Sparks - C ou D

Nice!

Thanks! The article was written some time back but the timing was perfect for running it, especially given the concert series.

I do love these characters. Caption:

"After their triumphant concert, Ron and Russell were sad at the thought of leaving London and all their wonderful fans."

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/255559_10150997031411865_257838520_n.jpg

I'm really hoping that the current "Brothers Only" live lineup = cheaper to tour = will tour the US.

new pic = awesome

So classic. What else do we have remotely like them?

and how do I get that 20 album pdf?

(I met them, you know, back in '75...)

http://www.arthurmag.com/2011/03/12/at-home-at-work-at-play-a-listener%E2%80%99s-guide-to-sparks%E2%80%99-first-20-albums-by-ned-raggett-arthur-no-29may-2008/

thanks!

So classic. What else do we have remotely like them?

Andrew W.K.!!!!!

Ron Mael walked up to me backstage at the Whiskey one time and looks all fretful, but, for a moment, doesn't say anything.
I say the early 80s version of Whassup and he scretches his chin, tells me in his late thirties, and he's worried that he isn't married yet. "Am I weird or something?" he asks.

― Ian Grey (Ian_G), Friday, 9 April 2004 19:17 (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The only reply I can imagine woudld be the face that says "O Rlly?"

Because, that sounds like someone that's kept his 'other life' completely secret, successfully.

yeah we know stunningly little about these guys. have they ever been married?

Other than their complete lack of rock'n'roll behavior, we don't even learn that much about their personal lives in any of their biographies.

Maybe they're spies or somethin?

They just know how to stay low key. (Met 'em briefly a couple of times, know a variety of people who know them -- again, they just know how to stay low key.)

Actually this is a timely revival, they've just fired up an official YouTube channel -- plenty of their videos have long been around but now there's a proper central location. And a lot of them are absolutely great!

http://www.youtube.com/SparksOfficialVideo

Nice rendition of Sherlock Holmes from their recent show at Bush Hall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFIqVkyHAtQ

Sparks official channel –––– yes!!!!!

forgot how much I love "tips for teens"

Any idea if they're working on a new album at all? I can't believe it's already been four years since Exotic Creatures.

this is a timely top, i listened to sparks on my commute in this morning. it just felt like a sparks day.

Well they did the Seduction of Ingmar Bergman project so more like two years -- probably something up their sleeve here soon.

I can't remember where I heard this but my favorite quote about that soundtrack was "I really admire Sparks four-decade long quest to sell as few albums as possible"

It's actually quite good!

Oh yeah I forgot that soundtrack even came out, didn't do a lot for me really. The three albums before that are all so good, really excited to see what they come back with.

Yeah I'm still listening to Hello Young Lovers six years later now, next to Kimono I think it's almost definitely their best album, there's nothing like it

Exotic Creatures was definitely very good, but IMO outside of "Lighten Up, Morissey" it didn't quite hit those same highs

Lighten Up though was probably the best single of the year, if it was a single, that 3rd extended chorus is one of the all time great Sparks moments

Yeah I totally agree with that, Exotic is a really solid album but not in the same league as Hello Young Lovers or Lil' Beethoven which both just blew me away at the time. They would both be in my top five Sparks albums, which would probably look like this these days,

1. Propaganda
2. No. 1 In Heaven
3. Kimono My House
4. Hello Young Lovers
5. Lil' Beethoven

Oooh... fun!

Lessee:
1. Propaganda
2. Indiscreet
3. Hello Young Lovers
4. Lil Beethoven
5. No.1 in Heaven

And just because they have so many great albums..

6. Indiscreet
7. A Woofer In Tweeting's Clothing
8. Angst In My Pants
9. Exotic Creatures Of The Deep
10. Sparks

Yeah! Your 6-10 are still albums most groups would kill to make.

Mines:
6. Kimono My House
7. Exotic Creatures of the Deep
8. Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing
9. Seduction of Ingmar Bergman
10. Angst In My Pants

After this, it gets a lil muddier.
All their albums have SOME dope shit on them though.

Yeah I think they are the band with the most great albums. Apart from the ones I listed I really rate Outer Space and Gratuitous Sax too. The rest are mostly mixed but do contain some great moments. Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat is probably my least favourit album of thiers but it still has A Song That Sings Itself which is stunning.

Surprised to see Seduction of Ingmar Bergman in your list, I only played it the once but don't remember much about it.

Re: Song Thaat Sings Itself... YES.

Even Big Beat has a bunch of songs I like!
As Seduction goes, it hit me hard after a few listens. Thought it was minor myself at first, but that may just be because it wasn't rly treated like a new Sparks album when it came out. Love it now.Some very catchy stuff on there.

I'm surprised to find out that people don't like Big Beat. I'm not big on the production but I like the feel of it - like Sparks does the Cars (though the Cars wouldn't come around for a few years)

My top 5 would probably be Kimono, Hello Young Lovers, Propaganda, No. 1 in Heaven, and Li'l Beethoven, in some order, honorable mention to the s/t and Big Beat

I'll have to give Seduction another listen at some point.

Big Beat just doesn't have that many memorable songs on it, the only one I usually put on playlists/compilations would be I Bought The Mississippi River. I think the other problem is the albums it followed, such an amazing run of albums then Big Beat just sounded flat in comparison. That one and Introducing aren't bad albums just quite forgettable.

'Indiscreet' is the masterpiece for me, I've listened to it a zillion times. I will have to check out the more recent once; I did listen to 'Hello Young Lovers' and there were some genius moments though nothing compares to the early stuff for me....the first 5 + 'Number 1 in Heaven' are just INFALLIBLE.

Indiscreet would make my top five records by anyone ever. There are at least 4 or 5 others that are legitimately great.

I am apparently the only person that doesn't like Lil' Beethoven. I keep going back to it, hoping this will be the time it finally clicks...nothing yet. It's weird because there's no other band that I love so much with an album as universally revered as this that just doesn't resonate with me at all.

I was like that about Lil, like also I was like that re: Paul's Boutique.

but hey

That one definitely took a while to fully appreciate. It's definitely the most atypical Sparks album and outside of "Ugly Guys with Beautiful Girls" it doesn't really have that Sparks sound the way the following two albums did.

As for Big Beat and Introducing - you gotta love "Occupation", right? I dunno I feel both albums are let down a bit by the production but they're both pretty good. I was surprised by how much I wound up liking Introducing Sparks after being thoroughly confused on the first listen

Introducing's best incarnation was the live performance that was part of the 21 x 21 series in London a few years back. They could seriously swap out that performance for the studio recording and everyone would think it's one of the best albums ever.

so where's the 21-disc box set capturing all this? (only half-joking, btw)

There were rumors of a DVD set but so far nothing...

I'm listening to Introducing Sparks right now and "Big Surprise" just cut into "Baby Blue Sedan" by Modest Mouse after 50 seconds, then to some crappy later-day ELP tune after 20 more, my iPod is seriously acting weird

I don't mean the track skipped, I mean this is what the track is now

the song was "Better Days". then it cut into one second of "Me! I Disconnect From You" by Gary Numan. wtf is going on here

hidden message from yr iPod, it seems.

lol it just cut in more Black Moon-era ELP and then some Uriah Heep , what are you trying to tell me

ok now "Over the Summer" got mixed into "Foil" by Autechre. I'm done with this.

Heads up, new album fully announced for September, Hippopotamus. Song titles:

1. Probably Nothing
2. Missionary Position
3. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)
4. Scandinavian Design
5. Giddy Giddy
6. What The Hell Is It This Time?
7. Unaware
8. Hippopotamus
9. Bummer
10. I Wish You Were Fun
11. So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play?
12. When You're A French Director
13. The Amazing Mr. Repeat
14. A Little Bit Like Fun
15. Life With The Macbeths

They played some new songs tonight in Glasgow for the 6 Music Festival -- here's the title track:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e368gw/videos/p04x13b3#p04xylv0

And here's "What The Hell Is It This Time?" via an audience member:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMa-0eaZQUo&t=193s

Album preorder page, etc. etc

https://sparks.tmstor.es/

The single is pretty good!

They've done this thing so many times now where the opening line of a song is so, so corny, I think "OK, they've finally lost it," but they consistently spin this stuff into gold. Unreal.

Almost fifty years on and they just still have that indefinable 'it' in that regard. Spectacular.