Today's post is a (slightly altered) re-post from 2010 when practically nobody read the blog and has been re-posted as a companion piece to yesterday's Bodines track, as alongside Therese today's song was the other essential indie tune of '86.
Formed by Pete Astor and Dave Morgan after the break up of The Loft, The Weather Prophets released a couple of singles on Creation Records before signing to a major with high expectations that they were going to be "the next big thing". As with so many of the bands I have posted about so far it did not come to be.
The debut single and the one they are best known for, Almost Prayed, was my favourite single of 1986. I just love everything about it from Pete Astor's almost nonchalant vocals, to the insistent organ, the pithy lyrics and the jangliest guitar melody you are likely to hear. Listening to it again today it sounds every bit as good as I remember. When it was released there were a few of us who had started going to gigs who all liked the same kind of bands and who tried to initiate all the "non believers" into listening to the bands that we were championing to the effect that we had a radio cassette player set up in the school common room with the lyrics to Almost Prayed pinned up on the wall and the track on rotation in the vain hope that we could get a few people to stop listening to the dross that was clogging up the charts and start listening to some clever jangly guitar pop music. In retrospect it was quite a foolhardy venture but at that time we thought we could change the world, not just some people's dubious taste in music so even if one person caught on to the wonder of Almost Prayed it may have served some sort of purpose.
I don't do karaoke, but if I did this would be my karaoke tune.
Almost Prayed
What a tune. Impeccable. When Pete Astor was good, he was very very good.
ReplyDeleteHe does have a pretty impressive back catalogue with The Loft, Weather Prophets and his solo stuff...
DeleteWe never took it that far at school, but I well remember that I desperately tried to convince other folk to like that tune as much as I did ..... didn't succeed, of course!
ReplyDeleteNeither did we Dirk, we were being overly idealistic at the time.
DeleteScott, playing all of my favorites this week! I know what you mean about nobody reading the early days of your blog. I posted some of
ReplyDeletemy favorite music in those days. Hate to repeat myself, but are you really repeating if nobody read it? I haven't done it too much but have been tempted many times.
I think I was too quick out the starting gate in the early days and initially posted all my faves too soon. I have swayed over whether to re-post some from the early days and have never really thought of it as not repeating if few people read it. I like that way of thinking Brian, so there may be a few more re-posts in the foreseeable. I would give into temptation and consider re-posting some of your own.
DeleteI love this song.
ReplyDeleteSwiss Adam
Great stuff and as somebody who missed out on the early days of Spools Paradise, I wouldn't mind some reposts, especially if they were as good as that one.
ReplyDeleteJamie