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Prefab Sprout: Steve McQueen




In the Spring '85 semester, I was an 8th grader at Presidio Middle School, located in San Francisco's foggy Richmond District. But one day before the Memorial Day weekend, it was actually warm and sunny. I ate lunch, played some basketball with my friends. But it was just too warm, so I went in early to Mr. Rosenberg's 4th period social studies class.

My single-person desk was against a wall between two windows. I busted out my Walkman (which, in those days, was contraband), leaned my head against that wall, and spun the dial to scan the FM airwaves. I'm pretty sure it was S.F.'s modern rock station, Live 105.3 KITS, which then played Prefab Sprout's "When Love Breaks Down." I immediately loved this song. It was odd. On one hand, because I was so enchanted, time froze in place. But OTOH, time flashed by, and my classmates started to pour into the room.

Yes, I had two weeks left in the semester, school year, AND junior high.

For graduation, one of my presents was the cassette of Tears For Fears' Songs From The Big Chair, which I played ad finitum that summer. But inspired by Prefab Sprout's "When Love Breaks Down," I wanted the album, in addition to TFF.

Shortly after graduation, my family packed for a summer in Honolulu. Not once did I hear the Hawaiian radio stations play any Prefab Sprout. However, at Honolulu Bookstore in Ala Moana Center; the Pay 'N' Save on S. King; a record store in Pearlridge shopping center; and some store north of the airport (GEM?) off of Puuloa Road, I spotted Prefab Sprout's Two Wheels Good. Now, did I know that, in the rest of the world, this album was called Steve McQueen? No.

At the store I think was called GEM, I remember the "coming soon" signs for Starship's Knee Deep In The Hoopla. Pretty funny, considering I was from San Francisco, Starship's hometown. Anyway, I bought Prefab Sprout's Two Wheels Good on cassette.

Probably in late August '85, a couple of days before my family was to return to S.F., my mom's clan had an early dinner at the Pagoda floating restaurant. I sat down near the waterfall, and listened to my Walkman. Two Wheels Good was very enjoyable, but the cassette was draining the Walkman's batteries. So I switched to the radio, and thoroughly enjoyed Cock Robin's "When Your Heart Is Weak." Sigh...

When high school started, some of the modern rock crowd had Two Wheels Good. But through these kids, I learned that the album's real title was supposed to be Steve McQueen. Anyway, my friends claimed that "Goodbye Lucille #1" was my song. Why? A part of it goes, "Oooo Johnny Johnny Johnny."

I think I was a freshman in college, when I finally acquired Steve McQueen on CD. Yikes, it sounded just as bad (but in different sonic aspects) as the cassette and LP. Well, Prefab Sprout's albums are now available on BSCD2 (Blu-Spec CD 2), a regular redbook CD made at Blu-Ray plants.

Of all the Prefab Sprout BSCD2s I have, Steve McQueen shows the largest sonic change/improvement. Originally produced by Thomas Dolby [yes, the same guy who did "Howard The Duck," "Hyperactive," and "She Blinded Me With Science"], Steve McQueen has better sound than I ever thought or imagined. All these years, the cassette, LP, and CD's sucky sound obscured just how good a job Dolby did.

On BSCD2, there actually are discrete and separated images. They are larger, yet have sharp image outlines. And there's actually some space and distance between, around, and above those images.

As you can imagine, the BSCD2 makes more detail, resolution, and texture available. The lack of fuzz, grain, warble, haze, and jitter comes in handy. The music stops, starts, and flows more cleanly.

Obviously, Prefab Sprout's Steve McQueen means a lot to me. For me, it bridged middle school, the intervening summer school (oceanography at Punahou), and high school. This is one obscure act, so you may not have heard of Prefab Sprout. You'll have to skip past their clunkers (usually the slower numbers), but Prefab Sprout have produced some of the craftiest songwriting. Eventually, I'll have to review Prefab Sprout's other albums, but though it is not their debut album, their repertoire starts with Steve McQueen. Well worth checking out, especially on BSCD2.

The Audiophiles' DJ,
-Lummy The Loch Monster


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Topic - Prefab Sprout: Steve McQueen - Luminator 21:22:10 11/14/14 (4)

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