Sparks Appreciation & Album by Album thread

Sorry...too slow. My suggestion is above...Plagiarism.....also Hello Young Lovers.

 

Woofer is awesome as well. I was so suprised to hear the full version of Whippings And Apologies after years of only knowing the sped-up and edited version! My favorite probably is The Louvre though. I was hoping they'd play it at the 2013 2H1M show in Paris, but they didn't

 

Berlin was similar. Which is impressive because I'm not sure how many people actually were familiar with the "Li'l Beethoven" album. Spectacular, like the whole concert. Such a warm, energised atmosphere. At the end Ron and Russell stood alone on the stage, taking in the seemingly endless applause. Which was a very moving moment. I've seen some pretty terrific gigs in my time but that.... that was Top Ten. Definitely. I never would have expected this!

 

Somebody posted an interview a few posts back, here's one a friend did a few days ago:

Sparks Talk About Their Past, Present and Future: Exclusive Interview

 

Great interview, thanks for posting. Very interesting reading.

 

Does anyone know if the 21 Albums shows were recorded?

 

They were recorded on video, but as far as I know only a single-cam at the soundboard.

 

These four, and Introducing Sparks.

 

I was just listening to some live stuff on Spotify. Anyone know why Russell Mael speaks in a faux European accent when he's on stage? He's from LA. I remember thinking they were a European band when I was a teenager.

 

"A Whoofer in Tweeter's Clothing", "Big Beat" and "In Outer Space."

 

They were all recorded on audio, a member of the Sparks crew told me that the individual digital audio tracks were numbered and nobody thought to index them properly at the time!
I asked Ron about a possible release for them once and his reply was abruptly cut off by their manager Sue!

 

Not quite sure how I missed this thread for the 1st 2+ years but better late than, uh, you know...I cannot remember the 1st time I heard them, but I'm pretty sure Big Beat was the 1st Sparks LP I bought new (either that or Indiscreet) and then proceeded to get the rest of the catalog. I might have read about them in Trouser Press or heard from a friend. I did see them on the Big Beat tour at the Bottom Line in NYC and they just slayed me. I also saw them in Boston in '82 or '83, I think at the Paradise and they were pretty damned wonderful then, too. My fave Sparks album is, by far, Propaganda, followed by KMH and Big Beat. I haven't read all 23 pgs of this thread (yet) so I'm not sure if anyone's posted this little blast of wonder - if not, enjoy!!:

 

Ah, well here's hoping for a release someday!

 

Man I just looked at all those upcoming UK dates and wish I could see Sparks again this week.

If there had been a second German show I would have driven to Hamburg gladly because Berlin was so fantastic. But Russell said they'd be back.

That they played "Johnny Delusional" was a nice touch because before the show I thought it was a shame that this (ffs track) most likely wouldn't be played. But... voilà! First encore.

Question: Does anybody here know if Russell smokes? Because I'm intrigued how great his voice still is. How the hell does he do it?

 

I saw Sparks in the UK and Germany around 30 times between 1994 and 2008, and he always had an LA accent.

However, they do have strong ties to England, their parents too IIRC without checking, and have lived here at various points since their huge UK success brewed and started in 1973-4. They might even have a property here all these years, as I've seen Russell in a particular area of London several times over the years, shopping.

 

I agree that both of these are essential.
HYL is one of their all-time best records.
Whomp is a lot like Angst, only the madcap songwriting is slightly more reminiscent of Propaganda or Indiscreet.

 

Revisited this today and - like all Sparks albums - it has some great stuff on it. "The Angels" is a fantastic closer and I love the sequence from "Balls" to "Calm Before The Storm". The cover concept is silly, I remember how the different colours sat in the record store next to each other in 2000 and I wondered if someone was going for the whole set.

If this is indeed the Sparks' weakest effort, the Maels must have done something terribly right

And I have to admit that I take the Maels' overloaded silly- and trashiness over Bowie's late period "elder statesman" status any day. And I love Bowie.

 

Been listening to this band a lot recently, and have absolutely loved everything I've heard. They certainly take a bit of getting used to, but once you "get" them, everything clicks and their music is amazing. At the time of writing this, I've mostly been listening to the albums from their debut to "Number One In Heaven" as well as the albums from "Little Beethoven" to present. I still plan on checking the 80s and 90s albums out at some point, though.

I unfortunately haven't bought any albums of their's yet, since it seems that physical copies are a bit more expensive than other 70s artists. When I'm collecting the albums from a 70s or 80s artist, I'm used to them being around $5-10 apiece on cd, and and about the same for used vinyl. Sparks' albums seem to be in the $10-20 range on CD (at least on Amazon, where I buy most of my CDs).
I'm not too sure about vinyl though, since it's been months since I've been to any of the record stores in my area.

 

Just got this on pink vinyl and... wow! So bizarre because in 2006 it didn't click at all - my head was probably too much in Arcade Fire/ Bloc Party county. Now I think it's great, easily as good as "Lil' Beethoven". Which is quite some achievement.

 

A question: If you lost track of Sparks after the Atlantic albums but much prefer their more accessible rocking side, which of the recent albums do you start with? Aside from FFS that is, since I already have and love that.

 

The new one.

 

Seconded.

After the Atlantic albums, there never was a straight-up rock lineup for Sparks ever again. FFS was the first time they'd returned to that (and jesus how brilliant getting Franz Ferdinand to back them!).

That being said, there are rock tracks littered throughout their later years, often used almost as a surprise element for their dynamics or humor. "Ugly Guys with Beautiful Girls" from Lil' Beethoven, "Dick Around" from Hello Young Lovers, "Strange Animal" on Exotic Creatures, etc. Dean Menta, a latter day member of Faith No More, plays on all of those, and it is he who is now their full time guitarist.

 

I think it is safe to assume 100% that Russell does not, and never has, smoked !
I think both of them are tee total too. Russell's voice is a miracle.

 

But alas doesn't tour with them. Their current band is the most straight-ahead rock band they've had.

Compared to the Lil' Beethoven shows which had only Dean on guitar and Tammy Glover on drums (electronic) which had voices, keyboard, and guitar parts on a backing track, they're pretty much fully live now.

The drum and guitar sound of their home-studio albums is probably not appealing for someone who likes them more amped up. It's very sterile, but for me that totally suits the material.

 

Very little is known of their private lives. Have either of them dated? Do they live together?