The Gunman and Other Stories
The Gunman and Other Stories | ||||
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Studio album by Prefab Sprout | ||||
Released | 18 June 2001 (2001-06-18) | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Label | EMI Liberty | |||
Producer | Tony Visconti | |||
Prefab Sprout chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Gunman and Other Stories | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Gunman and Other Stories is the seventh studio album by the English pop band Prefab Sprout. Released in June 2001, the album was the band's only release for the EMI Liberty label.[2]
Album history
Following 1997 album Andromeda Heights and 1999 compilation 38 Carat Collection, Prefab Sprout conducted their first tour of the UK for 10 years. The success of the tour led singer and frontman Paddy McAloon to consider recording material for a new album. Rather than opting for "new" material, McAloon chose to record material he had previously given to other artists as a "tidying up operation", before moving on to newer material.
Despite drummer Neil Conti's involvement in the tour (having originally departed from the band in 1992), the studio band operated with McAloon and his brother Martin as sole members. Fellow singer Wendy Smith was absent due to having given birth the previous year,[2] and other work commitments with her music therapy career.
The album was produced by Tony Visconti, and made use of session musicians including Carlos Alomar, Jeff Pevar and Jordan Rudess.[2] Eric Weissberg of "Duelling Banjos" fame, played the banjo on "Cowboy Dreams". Mixes were approved via e-mail between Visconti in New York and the McAloon brothers' base in County Durham.
The album included versions of five songs which Paddy McAloon originally wrote for other performers. "Cowboy Dreams", "I'm a Troubled Man", "Love Will Find Someone for You" and "Blue Roses" were originally recorded by Jimmy Nail in 1994 and 1996, respectively, while title track "The Gunman" was originally recorded by Cher on her 1995 album It's a Man's World.[2]
The album was the least successful of the band's output, stalling at No. 60 in the UK Albums Chart.[3]
One single was released from the album, "Wild Card in the Pack", in October 2001.[4]
Track listing
All songs written by Paddy McAloon unless noted otherwise:
- "Cowboy Dreams"
- "Wild Card in the Pack"
- "I'm a Troubled Man"
- "The Streets of Laredo" / "Not Long for This World" (traditional; arranged and adapted by Paddy McAloon/Paddy McAloon)
- "Love Will Find Someone for You"
- "Cornfield Ablaze"
- "When You Get to Know Me Better"
- "The Gunman"
- "Blue Roses"
- "Farmyard Cat"
The Japanese CD release also featured the "Cowboy Dreams" video as a CD extra as well as footage of the music video shoot and liner notes by Paddy McAloon.
References
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ a b c d "Album review by Stewart Mason". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 433. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ McIntosh, Bedford. "Prefab Sprout discography". browningmcintosh.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
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- v
- t
- e
- Martin McAloon
- Michael Salmon
- Wendy Smith
- Feona Attwood
- Graham Lant
- Steve Dolder
- Neil Conti
- Swoon
- Steve McQueen
- From Langley Park to Memphis
- Protest Songs
- Jordan: The Comeback
- Andromeda Heights
- The Gunman and Other Stories
- Let's Change the World with Music
- Crimson/Red
- A Life of Surprises: The Best of Prefab Sprout
- 38 Carat Collection
- "Lions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone)"
- "The Devil Has All the Best Tunes"
- "Don't Sing"
- "Couldn't Bear to Be Special"
- "Faron Young"
- "Appetite"
- "When Love Breaks Down"
- "Johnny Johnny"
- "Cars and Girls"
- "The King of Rock 'n' Roll"
- "Hey Manhattan!"
- "Nightingales"
- "The Golden Calf"
- "Looking for Atlantis"
- "We Let the Stars Go"
- Jordan: The EP
- "The Sound of Crying"
- "If You Don't Love Me"
- "All the World Loves Lovers"
- "Life of Surprises"
- "I Remember That"
- "A Prisoner of the Past"
- "Electric Guitars"
- "Where the Heart Is"
- "Cowboy Dreams"
- Discography
- I Trawl the Megahertz (2003 McAloon solo album, reissued under the Prefab Sprout name in 2019)