ΔΙΣΚΟΚΡΙΤΙΚΗ

PREFAB SPROUT: "LET' s CHANGE THE WORLD WITH MUSIC"
by George Georgiou (song292@yahoo.gr)




Life always used to be cruel... or as Paddy would probably say 'DNA or GOD always used to be cruel...' But to be honest, even a generous, patient, unknown god in a distant solar system would be jealous of an ambitious young singer-songwriter with a special bittersweet muse, helping him fly eccentrically over the cheap boredom of cursed human nature. Paddy's blessed blasphemy and healthy cynicism led to some of the most unusual pop anthems of the 80's. Who else would dare to write a well crafted pop song for chess champion Bobby Fisher, or name a nostalgic train of thoughts with the title "I never play basketball now" in his first long play attempt? PREFAB SPROUT were for the charts an attractive pop band with the Midas touch, but Paddy Mc Aloon had always been for his faithful followers a Fred Astaire of words... Offering masterpieces like "Steve Mc Queen" or "Jordan:The Comeback", but also excellent noiseless wagons of melodies, worshiping golden details of the unimportance or poetic shadows of human weakness like "Protest Songs", Paddy was born guifted to heal the ugly corners of life. But DNA or GOD could never forgive his lustful haughtiness for life especially after the triumph of "Jordan..." The merciless march of time brought a series of health issues, including vision and hearing problems. Paddy had retinal detachments in both eyes and a sever bout with tinnifus, which has left him virtually unable to carry on as a recording artist. This fall of health confidence lurked somehow in the moods of their last albums, "Andromeda Heights" and "The Gunman And Other Stories", but was deeply unfold in Paddy's personal recording "I Trawl The Megahertz". Today he is 52 years old, so far away from that ambitious, fearless young boy, mysterious and earthen at the same time... "Let's Change The World With Music" was in fact about to be their next album after "Jordan..." Now, 17 years later, the dust is enough and the tapes have been disinterred and spruced by the engineer Calum Malcom. The "new"- old Prefab Sprout album has the blessed mission to keep the world turning with Paddy's necessary, luxurious voice and spirit. Even if DNA or GOD have punished him so hard, he sings in wisdom for his constant antidote "music is a princess, i'm just a boy in rags..."