Hmm. - cover looks cheaper, much less professional - it didn't need another master - I guess Arista finally let this one go after 35 years - all of "Live Sparks" has been appended to this CD since.. 1996 already? - there appears to be but one live track previously not included I can't imagine this is a money grab. It truly must be a label switch. But why Quake Records? Is that Graham's own label? There aren't any other significant releases on it except a couple of Graham/Rumour related releases 5-7 years ago.
Graham should go to Yep Roc. They would do his catalog justice. They've done a decent job keeping folks like Nick Lowe and Robyn Hitchcock visible and commercial.
This isn't Live Sparks, it's a previously unreleased concert from the Paramount Theatre Seattle WA, June 24, 1979. Did a little research and it appears that Quake Records is a "sub-division" of PunkHart Productions Anyway I ordered it so it will be interesting to see how it sounds.
The vinyl is @ our local shop for $2.95, but as it would be another duplicate as I have it on CD now, I skipped it. Maybe one should reconsider?
Also missed this thread first time thru, BUT GP and the Rumour are the real thing. When the first 2 records came out my friend Steve had them and I was immediately sucked into them. My initial thoughts had me comparing them to Springsteen's first two LPs and that Van Morrison feeling. Solid R&B-styled Rock with steady songs. Those early live shows were incredibly powerful and allowed the early records to blossom. Too many NYC concerts to list but by the time they played The Academy of Music I thought they were poised for their big breakout. SOS gave them a more polished sound but the songwriting was still stellar and the band was tighter. Think I still have the SOS hand-sparker they gave out somewhere. He/They shoulda been bigger but being on Mercury did not help the cause. Thought the reunion a few years back was also great producing a coupla fine albums. Met them on the photo shoot for Up Escalator on the downtown part of the abandoned West Side Highway (when that existed) and they all could not have been nicer. Someone mentioned Goulding as an under-rated Drummer and I wholly agree.
More disturbing than the new artwork is the apparent rebranding of a classic GP & the Rumour album as a solo GP product. That's just wrong.
I saw Graham Parker & The Rumour on a couple of occasions. Probably the most enjoyable gig was when they played on the same bill as Thin Lizzy in 1977 in Dalymount Park. https://i.imgur.com/dSJW94B.jpg Notice the ticket prices at the bottom... £4 in advance or £4.75 at the gate. JG
For the record, I now have in addition to the Passion Is No Ordinary Word compilation: Howlin Wind on LP and remastered CD Heat Treatment on LP Stick to Me on LP (with stickers) The Parkerilla on CD Squeezing Out Sparks on LP and remastered CD (w/Live Sparks) The Up Escalator on LP and CD Another Grey Area on LP The Real Macaw on LP Steady Nerves on LP and CD Human Soul on CD Live! Alone in America on CD Struck by Lightning on CD Burning Questions on CD Imaginary Television on CD Mystery Glue on LP I'm still listening to and processing some of the mid-80s stuff but really I think Stick to Me and Squeezing Out Sparks are my favorites. I understand The Mona Lisa's Sister is one of his later, better albums but that one has eluded me so far.
Besides Mona Lisa's Sister, you should look into acquiring Acid Bubblegum (1996) and Deep Cut to Nowhere (2001).
I can't figure out why anyone would take a great album cover like the original SOS and downgrade it to this new cover? Are they trying to sell as few copies as possible?
This new remaster is the worst of them. It is VERY LOUD! A huge disappointment to me as I have yet to find a great sound cd version of this album. I have the original UK vinyl and that sounds great
In 1976 when GP released his first 2 masterpieces back to back I loved it.It was a return to the best Van Morrison hard soul this side of Van himself.I stuck around (pun intended) for Stick To Me and really got into the harder Squeezing Out Sparks but after that I became uninterested. I don't know what happened but he could have become another great artist.As it is IMO we only have the first 2 LPs & Squeezing Out Sparks as reminders of what could've been.
Absolutely, his mastery of different styles with GP & R is a sign of rare talent, and his partnership with bassist Bodnar being one of the best rhythm sections you could find. Thing is though his other work of the time is vastly unnoticed - that's him playing drums on 'Watching The Detectives' (in fact responsible for the reggae theme). That's him on 'I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass' (with a co-write credit to prove it). I'm fairly sure he's on 'Heart of the City/So It Goes' too. I'll never understand why he spent most of his post-Rumour career with The Mekons when top-notch drummers are always in demand (ie Terry Williams going to stadium era Dire Straits after Rockpile).
A club I used to go to in the mid-to-late 70s, Improvisions, had a rock-jock who travelled over from Manchester every Sunday. He was smitten with 'Hotel Chambermaid' and played it every week. It's a wonderful song and when I hear it, it brings back fine memories of great nights there.
I wrote about Steve Goulding being underrated. But for me, a significant part of that is because of his tremendous work with The Mekons. The Mekons have been one of the most musically exciting and artistically fascinating bands of the last thirty plus years and he’s certainly a significant part of that. But I’m also biased (and I suppose grateful that this has been his gig) as the Mekons have remained my favorite band over all those many years.
No I don't. You mean the one with only the 2 bonus tracks, right? Cause the one with the added live show "Live sparks" doesn't sound good either. Yes I do know that there are people on here that did like the 1996 version, but I don't
