Sparks
 

SPARKS

A group featuring the Mael brothers: Ron Mael and Russell Mael

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Legitimately surprised to not see a thread about these guys. One of the finest examples of pop rock I've heard in a long while. Or synth pop. Or Rock. I guess it just depends on the album you're listening to. Anyway, I would consider this to be an acquired taste. Though, it didn't take me long to enjoy them.

As far as albums go, they've released 22 studio albums from 1971 to 2009. If you're just looking for an album to start with, my recommendation would be No. 1 In Heaven. Out of most of their albums, it's one of the easier albums to stomach. Once you've got a feel for it though, all their albums will flow very easily. They've hilarious, they're witty, and they're full of talent.

No. 1 In Heaven

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The album has 6 tracks. Out of all 6, I would say these 2 are the best.

Great thread and a band worthy of their own thread. No.1 in Heaven was Sparks reborn in 1979 after having gone stale on their previous two albums. They brought in Giorgio Moroder and made one of the best and most influential snyth-pop albums ever made. The Sparks legend really begins though in 1974 on their third album Kimono My House and continues on Propaganda and Indiscreet three great albums, which display the early Sparks sound which was a quirky pop rock sound. Their first couple of albums were interesting, but are only really for Sparks fans.

there used to be a member on here who was a really big Sparks fan, forget his name but chatted to him a couple of times about this unique band.

I think Kimono My House is next in line with my favorite albums by them. Though I agree with Propaganda and Indiscreet. Both incredible albums.

I'm listening to a A Woofer in Tweeters Clothing haven't heard it in years.

That one is pretty damn good as well.

i only have Kimono, No. 1, Li'l Beethoven and Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins (which is a little below par)

am probably gonna check out Propaganda next

my fave is Kimono

Propaganda is basically the same as Kimono.

I have to agree.

Though duce/Howard is probably like me where even if the albums are somewhat the same, a full collection is the goal with artists. That's how I am anyway. I try to get full discographies of bands that I love.

I hope you don't like the Grateful Dead then!

Yeah. I never cared for them too much.

yup, even the "bad" albums

only like them when they were a country-rock band - the jammy stuff bores me to tears

also got Propaganda and Indiscreet based on both of youse's recs

With Kimono they form a trilogy, but Indiscreet is the harder listening album and the most quirky, I disliked it when I first ever heard it but now think its a great album. All three albums were released in just a 2 year period.

I realized I haven't mentioned Terminal Jive too much. It's a pretty fantastic album. The first song kicks the album off pretty damn well.

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Terminal Jive is very much a conundrum with me. It has a great name, great album pics and some really good songs "Rock n Roll People in a Disco World" "Stereo" and "the Greatest Show on Earth" But on the other hand, the songs sound flat and repititious PIL style (that works with PIL but not so much with Sparks) There is also a disco/new wave feel to the album which feels odd at times.

I can definitely understand that. Personally, I find it to be one of the easiest albums to stomach with Sparks even if the Sparks brothers weren't happy with the album. Something to do with how pissed off they got with the manager or whoever was in charge of putting the album together.

Still, it makes a pretty good listen.

I love the trio of albums that followed it Whomp That Sucker, Angst in My Pants and In Outer Space. The first two, what great names.

No matter what, Sparks have always had a good way to entertain and bring a smile to people's faces.

I love this:

this is a group I could discuss until I'm foaming at the mouth.

My first Sparks LP was Angst in My Pants (I bought it in a lot with Whomp That Sucker) but my first time hearing them was from their 2008 album Exotic Creatures of the Deep.

Most of my vinyl collection is Sparks. Probably a couple grand worth of just their music.

Somebody in this thread has the extreme privilege of flipping through my record collection at their discretion. ;D

Wow Sparks fans seem to be dropping out of the woodwork, which is no surprise considering their unique quirky style of pop combined with their witty lyrics. The band have been doing it for around 40 years now.

Bet not many people know this, Sparks appeared on the 1977 film Rollercoaster, its largely a background performance but IT IS MANIC. They performed two songs off the Big Beat album.


SPARKS ON A ROLLERCOASTER PT 1 - YouTube


SPARKS ON A ROLLERCOASTER PT 2 - YouTube

I love when people actually know who they are. It's weird and oddly heartwarming in a way (Sparks fans are usually interesting and kind people). To say I love Sparks is an understatement, as my bedroom in my youth was literally covered wall-to-wall in posters and magazine clips. My only regret is that I wasn't young enough at some point to collect what was released on vinyl when it was released (all of my records are resale) so that my purchase would have impacted the bros' personal economy in some way.

When I was first getting into Sparks I was delighted to learn that I share the same birthday as Ron Mael. This year I plan on sending him a postcard. I'm also thinking up a tattoo, very soon, to immortalize my borderline-creepy fangirling.

A couple albums I feel have been ignored by a lot of Sparks fans: Pulling Rabbits out of a Hat (1984) and Interior Design (1989). On that note I'll admit that I have both of those albums on vinyl but neither of them have been played more than a couple times through the past several years. I also haven't given many listens to their newest, The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman (2010) and around the time they released it as a double-album drama, I was totally broke (and continue to be).

Ron and Russell are on tour again, I hear.

Too bad, they're in Los Angeles and I'm in the SF Bay area... finally in the same state as my idols and they only pay attention to Europe!!

Also a note on Rollercoaster:

I love how Ron and Russell are the only ones who want to forget about it.

Nice stories there. Well I was a kid when I first heard Sparks and that was around 1979 when most of the singles off the No.1 in Heaven album were in the charts and on tv here and fell in love with them around this period and over the following years gradually purchased the back and future albums of theirs. Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat always had a sour story with me. I actually bought it on vinyl when it came out and the record actually had a slab of plastic melded onto the vinyl meaning I couldn't play the last couple of songs and the shop was too far away for me to exchange it. I actually think Interior Design to be one of the weakest albums;)

The Sparks were always much bigger in europe especially in France and Germany. They were only really popular in the UK in 1974/1975 and 1979 periods. Despite that though, they do have a big loyal fanbase here.

I wish I could have experienced that. All I have to make up for a past life I missed out on are a few picture discs/records (Beat the Clock/long version yellow 12"'; Tryouts for the Human Race/long version orange 12"; 2 copies of No. 1 in Heaven (somehow)). The worst thing about collecting Sparks' records is that a bunch of them from the later portion of the 70s were released (even 7" singles) on coloured vinyl.

I actually have two copies of "Introducing Sparks" because one is red, but I know that the singles from No. 1 in Heaven were released on a plethora of lovely colours (red, orange, yellow, blue, pink, transparent/white(?)). Later on there was the vinyl release of Hello Young Lovers (2006) and I managed to grab one in pink.

Still wishing there would have been a vinyl release of Exotic Creatures of the Deep. Still looking for a vinyl copy of Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins. I know it exists. I could just never justify spending more than $40 for it.

Sorry to hear about what happened to your record. That must have been terrible, especially considering that the price of a record was a killer on the young wallet. I have a few records in my collection that have somehow grown concave, so my needle sails over them and it plays in a grotesque warped fashion. Really upsetting.

I have always wondered how it is that Sparks have such a huge fanbase over there, but they're essentially ignored over here. I used to have some vintage pinback badges (c.1974-76 - auctioned off last year) that I'd wear every so often a few years ago and had a few customers on the job that discussed Sparks with me (a very cool happening when you live in the midwest, where everyone is eerily normal) but there's no denying that Europe loves Sparks more than America.

I've still got quite of bit of vinyl from 1970s and 1980s bands, the only band that I've got that consistently went in for coloured vinyl are Devo, I've got a number of coloured Devo vinyl records.

Sparks have always been known here, in 1974 and 1975 they were a big act in the UK with Kimono, Propaganda and Indiscreet all top 40 charting along with a string of hit singles. They then decided to concentrate on the US market with the less than successful Big Beat and Introducing Sparks, the former was more like a rock album and their popularity faded. It was thanks to their collaboration with Moroder that they made a big return to the UK in 1979 and their change of sound helped to usher in a whole wave of synth pop bands. When I was at school, nearly everybody knew who Sparks were, they were basically the curly haired guy that lept around and the other one that looked like Charlie Chaplin or Hitler who would shift his eyes now and again:laughing: I imagine thats how your average music listener would view them here today in the UK.

I bought that Sparks album (Rabbits) the same day I bought the Doors Greatest Hits (that was the first time I bought a Doors album) so I remember that day quite well.

just got Whomp That Sucker, Angst in my Pants, In Outer Space and Exotic Creatures from the Deep

will letcha all know what I think of them

for the record, to me, Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins is like a 2nd rate Pet Shop Boys, with the only stand out track being I am Tsui Hark

That's a tricky place to start. Those first three albums aren't the best in production quality; the lyrics from many of the songs are hilarious and during that time the bros were getting noticed a little more in America (and you'll hear Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's on a couple tracks on In Outer Space) but I suggest, if you don't find that sound to your taste, that you should perhaps go a little further back (as they have changed their sound many times).

Personally I have a major soft spot for Angst In My Pants because it was one of my first Sparks records, and because I'd heard it during a particularly difficult period of my life. There's no thought necessary and it's easy to just sit back and laugh at how silly the whole album is. It's a great cure for a bad day. I often tell people who are a little closer to me that, without getting really wordy, Sparks saved my life by reminding me that everything in life is hilarious.

Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins marked another point in Sparks history when they were noticed a little more in America (though they had a huge popularity gain in Germany for some reason).

I have a couple DEVO Lps with the original sleeves still intact - they've got a bunch of merchandise advertising inside. It's trippy to see old school prices on band merch. Weird band. If I'm not mistaken, David Kendrick (who played for Sparks for a short while in the early 80s) was part of DEVO for a short while. Sparks' backup band during that time went on to become Gleaming Spires.

Have you heard the "Live at the Bottom Line" (1976?) bootleg? It's basically a bunch of tracks from "Big Beat" and a few from prior albums. It's from a performance somewhere in New York; the bootleg album has been floating around for a while (on the topic of bootlegs, are you aware of or have you heard the 'Arista' demos?) and there's a terrific live version of "Equator" that I think everyone should hear.

if you go back a few pages, i mentioned i already have a few of their "essentials" - Kimono My House, No. 1 in Heaven, Li'l Beethoven

then I got "Propaganda" and "Indiscreet"

this latest bunch is "secondary" listening, trust me

My apologies. I've been into and around so much that I forget things quickly these days. You're on the right track though. :D

Devo were wierd, but not as weird as they originally were, have you ever heard any of their really early demos? Brian Eno on their debut actually made them more accessible to the listening public. David Kendrick was in Devo in their later period (but they were really in decline at that time)

I've never heard of Live at the Bottom Line but found this page. SPARKS US Tour 1976 - Live at the Bottom Line, New York City
Equator has always been an amazing song, a song to blow and mess up your speakers especially when Russell goes really high pitch.

If anyone wants to watch it here's Russell & Ron appearing on Nevermind The Buzzcocks a few years ago....

Yes. I think I like their early sound better than their later/popular sound. I never knew Brian Eno contributed to their debut, but somehow that doesn't surprise me.

I actually uploaded the live version of "Equator" I'd mentioned on youtube, a long time ago.
Here's the link.

I love the poisoned roses bit. Too cute!

Brian Eno contributed to the Devo debut (producer) and not the Sparks one!

I gathered that. ;D

I find it interesting (not to get too off-topic here, but still) that Eno also teamed up with David Byrne of Talking Heads. I find it more interesting that today's youth (those that are just getting into the "weird" part of music history) don't really seem to know who Brian is, or why he's so important.

big fan of Eno here, but only his early glam-rock/quirky pop stuff, not the later ambient stuff

Likewise.

Whenever I hit up a record shop I always hope, in the back of my mind, that I'll find a copy of Here Come the Warm Jets.

is it so essential to have it on vinyl?

Nah, man. I just don't have anything to play a compact disc on.

(Seriously.)

Been listening to Propaganda again today after having not heard it in years, have to say its the Sparks at their finest and is every bit as good as Kimono also released the same year. Propaganda has to be one of their quirkiest and most imaginative albums, it also has some of their best ever lyrics. Also it always had a great album cover both back and front.

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We (Ladyislingering and myself) met the Mael bros.

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