Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen would not approve

nette britische Hintergrundmusik - absolut ohne Highlight, und austauschbar sowieso.

Am Anfang geht es ja rockig los, doch dann verliert sich das Album immer mehr in den 80er und packt mich nicht.

Meh

i don’t know, this shit was pretty boring to me.

The blandness was a bit too strong on this one

Why?

This album is just a bunch of nothing. I listened to it yesterday and now, at 8am this morning, I can barely remember anything about it. It left absolutely no impression whatsoever. It is a bowl of non-flavored yogurt. It is a lukewarm glass of water.

Bit too 80s

Mid

Found it to be a very average pop rock album. Had good vibes though.

Pretty average, trending down. Hasn’t aged well.

not bad or anything but i just don't like it

I know I’m being hyperbolic here, but all 80s pop music stinks.

This is a strange one. I really liked the opening, but it just got progressively more grating with every track. By the time I got to "Horsin' around" everything from the lyrics and phrasing, to the lazy latin inspired drumming, and the feel changes, seemed almost custom designed to be as anoying as possible to me personally. Then "Desire As" started. I did not enjoy this.

Found it a bit bland to be honest. 2.5 stars

Very on point 80s synth rock. The first song is a bit strange but from Bonny onward it’s a smooth laidback album. Lots of 80s samplers and synths being used for that classic feel. The lead singer is cheesy sounding but decent. Pretty mid though. It’s not a fantastic album like aja but not the worst. I wouldn’t hear this again front to back. Probably just the hits I like. Desire as is very peaceful sounding. It ends on a nice note as well just a weird beginning. Highlights: Bonny Hallelujah Desire As When the Angels Sing

Generic 80s

big shrug

Didn't need to be that long

Having listened to the entire album, I'm beginning to think that 80s "sophisti-pop" lacks force and emotion. The musicianship here is good, but the songs don't have any real bite. I'm okay with jazzy, but not if it's bland.

Okokok

Timeless mix and arrangement tricks during the bridge/outro of Faron Young. Captivating vocal performance on Bonny. Convincing delivery with every word. Appetite's bass-line is the driving force in what was a refreshing change of pace. BGV in the bridge panning left to right, but fade into a guitar as they enter the right field - very hooky use of panning. Love breaks down let me down. Felt like the bases were loaded, and the chorus was about to stamp an iconic moment of musicianship into this album. The track quickly fell into mediocrity. The rest of the album followed suit. Never a standout moment. Swing and a miss in my opinion.

Wasn't a fan then, haven't grown on me

Nothing wrong with it really, but a bit banal. Not one I'll revisit.

Meh, there was one song I liked, so this album didn't really work for me.

This strikes me as wholly unremarkable 80's pop rock.

Tracks one and two held so much promise. By the midpoint I thought the sound was very familiar. By the end I switched over to Elvis Costello to confirm my suspicion. Whether Prefab Sprout was trying to mimic (the true) Elvis's style or not, I don't know. What I do know is that, while I appreciate the attempt, I am good with the original. The opening two tracks reminded me of The Libertines, which is why it was so promising.

The only thing memorable about this album is that I thought Steve McQueen was singing the entire time. This is as middle of the road as it comes. I only give out 1s to offensively bad music, usually I get why it’s on the list though. but it’s almost offensive this is on this list 4.1/10

It's . . . fine. I remember this being boring to me in the 80's, that hasn't changed.

Favourite songs: Bonny, Appetite, When Love Breaks Down Least favourite songs: Hallelujah, Horsin' Around, Blueberry Pies 2/5

I didn’t pick up on any particular sound or theme to this album. Admittedly, I listened to it A couple songs at a time rather than straight through, which is what I typically do. I didn’t dislike the music, but didn’t pick up on anything worthy musically, vocally, or lyrically.

I liked the first song but the rest of the album (at least the part I managed to go through) is completely different. the first song at least is catchy and has a cool melody, while the others are just so boring and tame. safe to say: like many who came before me, I don't really see what about this album is a must listen. I could venture into the first live music bar on the street and the bands playing there are guaranteed to be more interesting

Started off with the feels of something that may scratch the 80s itch but in the end it just fell flat and was very forgettable.

I can imagine someone would really dig this. Best of luck to them!

Not interesting at all. It started not bad but after a couple of songs I was not interested anymore.

Prefab Sprout was just ok. There wasn’t anything special happening that made me pay attention.

4/10. It was fine but boring and a bit stale. Nothing I’d say I’d listen to again. Had rom-com soundtrack vibes.

2-3

Truly never heard of this band. Interested to hear what they sound like. First track not what I expected. Expecting a tad bit more of an 80's synth sound. Getting into track 3, this is not really my kind of sound. moving on.

Did I really need to listen to this album before I die? No. The answer is an unequivocal no.

45min tyhjäkäyntiä. Levy ei oikein missään vaiheessa lähde käyntiin ja kokonaisuus painuu ärsyttävän puolelle.

Muniinpuhaltelua ja vähän meininkiä, ei jatkoon

Started off well enough, but really went down hill from there. Good writing from a musical standpoint, but lyrically and melodically pretty saccharine.

I'll be skipping Postfab Sprout

Meh.

Meh. Forgettable 80s Brit Pop.

Meh! I'd heard of PS before, so went into this expecting quite a lot. As a result I found this record underwhelming - it never really goes anywhere or does anything interesting. It's fine to listen to, but doesn't inspire me to come back to it at all. Maybe I've missed something, but it's a regrettable 2 at best

Tears for Fears on a massive amount of sedatives.

2/5 too jetaim monamour for my taste

Sigh... Prefab Sprout - and this album especially - are prime examples of how pop music came off the rails int he mid to late 1980s. Its songs are innocuous to the point of being unnecessary. The chirpy synths, the laid back (read dull) vocals, and overall simpleness are boring not sensitive. They were the Kenny G of pop music, overly sanitized and stripped of anything remotely interesting. It is lounge music without the kitsch. This is the music you play after a romantic evening when you are not really in the mood and hope your partner falls asleep first.

Not my favorite and none of the songs grabbed me. Sounded way too 80s and not in a fun way. I didn’t hate this but I never need to listen to it again.

I added Bonny to my running list of songs from this project. And other songs were on this album too.

Just a bit too far on the sappy lush pop sound for me, could have been much better. Though why was this English mush pop album named after American bad ass Steve McQueen? -1 star for that.

Well that was nothing special. Some decent songs that are 80’s adult contempo radio worthy… but that’s about it.

Meh 80s

Is that banjo going on in the first track? And, maybe a little harmonica? I was expecting a bit more of a hidden gem of the new wave vibe with this very pretty in pink meets some kind of wonderful album cover but instead it initially feels more traditional than I expected despite some chiming guitars and sonic noodling. Overall not bad but it also doesn't quite hit the way I prefer. Despite being able to recognize and appreciate some of its quality. This is just way too pop for me and when it does get weird it's just genre mixing and off beat lyrics. I'm almost always looking for more aggression, grit and grime.

this one was a full bucket of eh, felt like it never really got anywhere with me

Sounds like very clean, pure, refined, 80's pop.

When this album came out in 1985, I thought it sounded like posh hotel lounge bar music (except for the first track ('Faron Young'). I've played it a number of times over the years (mostly because of critical acclaim), but I'm afraid my opinion has not changed after three plays this morning. Maybe I just don't get it.

Miksi tämä on näin tylsä? Ei menoa, ei yllätyksiä, ei kiinnostavia sanoituksia, mikään ei nappaa. Missä brittiläisyys, roso?

Ok background music, but a little too mellow for me.

80s pop, but could use more hooks.

Soft around the edges and a bit too dated to get into.

I only listened to this album about 6 hours ago and I've completely forgotten every song. Utterly forgettable, serviceable pop. Good for filling in dead space on the radio and not much else. 5/10

This strikes me as "you needed to be there" kind of album. I can see people having connected with it in the 80s and made some strong memories around it. The sound is not bad, but it's definitely very dated. I kind of see the appeal but it's not for me.

Steve would be disappointed.

Who could have imagined a Steve McQueen-themed album would prove to be a dud?

Very 80’s, kinda cheesy and the singing is mid

DO NOT JUDGE THIS ALBUM BY ITS COVER... it's nowhere near as cool as the cover or album title would have you believe.

Uhm

Correct, un peu ennuyant. Feutré.

I remember music being decent in my university years and was my last year of university but I couldn't really get into this. Perhaps 1985 was a transition year for music.

I remember that back in the day I didn’t listen much to these guys, who along with Aztec Camera and (gasp) Scritti Politti, I deemed too poppy. The opener, “Faron Young” changed my mind – I even looked up the Country singer to hear what it was all about. “Bonny” is a catchy pop tune as well and I liked the way snippets of Wendy Smith’s voice worked their way in. But soon after, things devolved into what I was expecting. The song-writing is passable but the production is stinky.

Meh! Boring, mediocre at best. Please explain how this is in the top 1001 albums of all time?

Not sure what the redeeming qualities of this album were.

Prefab Sprout should definitely be on the 1001 awful band names list. I wanted to like this album but it just didn’t grab me at all. The songs fell into the cheesy zone unfortunately.

Well. It's 80s alright. But is it good 80s?

3/10 brit poo vrm rien de cool

Aardig plaatje, maar hier red je de wereld niet mee...

Qua muziek dacht ik: meh. En toen las ik de band-bio: One of the most acclaimed British pop bands of the '80s and '90s, Prefab Sprout was the creative vehicle of vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Paddy McAloon, who has been regularly hailed as one of the greatest songwriters of his era. McAloon has often been compared favorably to Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney. Hah! Mocht ie willen die Paddy! Dream on brother.

Inoffensive if not a little dull.

Other than Bonny …

i'm roughly halfway through this list and I'm wondering if the rest will be like the first half: one-third classics that are beloved by most people one-third stuff I don't know - and may not like - but that are clearly interesting works of art and then the third like this: garbage tripe that can only be on the list because it hit a sweet spot with the listmaker. this is THOROUGHLY ORDINARY AND BORING MUSIC. it's a genre -- oversynthed, underbaked 80s pop -- that wasn't that great to begin with, and then it's not even one of the best examples of the genre. just because you used to stare at the album cover in your childhood bedroom and wish you were cool doesn't mean this record ever was.

I went on a journey with this. Was kinda into the first couple songs which then transitioned to “this is cheesy but has a weird charm to it”. But by the time I got to Horsin’ Around, I was once again wondering exactly why I must hear this album?

lots of talk of theft. probably puts one croissant on at aldi and takes four

Never heard of this band before. I could have gone the rest of my life without ever hearing this and not felt like I missed anything. It wasn't terrible, just meh.

Absolute most of the tracks lacks "the thing". Got bored a bit for most part of the album.

Not for me

Ok.

This album had all the makings of something I'd despise going in. Stupid name for a band, album title that seems to be making fun of album titles for no reason, Britpop...not great. And then the album started out hot. And then quickly became what I thought I would hate about it. The music just becomes so uninteresting so fast. Favorite track: Faron Young

Dull, but not horrible.

A more fey Smiths? Nah.

Suuuuuuucks

Meh

The UK version of Crowded House? Not a critique; just the immediate and impression after the first few songs. update: more like Crowded House crashes Joe Jackson's recording session. Combining the wiki quotes from press reviews combined with it being firmly planted in the mid-80s i'm actually surprised it doesn't sound *more* mid-80s than it does. Sure, the music fits the era to a T but other aspects of it sound a little more pleasing (i.e. less-dated) to me (keyboard sounds being a notable exception). Overall it's nothing chill-inducing or otherwise mesmerizing for me; it was a pleasant-enough listen and does make me sit back and think of an era of crowded malls, video games, and riding bikes in overly bright clothing; nostalgic value alone though didn't boost it enough - I'd have no trouble listening to it again but not something that'll really stick with me. Having had a vague memory of their existence, I suspect I'll have the same thought if I hear the name again years from now. 5/10 2+ stars.

Started promising with a couple of decent tracks but loses momentum shortly thereafter thanks to thin production, obnoxious horns and piercing keyboards that many 80s albums are guilty of. I don't remember this band even though I'm an 80s child. They didn't make a mark in my home and native land (🇨🇦) and I do tend to mark bands I remember from that time a bit higher. Still, meh.

"Faron Young", " Appetite", "When Love Breaks Down", "Desire As" and "Blueberry Pies" are essentially good songs, in spite of their dated sophisti-pop instrumentation (some of it aged well, and other parts did not). Yet the trouble is that the rest, more than half of the tracks, actually, is a borefest. And the production values are not the only thing to blame here. The middle part of the record, especially, is a slog. The only thing I can remember well from it is that "Goodbye Lucille/Oh Johnny, Johnny" nonsense, but frankly I wish I could have forgotten that. An interesting anecdote: just like for Lemonheads' *It's A Shame About Ray*, recent reissues of this album come with an acoustic, "Unplugged-like" session with the band playing the most memorable tunes of this record. *It's A Shame About Ray* was pestered with a clicheed nineties sound, and *Steve McQueen* is plagued by the same sort of thing, but this time from the eighties. I take those types of addition as a confession: "Hey, now we know the production of our supposed 'magnum opus' sucks balls... So here's what it could have felt like in a better world". Interestingly, the acoustic versions only confirmed what I thought of each of the individual songs. And believe me: even played on an acoustic guitar, "Goodbye Lucille #1" still sucks. 2/5. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: a little less than 600, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far  Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter (including this one)

Meh.

Decent but utterly forgettable 80s pop.

Boring

After the first song I was excited but it lost me for most of the rest of the album. That first track was great, it felt like 4 songs all fighting each other in the best way. I enjoyed very little of the rest. I did enjoy the criminally sparse reverb-y synth in the background of a few tracks that sounds like 80s Vangelis, like think Blade Runner soundtrack when it plays the oddly nostalgic light airy synth lines. Desire As has very pleasant synth tones throughout but unfortunately I didn't enjoy how the actual song was put together. The jazzy rhythm of Horsin' Around was pretty neat. Favorite tracks: Faron Young, Horsin' Around Least favorite track: Blueberry Pies

Ultimate 80s radio meets...even more ultimate 80s? This album provides everything good that eighties has to offer, which is not much. Synth beats, very soft rock, annoyingly soft and tender vocal, and nothing that stands out. The first song had some potential, "Faron Young", with a more lively disco beat, that was very entertaining and bringing some energy to the table. There is one "but", a big one at that - "Steve McQueen" peaked at that song, and the further you crawled along, the more miserable you got. I definitely think that 80s music is (especially this from UK) is over-represented on this list. Maybe you should pick up few album, to show what a waste of time that was and then just move on? Well, on to the next one, can't wait to see which British post-punk album it will be...

a little too poppy for my liking

A little boring if I'm honest

2.5

I guess it was kinda relaxing but I have nothing else to say

Meh. Very shiny and expensively produced, a few clever lines, but mostly just generic 80s bland nonsense.

boring

Aika geneerinen poppis-levy, ei napannu erityisesti. 2/5

Zzzzz

Best Song: Goodbye Lucille #1. The opening guitar sequence was really pleasant. Rest of the song was just okay. Worst Song: Horsin' Around. Sounds like a rejected soundtrack for the in-universe sitcom from Bojack Horseman. Overall: Another day, another boring British band. I like a pop band that uses sad and melancholy lyrics like those found here, but I still need the music to be more interesting.

File under "where did they have to go to dig this one up from". At its time, the album brought a couple of minor hits that were played a bit on the radio, but there should be light years between that and being anything to die from...

This album asks the very brave and original question: what if music were boring and kind of bad? The answer may surprise you. Shout out the most cringe-inducing British band name ever

It starts well, but at the end, it's just a standard pop-rock song from the '80s. Nothing else.

Still feeels like I could copy paste many of my ratings, summary: it's alright

a bit fifi

It's probably among the most pristinely produced records out there - so crystalline it actually stands out - however while it starts strong in a new-wave-y kind of way, it tapers out to Steely Dan-esque proggish ballads pretty quickly. It really starts losing it's steam by the 5th song and it feels like it's never going to end... meh

Moments on the verge of greatness, but mostly an album full of misses and a little too much cheese. Synths are dated and the cadences and changeups are a little bouncy.

I really wanted to like this. I just didn’t.

I’m gonna attempt to dissect and figure out the meaning of the name Prefab Sprout without any Googling. Prefab usually means prefabricated - a construction thing. Though what if it's pre-fab, and fab alone more commonly is short for fabulous. A sprout is when a plant starts shooting up. Or a brussel sprout. It was also a TV channel aimed at preschoolers a while back. But I don’t think an English band from the 80s named themselves after a 21st century kids channel. So I’m gonna go with a plant sprout that isn’t fabulous yet. So they’re The Seeds? They made an album called “Steve McQueen.” Steve McQueen was not pre-fab - he was pretty fabulous. The first two songs I’d consider pre-fab, and I was getting my hopes up, but then things got a little too fabulous for me. I prefer the Sprouts (or the Seeds) to be a little less typical 80s fabulous.

It wasn't for me.

Pop ochentero. Un 2.

This album is bad. There are two songs at the end that pass some sort of bizarre magic test of muzak pondering. They were fun for some reason. Other than that, the only thing that this album has going for it is the name of the band. Why prefab sprout? Of all names you could name a band, why?

Some interesting songs on this album. I wouldnt say any of them stood out to me but none of them were bad or anything. This record didnt stand out to me for any reason. 4/10

A bit one-key and forgettable. Middle of the road 80s pop that avoids some bad 80s stuff but I can't comprehend how this is a must-listen, it's so beige. 2/5.

just sort of passed me by though can't say anything bad either

Good enough 80’s album but didn’t do too much for me really.

A perfectly fine album of perfectly good songs, plenty of originality too, but.. it just doesn't get me excited in any way.

Nothing special

It's just bland, middle-of-the-road, milquetoast, vanilla, 80s pop. There's nothing of note or substance here and its inclusion on the list is utterly baffling.

bit pedestrian for my zingy zappy contemporary tastes

The 1980's really had a distinct sound, the sound of synth. The noticeable echo/reverb of lead vocals, the question of which instruments were real, which ones were not? Such a conflict of a decade musically. The people that grew up as children in the 80s have fond memories of the decade as more of a nostalgic thing, but if the argument is that the 80s should be taken seriously, the sentiment may change quite a bit as the line from nostalgic and simple is very thin between embarrassing and glad-its-over. "Steve McQueen" however seems to retain some actual band members playing actual instruments or at least sound like they are. Sure, the synth is ever-present, but serving as a backdrop to acoustic guitar strums, seemingly real sounding drums, and a bass. As the album progresses, this promise seems to dissipate and start to sound mostly electronic. The undeniably clean, and super-polished sound of the decade seeps through and reminders of why this decade remains difficult to take seriously come in. Objectively, the vocals are actually pretty great, the structure of the songs are very vanilla yet executed well, but maybe a little too well. If there is anything the 80s synth-pop movement tended to lack as history looks back on it, is authenticity. The technological revolution that permeated entertainment made artificiality the thing to do, but humans thankfully grew out of that phase and went back to something a bit more raw, and unpolished.

No hotdog jumping frog, so...erm, no.

I'm a sucker for well crafted 1980s pop but this really didn't grab me. They've welded the earnestness of 1980s Smiths era indie to a big pop sound and in the process seem to have forgotten that pop is supposed to be fun. Google tells me this is sophisti-pop. I've never heard of sophisti-pop but the name seems to fit. I bet Patrick Bateman was a fan. Although FYI guys, there's nothing "sophisti" about the name Prefab Sprout. Dreadful, dreadful name that.

Lätt att lyssna på, lika lätt att glömma. Helt OK!

Honestly not sure what criteria qualifies this album or band for this list. To me this is a far less good version of The Style Council or Spandaux Ballet. Nothing interesting. Not bad, just bland.

Like a really bad and down tempo version of The Housemartins.

Eh. I like my 80s albums with a little more grit. This is a bit to bright and pop-y for me. Not unlistenable, but not my thing.

2.5

Hi- Faron Young, Hallelujah I first heard of Prefab Sprout from a book, either Fast Sofa or something by Douglas Coupland...I thought it was a made up name, but I guess not! Faron Young is bouncy rockabilly, reminding me of Talking Heads. I was hoping there would be more of this...instead the rest of the album is mostly ballads like Roxy Music. It's not unpleasant, probably just not what I expected.

Steve McQueen didn't really jump the fence.

I really tried to like it. After reading the reviews. Hated it.

Nope. Just nope. D

Uninteresting generic rock.

Need to hear it again. I think it is pretty nice. 2/5 for now.

I was expecting music you could play during a car chase or maybe a gunfight. Instead it was something your weird aunt might put on during teatime. Best track: Bonny

I remember the band's name because I always thought it was unusual and interesting (reading the Wikipedia entry on the band, turns out it's a mondegreen, which for some reason makes it more fun for me). I had not listened to any of their songs before, at least none that I remember, so I gave this album a full listen. Although I don't love their music, I do hear it as decent pop music, and I'm not saying that facetiously or ironically. The songs are somewhat catchy, they play well, and their vocal harmonies are strong. I found the songs to be a bit too similar to each other and musically predictable, so it doesn't compel me to want to listen to them again, but I can see why they were big in the 80s. Very much an 80s pop sound.

They are NOT the Kings of Rock n Roll

Track 01 - 2.75/5 Track 02 - 2.5/5 Track 03 - 2.25/5 Track 04 - 2/5 Track 05 - 1.75/5 Track 06 - 2/5 Track 07 - 2/5 Track 08 - 2.25/5 Track 09 - 1.75/5 Track 10 - 2/5 Track 11 - 2/5 Overall: 2/5 Album Art: 2.5/5

Britisk pop ting. Er ikke heeelt med på den. Det jo fint nok, men ikke sådan fed fed

4/10 utterly swagless but fairly listenable

boring, expected more from a group with sprouts in the title

That was a bit too boring for me. I fell asleep. So I give them 2 Stars in case someone has a hard time falling asleep.

Some of the tracks feature a particular brand of generic 80s production that depresses the hell out of me and I instantly thought we were in 1 star territory. But I listened again and realised that was a bit harsh. The songwriting seems pretty strong and there's more going on than I gave it credit for at first. Faron Young and Goodbye Lucille #1 are good choons. 2.5 stars.

Bored. Acoustic sides better than album ones.

Never heard of this band before listening here. not great

I don't hate this album, but this is pretty antithetical to my musical tastes. I guess I would call this album... inconsequential? Odd inclusion.

Gente que es aún más mamadora que yo musicalmente hablando ponen muy en alto este disco y a mí se me hizo bastante malón. Me gustaron 3 rolas.

Good background rock

Nunca había ni escuchado su música ni siquiera el nombre. Cuando empecé a escuchar el álbum pensé "nada de lo que esperaba... esa portada no indicaba que fuera a ser pop 80s... interesante". Casi la primera mitad del disco una cosa muy buena, pop que se oye sofisticado con algo de post punk. Esa primera canción excelente con sus toques de cowboy y hasta con algunos puntos de sonidos industriales y me empiezo a emocionar y me pregunto qué más vendrá... Bonny y Appetite elementos un poco similares más atenuado pero buenas canciones... Sigue así de manera bien, ya no levanta tanto pero está escuchable y entonces pasa la desgracia... A partir de entre la canción 5-6 por Hallelujah y Goodbye Lucille se pierde todo lo interesante y el sonido se convierte en pop jazzeado suavecito de estación del metro sin ningún punto de interés y a nivel que parece da vergüenza lo trillado y soso que suena. Es una de las decepciones de mayor grado que me ha dado esta lista en cuanto a la disparidad dentro del mismo disco. Inició con la tentadora promesa de ser algo único e interesante, continuó estancándose un poco pero sonando decente y terminó en el caño. Al menos saqué una canción muy buena del disco pero no es como si valiera la pena suficiente para estarlo buscando.

I don't think I liked this one. I have never heard of the band, nor any of the tracks. The album started out with a sound that hinted at the Squeeze. By the end the album had settled in closer sounding like Talk-Talk or Spandau Ballet -- just not what I'm interested in. I don't think I'm far enough from the 80s to enjoy this one.

Irgendwie unorigineller 80er Pop

fine

meh. A bit emo-pop for my taste, but track 1 is okay.

Very uneventful 80s pop. Doesn’t stand up to the work of contemporaries at all. Poor lyrics and forgettable melodies. Surprised it made the list.

"when love breaks down" is actually a pretty good song but I don't like the music otherwise

nah not 4 me

X jajajajajaja, no estorba

It's not as bad as the really atrocious albums we've had, but I really can't say anything good about this album beyond that. It's mostly just really boring with the occasional hint of pretty annoying.

Veryyyyyy interesting. First track sounded like Arctin Monkeys modelled some of their middle/later years stuff on it. Decent, enjoyable, to start with, feels like a 3. Dropped off a bit as its progressed, feels a bit more like a 2 by the mid-point. Yeh, 2/5

Passable pop

One good track before it runs out of steam with pseudo jazz vibes.

Very average 80s fare - one strong song in the middle with Thomas Dolby but I struggle to understand who would have been a prefab sprout fan back then - they offer nothing really, albeit it’s not terrible

Sekoitus takkatuli- ja nyyhkypoppia, eikä kovin kummoista sellaista. Jos koko levy olisi ollut avausbiisi Faron Youngin tyylistä, niin olisin ollut kiinnostunut. Nyt jäi kovin kalpeaksi ja harmittomaksi poppikseksi.

Weird... Started off sounding like crowded house mixed with the Smiths then took an even stranger turn...

Peruspoppia, ei herättänyt suuria tunteita puolesta eikä vastaan.

Not good or bad. Don't really get the significance. 5/10

Passed me by. Wasn't bad, but nothing that I really wanted to listen to again.

Had some decent enough sounding tunes but I didn’t enjoy that much. A low 2

*Shrugs*

Pop ochentero.

Not good but not terrible

Pop / New wave Overall an okay album - slightly uninteresting but not bland. Each track showcases a new style, such as contemporary R&B and ska, as is expected with new wave music. 3/10

eh

I had to check my spotify history to see if I actually listened to this yesterday. So, pretty forgettable.

So so. Quite 80's.

Beeeeeeeeeem mais ou menos, not my cup of cachaça pqp aquela música com "got six things on my mind, you're no longer one of them" foi muito aluguel, não acabava nunca essa porra algumas partes das letras achei que beirou o cringe/piegas horsin around me fez querer assistir bojack... horseman, óbviamente

ok, i guess

No

did not connect to me

best wel slap pop album, niks bijzonders. Dit was wel een week met matige platen :(

Tylsää musiikkia joka ei herättänyt yhtään mielenkiintoa kunnolliseen keskittymiseen. Taustametelinä ajoi asiansa.

Not the worst thing, but is this REALLY an album I needed to hear before I die?

Not without any merit but not for me.

cool smooth pop but not my genre

Awful

Not for me.

The tempo on the songs is ragebaiting me

At first I read this too fast and mistakenly thought that Steve McQueen had put out an album, joining other actors turned musicians like Leonard Nemoy and William Shatner. I thought the king of cool might put out something weird and interesting. After some confused wiki pages research, I finally understood that was a band called Prefab Sprout had put out a pop album called Steve McQueen. I should have realized based on the publish date. This anecdote was the best part of listening to this album.

Ummm. I kept saying to my self who sat in the studio and thought heck ya we have an album here.

i lowkey hated this and i don't really know why

Nope...

Cack

Most definitively thos should not be a top anything. Outdated and cheesy Nothing special at all

Why is this album here? It's not great...

I struggled making it through this, it's so annoyingly inoffensive. This is for people who paint their walls magnolia, it's perfectly serviceable but you might as well choose nothing. They probably eat plain toast and drink only water, they tried a dash of lemon in it once but that felt too fancy. I can imagine hearing this in a department store as I browse completely mediocre housewares... ooh that's a useful dustpan and brush.

Not for me

Not for me. 1/5

Pas fan … rock pop années 1980 … manque de caractère

Not really my vibe tbh. Fav song is ‘When the Angels’.

A victim of the 80s sound rather than a pioneer. Really not my style. I went in hoping to like it but it lost me more and more so I'm feelin' mean.

So bad

Boring

dit hoort thuis in deze lijst als een pinguin in een verzekeringskantoor

Lounge pop and mind junk lyrics that are the kind of internal monologue the majority of us manage not to burden everyone else with...

Parts of this work but 80% of it is kinda insufferable. I had relatively high hopes during the first track but that faded very quickly. I think my opinion of the album got progressively worse with every track. A lot of the lyrics, especially in Moving the River and Desire As, are too clever in the way where you can tell the writer is really proud of the turns of phrase. It's perfectly fine music but the too-earnest vocals, too-clever lyrics, and cheesy music all add up to even less than the sum of their parts. I've probably given worse albums higher ratings but this one just really annoys me.

So it’s new wave? No it’s adult contemporary soft rock/pop? It’s neither? Who wrote these lyrics? This should have been buried with Maggie Thatcher and Regan.

1. young - 1 2. bonny - 1.5 3. apettite - 1 4. douun -1 5. lucille - 1 6. hallelujah - 1.5 7. River - 1 8. Around - 0 9. Desire - 0 10. Pies - 1 11. Angels -0

Nice. Somthing for elevators or restrooms. Nice to come down. Missing to hear befrore I die - certainly NOT.

I must be missing something here. Ok, it is in the 1001 book, but that’s true of lots of albums I don’t like, but specifically it is on Vulture and Mojo’s lists of the top 100 greatest albums ever. Why? I don’t think it’s interesting or innovative and, in order to bring a bit of joy back into my morning, I will give it a rare 1, my sweet vengeance-highlighting how irritated I am-for this album to sit with all the noise rock albums at the bottom of my list.

I'm going to start giving 1s to stuff like this. The fact that they had to release the single multiple times before it got picked up should tell you something about this album. There's nothing WRONG with it, but it is so bland and undistinctive I forgot I had music on a few times.

Not for me

Yeah I don’t get this album. Thought it was going to start out as an Irish band then ended as slow pop crap.

Bland. Didn't really get the point of this - 'sounded like a budget Aztec Camera in places' is about the best thing I can say about it.

I do not like this at all.

Another that I didn't need to hear before I died.

1/5

Pop shite. Sonic pablum. Milquetoast synth garbage. God, I hated this. I had to turn the music off 4 different times before re-engaging. I made it to the end, and celebrated with another listen to Pantera as a palate cleanser. But then, jk pointed out that there's an acoustic version of the album, as well. I gave that a listen and turns out, it's much better. If the medium is the message, then please talk to me via unplugged guitar than Casio noise box. If we were listening to the acoustic album, I'd give it three stars, but we're not.

Fuck rating albums. Just let me listen.

i really did not like this!

First song reminds me of Django Django but... created by aliens that haven't quite learned what music is. This album is so strange. It's like the singer, instrumentalists, and producer are all making different songs. Song structures are weird, the instrumentation gets verses and choruses and bridges mixed up, chord progressions are completely random, the lyrics don't match the rhythm, and the lead vocalist gives an oddly subdued performance. It's a collage of unrelated songs put together to make a new song if you squint, but the details are all wrong. Making something that's so perfectly the uncanny valley of music might deserve an award, but as an album, this is a 1.

Not good. And so many of them! I actually hate it

Drivel

Mid-80s crap

Hot garbage

Even allowing for the 80s-ness, this isn’t a good album. Sort of feels like pop-jazz.. like a free form pile of shite

This is shit

Somewhere between early ‘80s Elvis Castillo and early 2000s Sting is this album. Unfortunately neither kept my attention, nor does this. Songs like Horsin’ Around felt like lounge act that got kicked out of Vegas and some fairy godmother experimented to see if they could make them beautiful. Instead, we discovered that Cinderella was still a lounge act. Someone loves this album, and I am grateful for them, because I will forget about this album in….done!

Utterly boring. I remember this type of music in the charts at the time. Found it boring then and it remains the same

Awful 1985 music.

Bad.

Ahhhh not great.

Why this is even here? I have no idea

First track was quite cool. Unfortunately it was pretty much downhill from there.

I just can't find anything I liked about this record. It's boring and uninspiring. There's nothing here that hasn't been done better somewhere else.

fookin shite

I never wondered to myself what it would sound like if someone decided to bite from the smiths, billy idol, and wham all on one album while throwing in a lounge tune bc fuck it, why not? But now I have the answer. After the first two smiths-light sounding tracks, I thought I might be in for a pleasant surprise but by the end, I wanted to punch this singer in the face as often as he repeated the same three unclever lines in “Desire As.”

Started strong and quickly went to shit.

The first 10 seconds was ok but it went downhill, and fast. Something I never want to listen to again in my life. I'm often bewildered at how we took the amazing rock of the 70s and went so far backwards in the 80s. But we did. And luckily the 90s turned up to save the day. This is dull, terribly produced and totally unmemorable. I guess we could blame The Keyboard but plenty of people figured out how to use it without creating soulless cheesy pap. Prefab Sprout did not.

Utter crap

You know this is my first time hearing of and listening to a lot of these band's music, this band included. Truthfully dont know much about Prefab Sprout, strange band name by the way, looking into them a little bit more, theres not much to see lol, they never seemed to pick up in popularity much, even in their time. Looking at the bands discography is just kinda sad, after 2003 the band really just seems to be the main singer left, being blinded by serious medical conditions, sad. Welp, with that out of the way, their sound seems to be very influenced by early 80s funk, possibly even leaning more on the side of j-funk from that era, their beats sounding very similar to that of the likes of Miki Matsubara. But the way that it is executed comes off as amateur, I feel that the lead singer has a great voice, but just doesn't do enough with it to really pull me into any particular song. Would not listen to another song off this album again unfortunately. Fav Song: Bonny 1.5

p534. 1985. 1 star. Weedy, pretentious, soulless 80s UK hipster pop. Wants to be The Style Council but lacks any edge and tunes. Extra point deducted for the stupid band name.

Você pode deixar esse álbum tocando de fundo, em looping, sem incomodar ou despertar o interesse de qualquer pessoa. Inclusive, eu estou na metade dele e não reparei até agora nenhum momento que uma música acabou e outra começou, não consigo dizer se já se passaram 2 ou 20 músicas. Uma dos álbuns menos memoráveis que já ouvi.

Começa insosso para cada vez ficar mais chato.

Synthesizer-Pop with whiny lead vocals, sappy backup vocals and piano rhythms.

Ymmärrystä ei ollut TARPEEKSI.. siinä se... ei riittänyt..

Not entirely sure what this album is. Bossonova, RnB, jazz? Lots of 80s textures throughout. The lyricism is pretty basic as well. Not sure I needed this and I will probably not be coming back for more.

This reminds me of Steely Dan, in that it is very shit. Bland, boring, over-produced uninspired and uninspiring pop pap. A limp dick of an album.

This was amazingly generic. It was like everyone iin the 80’s gave this band their worst songs.

Quite nice pop but vocally and musically nothing inspiring and little individuality of the group. Sounds partly like The Style Council

Good this is pure shit!! It’s all what a nightmare album could be: long, cheesy, dumb, and with awful lyrics. Glad to see that the overall rate confirms all of these despite that clownish first review.

I like the cover picture of the Album. Nice motorcycle

This could not be less appealing to me. I found it to be really, hilariously sappy smooth. I don’t get this album’s significance at all.

Cheesemongers gather For your pure stinky cheddar It’s all you can eat

I had never heard of this band before today. I would like it if I never hear of them after today. I used to work at a gaudy woman's clothing store when I was a teenager in the 80's. Bands like this and Shakespeare's Sister and poor man's versions of Richard Marx and Howard Jones would play in the background. It drove me crazy day after day. There was a lot of this background, one step away from MUZAK, easy listening garbage in the 80s. The world is better now that people don't make it anymore.

I will never get that time back from listening to that album.

Cheesy eighties schmaltz. The first song sounded a bit cowpunky right at the end and I got excited it might improve, but that was the high point of the album.

Really didn't care for this one. Seems too aligned with blue eyed soul and brit pop-ish. I don't care at all for either. 1.49.5

OMG - hated this album, just so wank!

It’s not offensive - it’s just bland. Why is it on this list.

Why. Why? Why?! WHY?! Why is this album on the list. So wack. I love George Gershwin too but if I referred to him as Georgie Gershwin, I hope someone is there to slap me.

This is horrible. It's bad loungey electro music and this should not be on this list. One definitely can go without hearing this album.

80s Pop. Not quite for me.

Awful!

Worst album I have listened to so far, starts off dull and somehow gets worse. Elevator music for the lift to hell

This was boring as hell.

Early Brit Pop doesn't do it for me

Sounded like the soundtrack to a musical. Not for me.

Well now I know for sure that I hate "sophisto-pop". I'm sure that there's lots of people out there who like jazzy pop music about relationships, but I hated every minute of this. Even the half-hit that I vaguely remembered was just a further reminder that I hated that single when it was released in the 1980s, that single was what I based my opinion of Prefab Sprout on, and my opinion was right. There was nothing here to change my mind, just dull and entirely redundant music that I could have happily lived without. This was a waste of almost an hour (for once Spotify adverts were a blessed relief from the chore of this album). Since starting my journey through 1001 albums, I've listened to many albums and musicians I hadn't heard of before. I've found music I now love, but I've also found music I just don't get - this is clearly in that latter camp. I really can't understand why anyone would like this at all, it's just worthless pap.

Easy listening bollocks.

Load of pish

So tired of British rock

First listen Saved 1/11 Top track: Bonny

With the notable exception of the opening track, this is just like everything else I've heard by the Sprouts; tweely irritating.

The first song was kinda cool, but I didn't finish the album.

Poor kinda biring 80s vibe man

Best left in the 80's bargain bin. Where it pretty much started started.

Not for me

1.75

Slick production. There are interesting elements but it's way too sugary for my tastes. Definitely a pop band. Not sure the "jazz" elements help with me either. Some kind of ick factor with this band. Feels like Patrick Bateman would discuss them in detail. Couldn't wait to get through this. Almost a 2 for some of the interesting parts... but the more I listened to the album the worse it got.

Meh. Sounds almost exactly like a hundred other bands. Completely uninspiring.

Not my jam. A bit too poppy

Really didnt like. Made me think of cheap elevator music

No ty

Really not my case, except maybe for "Appetite"

I have no idea why this album of Prefab Sprout is on the list. Uninteresting jazz pop from the 1980s and very very boring.

This album is what they play at the parties no one actually wanted to attend.

-New band to me -First track rips! Love how the punchy post-punk guitar-work mixes with the twangy banjo(?) and country drummin'. Some more weird effects + harmonica are added and turn this thing into an acid drenched western tune..I'm about it -The album then sadly "breaks down" into some standard 80s pop fare and fails to rebound 🌟

Aburrido