Picking up where Apples left off — it even includes that record’s “The Bus Driver’s Prayer,” a clever cockney rewrite of the Lord’s Prayer, as the title track — The Bus Driver’s Prayer and Other Stories is an engaging collection of character sketches and stories from Ian Dury. The album may lack strong hooks and melodies, yet Dury diehards will find that his wry observations are just as subtle and humorous as ever. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine