[2] Recorded in Newcastle, London and Los Angeles, it has a more polished and commercial sound than their earlier releases, and features several guest stars including Stevie Wonder and Pete Townshend.

[3] After the critical and commercial success of Prefab Sprout's Thomas Dolby-produced second album, 1985's Steve McQueen, Paddy McAloon felt under pressure to deliver a worthy follow-up.

[4] Titled Protest Songs, the album was recorded over two weeks in Newcastle and intended for a limited release in late 1985.

[7][nb 1] From Langley Park to Memphis was recorded sporadically over a year in Newcastle, London and Los Angeles.

[12] [8] The album features guest appearances from Pete Townshend, Stevie Wonder and the Andraé Crouch singers – McAloon felt the latter two's contributions proved the band's music was not exclusively British.

"[18] Of the album's ten tracks, Thomas Dolby produced "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", "I Remember That", "Knock on Wood" and "The Venus Of The Soup Kitchen".

[19] The lyrics are written from the perspective of a washed-up singer who had a one-hit wonder in the 1950s with a novelty song featuring the chorus "Hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque".

McAloon was aware of the song's commercial potential early on, and felt it would surprise fans used to the band’s earlier, more cerebral material.

[18] McAloon has denied that the song indicates a personal distaste for Springsteen, telling NME "I think a lot of his audience get into him on a patriotic level that he doesn't intend.

[18] McAloon sampled the opening bass run of Glen Campbell's recording of "Wichita Lineman" for the song's bassline.

It is among the earliest-written songs Prefab Sprout have released, having been composed in 1977 when the band was a guitar-based trio who made what McAloon would describe as "heavy metal meeting disco".

[35][9] "The Golden Calf" has been described by Andreas Hub of Fachblatt as "a real rocker"[12] and has garnered comparisons to the work of Pete Townshend,[36] Marc Bolan[35] and Del Amitri.

The album's title comes from a line from "The Venus of the Soup Kitchen" - "Maybe it hurts your brothers too, from Langley Park to Memphis" - a lyric about universal emotions.

[2] Speaking in 1992, McAloon described himself as "shocked and stunned" at the song not being a hit, commenting "I woke up then and I’ve never had such high expectations since.

[43] The second single "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" remains Prefab Sprout's greatest success in their native UK.

[39] Having been offered to American album-oriented rock radio stations by Epic in advance promotion of the album,[8] "The Golden Calf" was the fifth and final single.

[39] "I Remember That" was released as a single in 1993 to promote the compilation album A Life of Surprises: The Best of Prefab Sprout but failed to chart.

Rolling Stone's Peter Wilkinson described the album as "overreaching", elaborating "McAloon tries leavening disjointed talk with instrumental gimmickry.

[50] Creem's Kurt B. Riley was critical of the album, feeling that the songwriting was "done a great disservice by ill-fitting arrangements".

[citation needed] Dave DiMartino of Billboard ranked the album his fifth favourite of the year, commenting "Paddy McAloon has seen the future of rock and roll - and has returned bearing the names of Jimmy Webb, Cole Porter and absolutely no songs about cars 'n' girls.

"[61] In 1991, Melody Maker's Paul Lester described From Langley Park to Memphis as "a hyper-modern dazzling white pop LP that ranks alongside Dare, The Lexicon of Love and Colour by Numbers.

"[62] Among retrospective reviews, Jason Ankeny of AllMusic gave the "ambitious" album 4 stars out of 5, calling it "Prefab Sprout's spiritual journey into the heart of American culture", though he felt it paled in comparison to Steve McQueen.

[49] Writing in Italy's Ciao Magazine in 1990, Paolo Battigelli described it as a "not entirely convincing record" but added "Cars and Girls" confirmed McAloon as a composer with a rare talent, albeit one hiding himself behind allegories and tortuous references.

[19] The album's commercial success caused an uncomfortable level of recognition for Paddy McAloon, who would later recollect "I was asked for autographs, girls wanted to put their hands in my hair, touch me... ...the glamorous aspect of our music has always been for me a way of showing how we as individuals are the opposite of this glittering world.

Regarding "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", McAloon has described himself as "reconciled to being remembered for that song" and "aware that it's a bit like being known for "Yellow Submarine" rather than "Hey Jude".