Prefab Sprout "Let's Change the World With Music"

Damn, I've done it again. I really thought this record was available in
America. I've read about it in domestic publications, but I guess the closest it is available is from Canada. Some of you may remember this band from the mid 80's, especially if you shopped in the Sound Shop in Tullahoma. I
played and pushed the hell out of their "Two Wheels Good" record, featuring the brilliant song "Faron Young" ("...the sunset makes a fence out of the forest"). Paddy McAloon has been compared to Paul McCartney as a songwriter, and that's not too far off. Four outstanding albums spanning 1984-1990....and then nothing. Gone. Nada. Seven years pass before a new release in Europe, and then four more before the next one, neither surpassing any of the previous releases, yet still faithful to the Prefab sound. Paddy was always shy and reclusive, and now we know he nearly went blind and deaf, unable to hear bass sounds. Can't blame him. So when I read of "Let's Change..." last fall, I felt the pull of those old songs from my late twenties, pure pop emotion. I had to give it a chance. And when I did, it all came flooding back. However, this was somewhat different. Turns out, this is a 1992 demo that was refused by the record label (arrogant idiots, obviously), performed completely by Paddy, all keyboards, no band, and it is gorgeous. If you ever liked Howard Jones, this is for you. A hair too much religious imagery for me, but otherwise emotional and spiritual, tailor-made for all those "Positive" radio stations out there. This, and all Prefab Sprout records, grow better over time and are utterly addicting.