I became a Springsteen fan around the time of 'Born In The USA' and as usual this was a serious business. Here was an artist who recorded straightforward honest music that related to everyday people and the live they were trying to lead.
The, seemingly without provocation (or at least I thought so at the time) Prefab Sprout released 'Cars And Girls' and in it took several swipes at Springsteen and his (in their eyes at least) naive views of the world. Well, as you can imagine, I was outraged and decided, on the strength of that one song, I would boycott their music for ever. I can't say I have missed out on much!
The Sprout can't have heard this album as it is very reflective, dealing with themes of separation, loss, love and..... well maybe a car or two. I must say it came as a bit of a surprise - the tone was stripped back; acoustic guitars and muted drums were the order of the day with a country feel to the whole album. And it's fantastic because of it. The timeless sound of the music means that it has not dated one bit, unlike its predecessor.
Finally, I am lucky to have a picture disc CD of this album - I got it as a gift for Christmas that year. A gift that keeps on giving as it has not been far from the CD player ever since.
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