Sparks Appreciation & Album by Album thread

The first Sparks album I ever bought. I don't think I'd ever actually heard them on the radio at this point (This Town was not a big hit on AM radio here) - it was on Island, which made them cool by association, at least - and some critic somewhere (possibly Creem Magazine?) had described them as Gilbert & Sullivan meets Roxy Music, which seemed pretty pretty much right up my alley. Past memories are a little vague, but I believe I very quickly followed it up with 'Indiscreet', so I probably didn't buy it until at least 1975. Actually, now that I think about it, at that time I probably only knew about Roxy from their Eno associations, so it's quite possible that I bought both Sparks albums before I'd even owned a Roxy one.

The whole thing quickly became one of those albums it was hard not to sing along with. Especially 'At Home.'

 

I love the songs on 'Propaganda', but it has a 'softer' sound to 'Kimono'. No disrespect to Trevor and Ian but it lacks the power of its predecessor. Most of Adrian's playing was wiped off (he only appears on 3 tracks) leaving just the rhythm guitar tracks and those hideous multi tracked sneezes on 'Achoo' still annoy me. It's a great album but could have been even better.

 

Propaganda is an excellent follow up to Kimono, though some of it has worn a little because it gets a little bubblegum at times. I used to love the album straight through but now I don't even need to hear 'B.C.' again. Songs like 'Reinforcements' and 'Thanks but no thanks' used to be favorites, but I find them a little tedious now. But there's still much to love in 'Don't leave me alone with her', 'At home, at work, at play', 'Achoo', 'Who don't like kids'. But my favorite from this era is the B side 'Alabamy Right'. Very quirky and catchy. My first exposure to 'Mother Earth' was the Martin Gore cover all those years ago. It didn't stray too much from the Sparks version.

 

Propaganda made it the fourth great Sparks album in a row for me. It seemed like a bit of a continuation of Kimono My House. Probably the Muff Winwood productions as much as anything else - similar but different. Only seven months between releases on these - quite an accomplishment.

I liked the entire album. It was in heavy rotation at the time. I still greatly enjoy listening to it.

 

Indiscreet (1975)

Hospitality On Parade
Happy Hunting Ground
Without Using Hands
Get In The Swing
Under The Table With Her
How Are You Getting Home?
Pineapple
Tits
It Ain't 1918
The Lady Is Lingering
In The Future
Looks, Looks, Looks
Miss The Start, Miss The End

Profile
The Wedding of Jacqueline Kennedy to Russell Mael
I Like Girls
England

 

For me Propaganda is their masterpiece. I got it as an xmas gift along with Bowie's Pin Ups. I love every track on this album, one of my favourites is Thanks But No Thanks and the two singles are completely brilliant.
The artwork for this and the next album was stunning, really lavish I thought.
I have remained a life long fan but to this day I have never heard the Kimono My House album, except for the singles. Bizarre.

 

Indiscreet is just bonkers, even down to the deliberately ludicrous sleeve photos (although the gatefold grocery bag photo is one of the all-time great images of Ron and Russell).
Incorporating bursts of glam rock elements, music hall, futuristic space rock and cabaret pastiches, it completely defies categorisation. And yet it somehow actually works as a cohesive album, albeit one that might benefit from the omission of one or two tracks, just to tighten it up a fraction.
Lyrically, it must be one of the "busiest" Sparks albums. Happy Hunting Ground is one of my very favourite Sparks songs.

 

If anyone has scans
of the cassette , please
post if you're able

thanks

 

I have memories of Hot Pants, but they are not quite like this.

 

This is one of those albums that I remember my first listen. Got it on the week of release (US pressing) and it listening to it was the first thing my best friend and I did after returning home. I was sitting in the sweet spot with the sound cranked (Smaller Advent Loudspeakers).

I did not have actual expectations. (Although I was expecting to enjoy it since Sparks had not yet let me down.) This album was so eclectic and the production was so spectacular it was a bit of a surprise. (I think the production was a lot of what tied this album together for me.)

It was great, in those days, to get new albums and really love them. They became a part of my life - if you know what I mean. It happened a lot back then. I miss that.

I didn't really have favorite Sparks album at this point in time. They were all wonderful and different to me. I liked that about Sparks. Indiscreet was a great addition to the Sparks catalog.

I have not mentioned cover art. The first two albums (all three versions) had fine cover art. Starting with Kimono My House the cover art was something else. It made a big impression on my image of the group. Back then image was a bigger deal than it is now, in my mind. But they are still cool images.

 

My test pressing.

 

One of their top three, IMHO.

...and here's my review (BTW, if it seems I'm bashing Queen, I'm not. I point out the similarities to show how frustrating it must have been for the Maels to see such mind boggling success for a band that had so much in common with them.)

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Sparks took almost a year to make Indiscreet. The music industry worked a lot faster in the 70's, and taking that much time was risky: you might make your best work yet, but when it comes out, the landscape will have changed. When Indiscreet was released in November of 1975, Slade’s bid at respectability, the film Slade in Flame, went down in you-know-what. T. Rex (or more accurately, Marc Bolan) was treading water, and Roxy Music was wrapping it up (for the moment, anyway.) Most importantly, the undisputed King of Glam, David Bowie, was less than three months away from leaving Ziggy Stardust behind completely with Station to Station.

Fortunately, Sparks were up for the challenge. Indiscreet was easily their most ambitious album to date, and they did it without breaking a sweat. Opening track Hospitality on Parade sets the stage: a bitingly satirical ode to the power of being a customer in capitalist society. “We are all someone special when the customer is king” Russell proclaims, as a ceremonial march announces His Majesty to the lowly clerk.

What follows is a scathing indictment of narcissism, privilege, and society's refusal to age gracefully. Happy Hunting Ground’s protagonist begs to be let back into college, where the girls are younger and hotter. "As soon as a girl leaves the refuge/out go the reasons they’re great/hips are spreading, and never a smile.” It Ain’t 1918 tells the story of a humble couple who need nothing but each other, and when would be benefactors shower them with riches, their polite refusal is met with spite and threats.

But if there’s one track that sums up Indiscreet, it’s the one with the most attention grabbing title. Tits tells the story of a drunk whose wife is cheating on him. He clings to his best friend Harry, begging him to share a drink or three. Harry tries (in vain) to refuse, and no wonder: he’s the wife’s new boyfriend, and his friend knows it. But the drunk isn't angry, he's helpless: his life is in ruins, and his only friend is the man who's ruining it.

Tits' music belies its dark narrative, comedically stumbling around like a drunk trying to find the door. The contrast makes it all the more brutal, and one of the best (and darkest) things Sparks ever did.

Musically, Indiscreet is all over the damn place, and brings back the nostalgic comedy so prevalent on A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing. But this time around, they pull out all the stops: marching bands, vaudeville, string quartets, and more cover the walls like so many hunting trophies. Yet it never feels overcooked. In The Future, a breathless rocker that would have fit right in on Propaganda, smacks right into the swing jazz of Looks, Looks, Looks. In lesser hands, it would be silly at best. Instead, it's one of the album's best moments, and proof that they could work miracles.

Even the cover is perfect. There's been a plane crash smack in the middle of suburbia. Ron looks around, bemused, like a dad who can't get the lawnmower started. Russell sits, legs contorted, as if they've been mangled in the crash. Still, he gives the camera a smouldering look vain and posing to the bitter end.

Sparks' three album UK run...Kimono My House, Propaganda, and Indiscreet...is viewed by most fans as a kind of Holy Trinity. Kimono was a shot of adrenaline, Propaganda blew the doors off the place, and Indiscreet provides a strong arguement for genius.

Unfortunately, the timing was wrong. Indiscreet was hardly a commercial failure, reaching #18 on the UK charts, but it was a step down from Propaganda (#9,) and Kimono (#4.) More importantly, Queen had released A Night at the Opera that same month, and its single Bohemian Rhapsody catapulted them into rock and roll royalty. Adding insult to injury, three tracks (Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Seaside Rendezvous, and Good Company) were made of the exact same stuff as Indiscreet, only replacing Ron Mael's brilliant commentary with the shallow la-dee-da of the old days. Even the title was from a Marx Brothers movie. Ouch.

Our heroes, choosing their battles, decided to return to the US. It was the right decision. But just because it was the right decision doesn't mean it'll work out...

 

1.When I was in High school there was an artist who I worked with on the school paper. He was what would become a graphic artist/cartoonist, and his name was Mike Sosnowski(I often wonder what happened to him). He came into class and played me a tape of Wonder Girl. He was seriously into Sparks. I loved it.
2. I was watching In Concert and an ad aired for Kimono My House(Sparks. KIMONO MY HOUSE?!?!! YOU"VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!!). I went out the next day and bought it. Now I'm hooked. Not one song on the album I do not love. Among my favorites were Up Here In Heaven and, yes, Equator. I loved Equator because it drove my parents insane with me singing the chorus at the top of my lungs.
3. Bought Propaganda. I felt it was a fair continuation from Kimono. The opening short track is still my favorite on the album.
4. Went to see the band at the Masonic Temple(see above) with Les Variations opening. less than a third of the seats sold. They put on a great show for us. I went completely overboard with a red shirt I had made into a Sparks shirt with magic marker. A stylized lightning bolt "SPARKS" with "Electrik Rock And Roll" under it. I've never done that before or since. Add to that the platform sneakers I was wearing and I was a total doofus who was out to have a great time. Then, surprise! Mike walked up to me. I hadn't seen him for two years. He loved my shirt. I knew every song they played that night. The perfect concert in my memory.
5. Bought Indiscreet. Very good, but a lesser effort(to me). Silly songs are still here(Pineapple?)
6.bought the first Columbia album and I was pretty well done. Dumping the band pissed me off. Dinky Diamond was a madman on the drums.