Jordan: The Comeback is the fifth album by English pop band Prefab Sprout

Prefab Sprout

Prefab Sprout are an alternative English pop rock band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham, England who rose to fame during the 1980s. Eight of their albums have reached the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart, and one of their singles, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", peaked at number seven in the UK...

, released in August 1990.

Album

Jordan: The Comeback showed Prefab Sprout continuing their musical evolution from the prickly jangle guitars of Swoon, their debut. The use of synths is more prominent, lending the album a poppier feel, and Paddy McAloon explores other genres on some songs, from samba to doo wop.

The album with its cover designed by Gerry Judah

Gerry Judah

Gerry Judah is a British artist and designer who has created settings for theatre, film, television, museums and public spaces...

 was critically acclaimed: it was nominated for Best Album at the Brit Awards, and reached #7 on the charts in the UK. It was—by Prefab Sprout's admittedly modest standards—a commercial success. The next album, 1997's Andromeda Heights

Andromeda Heights

Andromeda Heights is a 1997 album by pop group Prefab Sprout. It was produced by Paddy McAloon and recorded by Calum Malcolm.- Overview :...

, was released seven years later, with only their greatest hits collection

The Best of - A Life of Surprises

A Life Of Surprises – The Best Of Prefab Sprout is a compilation album by British pop band, Prefab Sprout, released in July 1992. The album reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Paddy McAloon...

 appearing in the meantime, so the band never capitalised on its commercial momentum.

The 64-minute album was, unusually, issued as a single vinyl LP running for over 30 minutes each side.

Themes

Jordan: The Comeback is to some extent a concept album

Concept album

In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

, though what the concepts are is somewhat opaque. NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

described the album as covering "Love, Elvis, God and Death"—all the big topics. Allmusic described songwriter and lead singer Paddy McAloon

Paddy McAloon

Paddy McAloon is an English singer-songwriter and member of the band Prefab Sprout. Allmusic describes him as "one of the most underrated lyricists of the '80s".-Career:...

as "chas[ing] his twin preoccupations of religion and celebrity, creating a loose thematic canvas perfect for his expanding musical palette".

Singles

Three singles were released from the album in the UK: "Looking for Atlantis", "We Let The Stars Go" and a four-track EP titled "Jordan: The EP" on which the featured track was "Carnival 2000".

Track listing

1. "Looking for Atlantis" – 4:03
2. "Wild Horses" – 3:44
3. "Machine Gun Ibiza" – 3:43
4. "We Let the Stars Go" – 3:39
5. "Carnival 2000" – 3:23
6. "Jordan: The Comeback" – 4:13
7. "Jesse James Symphony" – 2:15
8. "Jesse James Bolero" – 4:10
9. "Moondog" – 4:12
10. "All the World Loves Lovers" – 3:50
11. "All Boys Believe Anything" – 1:34
12. "The Ice Maiden" – 3:19
13. "Paris Smith" – 2:55
14. "Wedding March" – 2:50
15. "One of the Broken" – 3:55
16. "Michael" – 3:02
17. "Mercy" – 1:23
18. "Scarlet Nights" – 4:17
19. "Doo-Wop in Harlem" – 3:44