Sparks Appreciation & Album by Album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Scope J, Jun 27, 2015.

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  1. DJ LX

    DJ LX Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison WI
    I love that left-field lick he lays down in "Nothing is Sacred Anymore". I may be mistaken, but I think there may have been an immigration/work permit rule (or union requirements) that required the band to be 3/5th British to allow for an extended residency in the UK. Then again, given the Maels' rebuffing of Kimono bassist Martin Gordon's songs (where were of a high quality and a good fit stylistically*) perhaps they were done sharing song-writing duties.



    * Check out the lone album JET released in 1975
     
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2015
  2. Helmut

    Helmut Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Germany
    According to Ron Mael the other three simply didn't want to move to England.
    About the Jet Album I have never really understood the intention behind. It sounds like a lost Sparks album and has the "Kimono" sound. But what was the exact intention? Was the statement "I can do the same as Sparks" or was it "That was my sound idea which they "stole" from me" ?
     
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  3. DJ LX

    DJ LX Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison WI
    I think Gordon's intention was the former. He never claimed to have come up with the sound, but he did feel spurned when the Maels didn't show any interest in his songs and eventually fired him.

    For the uninitiated, here's JET:

     
  4. MadMelMon

    MadMelMon Forum Resident

    I always assumed that it was a combination of place, time, and people. I'm guessing that some of the songs the Maels rejected are on that album, and of course he wrote them for Sparks, so the similarity makes sense. Davey O' List was part of the glam scene already (Roxy Music,) and it was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, who was producing Queen (who have more than a few similarities with Sparks' sound.)

    I wish that record was better known. It's fantastic.
     
  5. 12stringbassist

    12stringbassist Location: Irrelevance.

    Location:
    Manchester UK
    Slowboat. Gorgeous song.
     
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  6. DJ LX

    DJ LX Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison WI
    Gordon has stated he wrote "Cover Girl" in particular for Sparks but that the Maels didn't want to know.

    It is a shame that the Jet album isn't better known (and now even that name's been appropriated!). Davey O'List's guitar playing is fantastic on that album.

    I assume you're familiar with Gordon's more recent solo albums - the so-called 'mammal trilogy' (six albums actually). If not, there's some really good stuff there.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2015
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  7. Dino

    Dino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City - USA
    I had that Jet album. I wasn't quite able to get into it. :sigh:

    I did get into this other Earl Mankey related album that seemed rather Sparks inspired:

    The Quick - Mondo Deco - Mercury Records - 1976

     
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  8. Dino

    Dino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City - USA
    My favorite cut:

     
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  9. DJ LX

    DJ LX Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison WI
    I need to get that their album. Unfortunately, it appears to be out of print. I just checked iTunes but they didn't have it listed. :mad:
     
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  10. Dino

    Dino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City - USA
    Sparks: Talent is an Asset by Daryl Easlea (2012)
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18...ue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_5&smid=A1I15XI7SVEYXD

    IIRC, this paints a picture of Island wanting Ron and Russell Mael, but not the rest of the band, to go to England. During this time (and throughout their career) it portrays Ron and Russell as being unusually close-knit but not really being concerned with the other band members.

    It happened again with the Kimono/Propaganda band, prior to Indiscreet, when it was time to come back to the USA.

    I have no idea how credible this book is. It is entertaining though.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2015
  11. Dino

    Dino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City - USA
    Discogs lists the LPs. Looks like it was re-released on LP in 2009.
    http://www.discogs.com/Quick-Mondo-Deco/master/210535

    Amazon has a version of this on CD called Untold Rock Stories.
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000093CZM...TF8&colid=2XTEKZTISO60G&coliid=I12EL79BUP1LDU

    I have only heard the Mercury 1976 LP. It caught my eye in the used bin not long after it's release. The Earl Mankey credit is what caused me to give it a try.
     
  12. tymespan

    tymespan Forum Resident

    Untold Rock Stories contains the Mercury demos, not the actual Quick LP. Mondo Deco has never been released on CD.

    Earl Mankey had a great quirky track that would have fit perfectly on the first two Sparks LP:

     
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  13. DJ LX

    DJ LX Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison WI
    I pulled out my copy of Talent Is an Asset and, for what it is worth, near the bottom of page 50 it states that "They [Ron & Russell] considered taking the whole band with them [to England] but the work permit situation disallowed it -- or provided the Maels with a decent excuse to start all over again." So it's a bit ambiguous.
     
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  14. Dino

    Dino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City - USA
    Thanks for the correction, tymespan. I saw the song titles and didn't read further.

    I didn't know about the demos. I'd like to hear them, but not enough to buy the CD. The production was great on the released LP.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2015
  15. Dino

    Dino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City - USA
    I had that 45.

    It had a different picture sleeve and was on a different label, the BOMP label I think.
     
  16. Dino

    Dino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City - USA
    I came away from the longer story with a different impression. I may have mixed things up.
     
  17. Helmut

    Helmut Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Has anyone ever seen this first five-piece Sparks live? Has any audio survived?
     
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  18. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Before we move on, let's not forget this creepy and prescient pre Sparks demo:
     
  19. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Good stuff! Keep going!
     
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  20. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    I find the whole Transatlantic 'bizzare power pop' Johns Children/Halfnelson/Sparks/Jook/Jet/Quick/Radio Stars/Dickies/Four Squares family tree fascinating: all these groups have personnel in common and all made off kilter pop records.
     
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  21. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    John Mendelsohn's (AKA member of Christopher Milk, AKA the rock critic who wrote the brilliant liners to The Kinks Kronikles) fleeting stint in Halfnelson (apaprently he's on drums on some of the tracks on the demo album) has always fasinated me, sadly he always haughtily dismisses his association when asked about it http://graphikdesigns.free.fr/john-mendelsohn-halfnelson.html
     
  22. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Michigan
    Kimono My House (1974)

    This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us
    Amateur Hour
    Falling In Love With Myself Again
    Here In Heaven
    Thank God It's Not Christmas
    Hasta Mañana, Monsieur
    Talent Is An Asset
    Complaints
    In My Family
    Equator

    non lp B-sides :
    Barbecutie
    Lost and Found

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  23. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Michigan
  24. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Michigan
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  25. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Michigan
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