The Devil Has All the Best Tunes
"The Devil Has All the Best Tunes" | ||||
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Single by Prefab Sprout | ||||
B-side | "Walk On" | |||
Released | September 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Length | 4:39 | |||
Label | Kitchenware | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paddy McAloon | |||
Producer(s) | Hal Remington | |||
Prefab Sprout singles chronology | ||||
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"The Devil Has All the Best Tunes" is the second single by English pop band Prefab Sprout. It was their first release to feature Wendy Smith and their first release after signing with Kitchenware Records. As of 2022, neither side of the single has been released on CD.
Composition
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According to music journalist Chris Heath, "The Devil Has All the Best Tunes" is "an intricate web of melodies and voices". Paddy McAloon stated in a 1984 interview "I really wanted to do was a kind of musical boast... ..."The Devil has all the best tunes? No he hasn’t!", that's why it swirls with all kinds of different melodies, clarinets". In addition to guitar, bass, drums and clarinet, the song utilises piano and glockenspiel.[6] The song was released as the band's second single because it was the only song they had on tape, and they were "completely broke".[7][8] According to McAloon, most around the band considered the song too long and not catchy enough for single release.[9]
McAloon wrote the B-side "Walk On" when he was 18.[8] McAloon describes the song as about "the consolation of pop music when you’re young, doing exams, listening to pop music, and ending up in your own little world".[10]
Release
"The Devil Has All the Best Tunes" received critical acclaim, with "Strikkers" of Record Mirror describing it as "quite simply a classic".[9] According to Paddy McAloon, the single was Kitchenware's biggest selling to date as of January 1984.[9] As of 2022, neither side of the single has been released on CD, making "The Devil Has All the Best Tunes" Prefab Sprout's only A-side unavailable on this format.
Track listing
- 7"
- ""The Devil Has All the Best Tunes" – 4:39
- "Walk On" – 2:45
References
- ^ Cooper, Mark (December 1988). "No Sweat". Q. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ "No longer a Prefab Sprout". Consett Music Project (4). 1984. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ "The Devil has all the best tunes". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ISBN 9781840223118. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ISBN 9780830742820. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Taking time off from what is probably the most hectic period of his short lifetime Paddy "Macaroon" McAloon spoke to "Falling and Laughing"". Falling and Laughing. June 1984. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ Perrone, Pierre (1988). "McAloon interview". Club Pour Hommes. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Everything But The Girl, Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout… The end of the tyranny of the synthesizer". OOR Magazine. September 1984. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Strikkers (7 January 1984). "Sprouting Horns". Record Mirror. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ Swayne, Karen (21 January 1984). "From Brussels with love". No. 1. Retrieved 14 July 2020.