Very, very true.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 18 August 2008 16:42 (fifteen years ago) link
The titles alone are better than most bands careers.
― sleeve, Monday, 18 August 2008 17:29 (fifteen years ago) link
Hey, thank ya sir! :-) It's interesting, I've received a lot of compliments along that line -- I really did want it to be an overview for everyone since I think so many people (understandably) know or focus on only one era or another. There are a couple of glitches that could be corrected, as well as some last minute errors that crept in which I missed, but hey, perfection can't always be had.
Just wanted to chime in on this. I enjoyed reading the guide, but had Arthur done or requested more editing, I think this would have been REALLY enjoyable. I admit I got lost reading the first few entries because they were each kinda long. Great if you're already a Sparks fan, of course, but I think many many folks would have made this a definitive shopping list and framed this had the blurbs been edited tightly, without resorting to Uncut/Mojo style hyper-hype-blurbs. I stress, I blame the editors here.
― Mackro Mackro, Monday, 18 August 2008 18:56 (fifteen years ago) link
Here's where I'm going to scare you -- the piece was actually heavily *cut down* for publication. (I put the uncut version on my blog in a series of posts.)
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 18 August 2008 19:12 (fifteen years ago) link
"Slowboat" is such a jam. One of those songs that I can't keep from singing when it's in my head.
― when I wake up I see my self bearfooted (clotpoll), Tuesday, 9 December 2008 22:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Nice. "Beaver O' Lindy" and "Moon Over Kentucky" tend to come to mind a lot from the early days.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 9 December 2008 22:10 (fifteen years ago) link
i just CANNOT get into this band AT ALL save for the moroder LPs
― amateurist, Sunday, 24 May 2009 12:55 (fourteen years ago) link
http://maelbox.net/home.html
― J4mi3 H4rl3y (Snowballing), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 14:43 (fourteen years ago) link
Seems about right.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 14:48 (fourteen years ago) link
Cuter than cats that look like Adolf Hitler.
― J4mi3 H4rl3y (Snowballing), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 14:49 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sGgDNfnfaQ
― Michael B, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 14:49 (fourteen years ago) link
I love Sparks, and not just because I'm a Moroder obsessive. The moment when they clicked for me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OegzI5lweOo
― sciolism, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 17:41 (fourteen years ago) link
And this post will fade out, yes this post will fade out, and this post will fade out....
I PREDICT!
No it won't. Revive! Sparks thoughts here! Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman, anyone? I hadn't even heard of it until today.
― Hodge Podge Bodge, Peo-PLE! (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 10 March 2011 21:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Still haven't heard that one! How is it?
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 10 March 2011 21:34 (thirteen years ago) link
I thought you of all people would know! The snippets I've heard are very intriguing.
One of the problems with Big Beat is that it followed such an incredible run of albums. It's very forgettable and probably my least favourite after Pulling Rabbits, Terminal Jive and maybe Whomp That Sucker.
― Kitchen Person, Thursday, March 10, 2011 9:13 PM (19 minutes ago)
Yeah, I think I was predisposed to give Big Beat more credit than it deserves, because I loved Indiscreet SO MUCH I really wanted to love the next one equally. I also thought the stripped-down sound was in keeping with what was happening in music at the time with Ramones, Talking Heads et al. I played it to death at the time, but now very rarely.
― Hodge Podge Bodge, Peo-PLE! (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 10 March 2011 21:39 (thirteen years ago) link
I actually think Big Beat is better than Indiscreet, mostly because it was more solid track-by-track and had a real agreeable and punchy style of songwriting
― frogbs, Thursday, 10 March 2011 21:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Indiscreet is a desert island disc of mine, a completely one-of-a-kind, over-the-top treasure trove, so preferring Big Beat is pretty interesting, but hey, that's what discussion boards are for! I still like it better than most of their 80s records.
― Hodge Podge Bodge, Peo-PLE! (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 10 March 2011 21:58 (thirteen years ago) link
well I'll have to give it another listen, but if I remember only four songs really stuck with me - "Hospitality on Parade", "In the Future", "Get in the Swing", and "Happy Hunting Ground"
― frogbs, Thursday, 10 March 2011 22:05 (thirteen years ago) link
i thought this was a sparks song for the longest time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh_PXrN1hNk
― scott seward, Wednesday, 6 April 2011 15:03 (thirteen years ago) link
you know, way back when. dug out the espionage lp from a box this morning and i gotta keep it for that song. always loved it.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 6 April 2011 15:04 (thirteen years ago) link
I thought this was, at first, back in the day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uia4dek9gfk
― Mark G, Wednesday, 6 April 2011 15:05 (thirteen years ago) link
^^^ love this song SO much, and yeah Sparks definitely had to be an influence. I've had this LP for so long, and I can't remember how or why I acquired it.
― Hardcore Bangage (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 April 2011 15:23 (thirteen years ago) link
DigalongaMacs?
(correct title, "Macs By Graves", but they bottled out of it)
I was recording it onto my laptop for playing later, but the turntable died, never to go again, during the track above.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 6 April 2011 15:54 (thirteen years ago) link
The "mind/Body" single got a lot of play on Radio Luxembourg back in the day, presumably was a bit too "explicit" for Radio1
― Mark G, Wednesday, 6 April 2011 15:56 (thirteen years ago) link
I think I read about "Digalongamacs" in the old Jem Records import catalog, and then bought it in a sale bin w/o ever having heard it.
― Hardcore Bangage (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 April 2011 16:24 (thirteen years ago) link
Could be fun!
--
Sparks to perform at the Los Angeles Film FestivalPosted On: May 3rd 2011
We are delighted to announce that Sparks will be performing The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
The performance will take place on June 25th at the Ford Amphitheatre.
Originally commissioned by Swedish National Radio in 2009, this groundbreaking musical will be presented for the first time in a live setting in what might best be described as a "film-to-be" form. Acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin, who will direct the final feature film, will be onstage giving stage and cinematic directions throughout the performance, as the cast — including famed Finnish actor Peter Franzen as Ingmar Bergman, Ann Magnuson as Greta Garbo, and of course Russell and Ron Mael — performs the musical in its entirety. Projections have been created by production designer Galen Johnson to foreshadow the mood and atmosphere of the final film.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 3 May 2011 20:09 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A2Q_1oWWPc
― more horses after the main event (Eazy), Wednesday, 4 May 2011 05:27 (twelve years ago) link
Also: saw this on PBS in high school in the eighties, my introduction to Sparks, other than seeing their goofy album covers in record stores.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfwnl58sL-E
― more horses after the main event (Eazy), Wednesday, 4 May 2011 05:30 (twelve years ago) link
Bump, for the goofiest video on earth.
― more horses after the main event (Eazy), Wednesday, 4 May 2011 14:12 (twelve years ago) link
Always a winner.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 4 May 2011 14:16 (twelve years ago) link
i am a total fool. how had i not heard the entirety of no. 1 song in heaven until yesterday? i picked up a nice copy for $5, and although i was familiar with the title track and "beat the clock", it's the song sandwiched between the two on the second side - "my other voice" - that's flooring me. it emerges as a cross-fade with the ending of "beat the clock", gets into la dusseldorf territory of blissful strange celestial cloudwalking in giant baggy white trousers. in comes a chorus that is poppy as hell, but not earth pop. it fades out with moroder's processed backward cymbals and hi-hat stomps, before appropriately leading into the no. 1 song in heaven. i really, really have to check out terminal jive.
― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Monday, 22 April 2013 13:49 (eleven years ago) link
Don't get your hopes up re: Terminal Jive, is all I'm sayin'.
― New Authentic Everybootsy Collins (Dan Peterson), Monday, 22 April 2013 13:55 (eleven years ago) link
Honestly TJ is a comparative fall from the heights but very glad you got No. 1 in full -- the whole album is indeed that spectacular.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 April 2013 13:55 (eleven years ago) link
Anyway by all accounts Portland was a blast while tonight Seattle might well explode, given the huge concentration of fans there waiting for four decades...
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 April 2013 13:56 (eleven years ago) link
I think Tryouts For The Human Race was the first single I ever bought.
As for Terminal Jive, When I'm With You is wonderful: "it's that break in the song when I should say something special/But the pressure is on and I can't make up nothing special/Not when I'm with you"
― Daniel Giraffe, Monday, 22 April 2013 14:01 (eleven years ago) link
enjoying ned's post about no. 1 here: http://nedraggett.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/sparks-and-the-number-one-album-in-heaven/
i basically don't know any of their post 70s stuff at all! (except for lil' beethoven, which, i suspect unusually, was my intro to sparks. it came in as a cd promo when i was working in a store for a few years) it seems like kimono and no. 1 in heaven are the consensus faves for people getting into sparks, and often the listening journey ends there.
― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Monday, 22 April 2013 14:05 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, I've learned to love "When I'm With You" on it's own terms; it's a great Sparks single.
― New Authentic Everybootsy Collins (Dan Peterson), Monday, 22 April 2013 14:16 (eleven years ago) link
It is, no question. I love that it was a huge hit in France.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 April 2013 14:25 (eleven years ago) link
Terminal Jive is underrated!
― PaulTMA, Monday, 22 April 2013 14:26 (eleven years ago) link
I gotta stand by this take
http://nedraggett.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/getting-terminal-with-sparks/
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 April 2013 14:31 (eleven years ago) link
(xpost) I'd be interested in hearing why you think TJ is underrated. Compared to other albums by my longtime heroes that came out in 1980 (Bowie's Scary Monsters and Roxy Music's Flesh and Blood, for two, it just seems so flat and lifeless to me, songwriting, performance and production alike. And because I didn't buy it until several years after its release, so much great new synth-based music had come out of new wave in the meantime that it just felt turgid. The guitar in particular has a certain bad, processed early 80s rock sound to it that really grates on me. (xpost)
― New Authentic Everybootsy Collins (Dan Peterson), Monday, 22 April 2013 17:02 (eleven years ago) link
When I'm With You is a great single but I really do not like much else on there.
― frogbs, Monday, 22 April 2013 17:04 (eleven years ago) link
Meantime
http://t.co/rFT4B3ShaQ
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 April 2013 20:25 (eleven years ago) link
prior to this thread I had no idea Terminal Jive was considered some kind of failure. I don't like it as much as No. 1 Song in Heaven but its a perfectly acceptable sequel to my ears. they def head weaker albums still to come.
― four Marxes plus four Obamas plus four Bin Ladens (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 22 April 2013 20:32 (eleven years ago) link
It just sounds unfinished; the ideas seem incomplete. Rock 'n' Roll People in a Disco World is a favourite of mine though.
― archibald brandysnap, Tuesday, 23 April 2013 06:42 (eleven years ago) link
i am a total fool. how had i not heard the entirety of no. 1 song in heaven until yesterday? i picked up a nice copy for $5, and although i was familiar with the title track and "beat the clock", it's the song sandwiched between the two on the second side - "my other voice" - that's flooring me. it emerges as a cross-fade with the ending of "beat the clock", gets into la dusseldorf territory of blissful strange celestial cloudwalking in giant baggy white trousers. in comes a chorus that is poppy as hell, but not earth pop. it fades out with moroder's processed backward cymbals and hi-hat stomps, before appropriately leading into the no. 1 song in heaven. i really, really have to check out terminal jive.― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Monday, 22 April 2013 13:49 (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Monday, 22 April 2013 13:49 (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
This post goes for me too! Almost in its entirety!
What I did was to take my cheaply bought LP and the two 12" singles for "Tryouts" and "beat the clock" for the extra tracks (in short, two Peter Cook ads and a long remix of "Beat the clock") and make a mini-cd with sleeve..
Yeah, "My Other Voice", was playing in my brane for the past week! Also, something was bugging me for a while: "What does it remind me of?" .. At first the Super Furry Animals' "Juxtaposed" because of the Vocoder, but no its "Dazzle Ships" OMD, innit?
― Mark G, Wednesday, 24 April 2013 09:14 (eleven years ago) link
"Terminal Jive" was where Giorgio palmed them off to his assistant, Harold Faltermeyer, wasn't it?
― Mark G, Wednesday, 24 April 2013 09:16 (eleven years ago) link
I've been relistening to No. 1 a lot this year and I think it may be a top 3 album for them, next to Kimono and Hello Young Lovers. So much unbridled joy in these songs and doggdamn do I love that little descending bass synth part in the chorus of "La Dolce Vita"
― frogbs, Thursday, 25 April 2013 15:33 (eleven years ago) link
Anyway, me on the band from last week in the Quietus
http://thequietus.com/articles/12088-sparks-masonic-hall-hollywood-forever-cemetery
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 25 April 2013 15:59 (eleven years ago) link
At long last!
http://store.universal-music.co.uk/restofworld/exclusives/sparks-new-music-for-amnesiacs-the-ultimate-collection-box-set/invt/5037300783451
Disc 101. Wonder Girl02. Roger03. High C04. Girl From Germany05. Batteries Not Included06. Whippings and Apologies07. This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us08. Amateur Hour09. Equator10. Talent Is An Asset11. Barbecutie12. Propaganda13. At Home At Work At Play14. Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth15. Something For The Girl With Everything16. Alabamy Right17. Hospitality On Parade18. Happy Hunting Ground19. Looks, Looks, Looks20. Get In The Swing21. Miss the Start, Miss the End22. Big Boy23. Nothing To Do24. Looks Aren't Everything25. Tearing The Place ApartDisc 201. Goofing Off02. Over The Summer03. The Number One Song In Heaven04. Beat The Clock04. Tryouts For The Human Race (Unreleased Version)05. When I'm With You (LP Single Version)06. Young Girls (LP Single Version)07. Tips For Teens08. Funny Face09. I Married A Martian10. Angst In My Pants11. I Predict12. Mickey Mouse13. Eaten By The Monster Of Love14. Cool Places15. Popularity16. I Wish I Looked A Little Better17. Pretending to Be Drunk18. A Song That Sings ItselfDisc 301. Music That You Can Dance To02. Change03. Let's Get Funky04. Singing in The Shower (with Les Rita Mitsouko)05. So Important06. A Walk Down Memory Lane07. Madonna08. National Crime Awareness Week (Psycho Cut)09. Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins10. When Do I Get To Sing "My Way"11. (When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing (Radio Edit)12. Tsui Hark (Feat. Tsui Hark & Bill Kong)13. Let's Go Surfing14. Propaganda15. Pulling Rabbits Out of A Hat16. This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both Of Us (with Faith No More)17. Bullet Train18. It's A Knockoff19. Calm Before The StormDisc 401. Concerto In Koch Minor (Wunderbar)02. The Rhythm Thief03. How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?04. My Baby's Taking Me Home05. Suburban Homeboy06. I Married Myself07. Dick Around08. Perfume09. The Very Next Fight10. Metaphor11. As I Sit Down To Play The Organ At The Notre Dame Cathedral12. Good Morning13. Lighten Up, Morrissey14. Strange Animal15. Photoshop16. I've Never Been High17. I Am A BookwormBonus CD:Islington N1Two Hands One Mouth
01. Wonder Girl02. Roger03. High C04. Girl From Germany05. Batteries Not Included06. Whippings and Apologies07. This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us08. Amateur Hour09. Equator10. Talent Is An Asset11. Barbecutie12. Propaganda13. At Home At Work At Play14. Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth15. Something For The Girl With Everything16. Alabamy Right17. Hospitality On Parade18. Happy Hunting Ground19. Looks, Looks, Looks20. Get In The Swing21. Miss the Start, Miss the End22. Big Boy23. Nothing To Do24. Looks Aren't Everything25. Tearing The Place Apart
Disc 2
01. Goofing Off02. Over The Summer03. The Number One Song In Heaven04. Beat The Clock04. Tryouts For The Human Race (Unreleased Version)05. When I'm With You (LP Single Version)06. Young Girls (LP Single Version)07. Tips For Teens08. Funny Face09. I Married A Martian10. Angst In My Pants11. I Predict12. Mickey Mouse13. Eaten By The Monster Of Love14. Cool Places15. Popularity16. I Wish I Looked A Little Better17. Pretending to Be Drunk18. A Song That Sings Itself
Disc 3
01. Music That You Can Dance To02. Change03. Let's Get Funky04. Singing in The Shower (with Les Rita Mitsouko)05. So Important06. A Walk Down Memory Lane07. Madonna08. National Crime Awareness Week (Psycho Cut)09. Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins10. When Do I Get To Sing "My Way"11. (When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing (Radio Edit)12. Tsui Hark (Feat. Tsui Hark & Bill Kong)13. Let's Go Surfing14. Propaganda15. Pulling Rabbits Out of A Hat16. This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both Of Us (with Faith No More)17. Bullet Train18. It's A Knockoff19. Calm Before The Storm
Disc 4
01. Concerto In Koch Minor (Wunderbar)02. The Rhythm Thief03. How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?04. My Baby's Taking Me Home05. Suburban Homeboy06. I Married Myself07. Dick Around08. Perfume09. The Very Next Fight10. Metaphor11. As I Sit Down To Play The Organ At The Notre Dame Cathedral12. Good Morning13. Lighten Up, Morrissey14. Strange Animal15. Photoshop16. I've Never Been High17. I Am A Bookworm
Bonus CD:
Islington N1Two Hands One Mouth
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 14 August 2013 12:05 (ten years ago) link