Prefab Sprout

Prefab Sprout's 1985 masterpiece Steve McQueen made songwriter Paddy McAloon a critic's darling, but this 1988 follow-up became the band's best seller in Europe. Here, McAloon gets his musical heroes Stevie Wonder and Pete Townshend to guest on selected tracks and comes up with an easy-to-like album that doesn't try to match Steve McQueen's brilliance. While "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" has to be one of the goofiest hits of all time, "I Remember That" and "Hey Manhattan!" are the real keepers. Like Steely Dan, McAloon usually puts a few sharp bites into his smooth grooves.