Prefab Sprout: Jordan The Comeback

Earlier this week we had new shelves installed for our expanding collection of philosophy books. Whilst filling them with the stuff that had been trailing all over the house (a blissful diversion in itself), I listened to an old favourite. Jordan The Comeback is the only Prefab Sprout recording I have but it has seen a lot of rotation over the many years it's been in my collection (the album dates from 1990). It's impossibly 'poppy' and lightweight. Some will find it even saccharine. But I find there is something touchingly bittersweet in these songs. 'Sentimental and spiritual' I read somewhere and in my opinion that seems to hit the nail on the head. It's a huge album too, with 19 songs clustered in 4 sections giving an almost symphonic feel to the whole thing. I've always had a weak spot for the uptempo second 'movement' with the funky and uplifting title track and the 'Jesse James' songs. The final section collects a series of beautifully eloquent ballads (One of the broken, Mercy), the rapturous Scarlet Nights and the concluding Doo Wop in Harlem, heartbroken and heartening at the same time. The stellar recording quality makes this beautiful album all the more enjoyable.