Sparks- Halfnelson vs. A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing

Following up from my recent poll about the Island-era Sparks LPs, I figured I'd cover their first two on Bearsville. Woofer is not to be confused with the 1969 demo/independent release of the same name.

Halfnelson, IMO, is the better of the two. Woofer just sounds like a retread of Halfnelson with very few of the Earle Mankey touches that could be heard best on Biology 2 (that was Earle singing, making it the only officially-released Sparks song not to have Russell Mael on vocals).

The producer of Halfnelson was of course Todd Rundgren. Jim Lowe produced Woofer, but kept very little of the character that permeated the Rundgren-produced album. Woofer, for the addition of a string section and synths, sounds clinical in comparison.

Woofer is also weaker songwise. Pretty much the only "classic" track IMO is Moon Over Kentucky, which still sounds ahead of its time today. Ironically, the haunting super-layered backing vocals were an Earle Mankey innovation. Batteries Not Included and Whippings and Apologies are also decent enough, but they're hardly High C or (No More) Mr. Nice Guys (a title early Sparks fan Alice Cooper would later appropriate). If only the contemporary version of I Like Girls had made the final cut...

I guess most wouldn't agree with me on this given my opinions on Propaganda weren't shared by many here, but I'd like to broadcast my views anyway.

 

I'm in the minority here, but these are my 2 fave Sparks albums, if I had to pick one, the debut slightly edges out Woofer.

 

Many Sparks fans love the first two. You're not in the minority.

 

I prefer the debut, mainly because of the songs.

 

I didn’t follow Sparks past the first two albums, but I played the hell out of Halfnelson back when that was the artist credit as well as the album title.

A unique and unique-sounding album. I gave Woofer a few spins, but hit didn’t speak to me in the same way.

 

Guess I'm in the minority here, but I think Woofer is a masterpiece. If the technology for mic'ing the drums would have been a little better back in the day, it'd be a darned near perfect album.

 

I love both of these albums, each having a unique character right down the excellent cover art, but I went with 'Woofer'.
The 'Halfnelson' album has the quirkier and stronger songs, but has Rundgren's signature 'treble' sound which is slightly irritating. To me it sounds very much like the demo album.

'Woofer' is a great album, I think Jim Lowe did an excellent job on it, having engineered the first album he knew the band's sound. From what he has said over the years, it seems that he was given guidance by Albert Grossman to beef up the sound quality particularly Earle's guitar sound. 'Girl From Germany', 'Beaver O'Lindy' (my favourite) and 'Whippings And Apologies' are the stand-out tracks for me. I agree that Earle Mankey's contributions have been under stated (although brother Jim was the better guitarist). BTW they couldn't have added 'I Like Girls' because it wasn't recorded until 6 or 7 months later.

It's time we had a proper reissue of these two albums, remastered at the right speed, without drop-outs and with some unreleased tracks.

 

I'd go for Woofer too.

 

I love the first one, but I think The Louvre from Woofer is one of their best tracks.

 

ILG was recorded in December 72 and I remember reading it was slated for inclusion but dropped at the last minute.

Thanks for clearing that up! And I do agree- now the Maels own all the rights to their back catalogue they should rerelease them both in a set with the Woofer demo and unreleased tracks from the era. Maybe throw in some of the Urban Renewal Project songs (although apparently Russ isn't too fond of them and refuses to let most of them be released).

 

They're my favorites also. I prefer Woofer... by a slight margin over the debut, mostly because it has "Whippings And Apologies" which is really far ahead of it's time.

 

Agreed! Sonic Youth based their career on "W&A"

 

Absolutely! Listening to the guitars on that it seems to have influenced the first 5 Sonic Youth albums, at the very least.
As has been posted, these two albums need a proper reissue with speed issues corrected and period bonus tracks.

 

Both are great albums, but I think the debut just edges out Woofer, even though it has one song I really dislike (Slow Boat). The highs though are numerous and SO good - High C, Fletcher Honorama, Simple Ballet, Biology 2 (which is like proto-Devo), Saccharin And The War, Big Bands, (No More) Mister Nice Guys.

Woofer has some standouts but they don't quite hit the same highs (though Moon Over Kentucky is one of my favourite Sparks songs) and Angus Desire has such a gorgeous melody.

 

The 'Woofer' album was recorded at Wally Heider and ID Sound in Los Angeles around July 1972. 'I Like Girls' was recorded at Bearsville Studios in up-state New York during February 1973 for a planned single release.

 

I think if Bearsville had promoted Sparks properly- ie. given them a real nationwide tour instead of a couple of opening slots in Houston that ended up in the news for all the wrong reasons and gigs at Max's with nothing to promote except themselves- they could have taken off as a cult act in the US.

But would they have had the iconic Island albums then? I think not.

 

If anyone on here has the first 'Half Nelson' demo lp.

The actual LP for sale.

PLEASE pm me!

 

"Fletcher Honorama" is one of the greatest things ever.

 

Funny you should mention that song... I found a translation online about a month ago.

Sparks - The Louvre translation in English | Musixmatch