s a mood I want to be in all the time. STANDOUTS: -Faron Young -Bonny -Appetite -When Love Breaks Down -Goodbye Lucille #1 -Moving the River -Horsin’ Around -When the Angels

I’m a poptimist and a hopeless romantic. I like what I like, even if it’s a little awkward and silly, and this is definitely awkward and silly both lyrically and musically. It’s not flawless, and works better as individual songs on a playlist than an album proper, but it’s so fun and so right for my tastes that it earns a personal 4.5 stars. Great find for lovers of kitschy ‘80s pop.

i already knew this album but i love it, always worth a listen

Personal favourite album!

Fantastic songwriting from the very beginning. First 5 songs is the best ever pressed on a Side A. Second half is watering down this godly juice but cannot drag the level lower than giving this whole masterpiece a 4.5

I LOVED this

8/26 Damn good pop. Standout Tracks: Faron Young, Appetite, Hallelujah, Horsin' Around, Blueberry Pies, When the Angels

I am mesmerized by the quality here. The best sounds out of the 80's ever, harmonies, melodies, chords, guitar and keyboard sounds. I am in love

Afar góð plata. Svona á 80s að vera.

Love this album. Only low point for me is the opener 'Faron Young'! I guess it's more in that Smiths 80s rockabilly style and the structure and lyrics are pretty straightforward so that's why they made it a single.

Brilliant!

Rating: 9/10 Best songs: Faron young, Bonny, Appetite, When love breaks down, Goodbye Lucille, Hallelujah, Moving the river, Horsin’ around

very cool

Had five 2 star albums in a row so I really needed this. lovely.

Not typically my thing, but this album blew me away. Amazing songs and all the best parts of 80s production without the cheese.

Sassy and clever lyrics. Some interesting sounds. A fun album of its time

This was beautiful. I loved how sweet it sounded.

Eighties pop with sophisticated melodies and chord progressions. I thought I preferred the debut Swoon, but now I'm not so sure anymore. Loved it.

Many of the albums I end up giving five stars find the perfect balance between two contrary drivers in the artist. And so it is here: the pop rush and classic songwriting chops on one side, the witty wordplay, clever time signatures and chords on the other. Side one is one of the strongest side ones of any album in the eighties and it's a crime that When Loves Breaks Down wasn't number one: the record company clearly thought so too as they kept re-releasing it every ten minutes with another free single. No 25 with a bullet and since covered by the Zombies, Snow Patrol and Lisa Stansfield who clearly all know a classic when they hear it. they'd get the big hits on the next album, slightly too much pop rush and not enough of the grit in the oyster.

A great find. Every song enjoyable 80 British pop that I actually enjoyed.

kinda forgot how much I LOVED this album

This is so so good! BONNY DON'T LIVE AT HOME

Fantastic