349. Fun In the First World – Andy Pratt

FUN IN THE FIRST WORLD (1982)

Andy Pratt

If this was a full album it easily could have reached the Top 100, but as it is, it is the highest ranking EP on the list. The five songs included are top shelf and stunning examples of how an artists should create a song from lyrics to the music to the aura. Set in the future the EP still sounds like we haven’t caught up to its vision.

Pratt experienced a decent amount of success in the early 80’s with a long lasting AOR/FM Rock hit, Avenging Annie. His odd vocal styling mixed with a powerful falsetto made the song a memorable hit and there was talk of Pratt becoming the next big thing. Rolling Stone would state that Pratt was changing the face of rock music.

But things don’t always work out the way they are planned.

A new found faith and several record deals that fell apart left Pratt out of the music eye for nearly a decade. He would return with this EP and a new found Christian faith and message to share. The title track’s futuristic sound (think Gary Numan) matches the message of someone who wants the Lord to delay His return so that he can continue to have fun here, in the first world.

The piano driven “Burn Up in the fire” counters the first song by expressing the dangers of holding on to the things of earth as they eventually will be burned up in the fire. Side 1 end with the beautiful ballad “Who Will Be My Friend” which features Pratt’s famed falsetto and is reminiscent of Larry Norman.

Side two features just two song and both continue the popular themes of the day. The “end of the world” warnings and the popular notion it revolves around events in the middle east and the rebirth of Israel and society’s obsession with money and how that obsession will doom us. The common themes, especially for the time, were never quite as artfully presented.

A serious AYSO and I understand it has been re-released on CD  as part of a “Best Of” retrospective, and was previously released on CD along with the album “Not Just For Dancing.”