The Sound Of Crying
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"The Sound of Crying" is a single by
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
pop band
Prefab Sprout Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they re ...
, released by
Kitchenware Records Kitchenware Records was an independent record label based in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, UK. It was founded in 1982 by Keith Armstrong, Paul Ludford and Phil Mitchell, and was originally part of The Soul Kitchen, an artist collective a ...
in June 1992. It was one of two new songs included on their compilation album '' A Life of Surprises: The Best of Prefab Sprout''. It was one of the band's biggest hits, reaching No. 23 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.


Composition

Paddy McAloon Patrick Joseph McAloon (born 7 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and a founder of the band Prefab Sprout. Early life McAloon was born and grew up in Witton Gilbert in County Durham, England. He was trained to be a Catholic priest bef ...
originally wrote the song in April 1990 for a proposed biographical album about
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
, whom he was fascinated by. In this version, the song's verses listed unhappy events in Jackson's life, while the chorus was "only the boogie music will never, ever let you down". McAloon was prompted to rewrite the song by George H. W. Bush's references to a new world order during the
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
. The final lyrics concern the plights of people around the world, and ask why they cannot be helped. McAloon felt that "no matter how well-regulated you make the world, no matter how well-regulated our affairs are, disasters are kind of there" and described "The Sound of Crying" as "a 'Why does
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
allow this?' song".


Release

"The Sound of Crying" received significant airplay on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, and became Prefab Sprout's first top 30 hit on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
since "
The King of Rock 'n' Roll "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" is a single by English pop band Prefab Sprout, released by Kitchenware Records in March 1988. It was the second single taken from their album of that year, '' From Langley Park to Memphis''. It remains the band's bigg ...
" reached number 7 four years earlier. It peaked at number 23, and remains the band's second highest-charting single to date. A music video featuring the band was produced and was included on the VHS release ''"A Life of Surprises: The Video Collection"''.


Reception

Upon release, Jim Lawn of the ''Lennox Herald'' called "The Sound of Crying" "Paddy McAloon's best chance of a hit single in ages". ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
Alan Jackson commented that the song's "lush production and glorious melody" were used "to sneak one of the oldest debates in
Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
before millions of
Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...
listeners" while
David Cavanagh David Cavanagh was an Irish writer and music journalist, best known for his the critically acclaimed 2000 book ''My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize'', which detailed the rise and fall of Creation Records, and for his editorship of '' Select'' ...
of '' Select'' praised how the song "manages to include ice-cool phraseology like ' the music of the spheres' while still being catchy enough to be this week’s third most played single on Radio 1".


Track listings


7"

Side 1 # "The Sound Of Crying (Edit)" Side 2 # "The Sound Of Crying (Full Version)"


CD

# "The Sound Of Crying (Edit) # "The Sound Of Crying (Full Version)" # "Looking For Atlantis" # "The Golden Calf"


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sound of Crying Prefab Sprout songs 1992 singles 1992 songs Songs written by Paddy McAloon