Sparks

[Kretz]

I'm just now discovering Sparks on Spotify and I especially like"kimono My House." Any fans here and is their catalogue of releases worth going through?

[Superfly]

OMG! I love Sparks. Definitely worth investigating further. My favorite is Indiscreet. As with a lot of bands, you may want to skip their 1980's output, but their last few albums from the 2000's are quite excellent, as is most of their 1970's stuff.

[rcarlberg]

For me Sparks is best sipped in small doses. Too much too quickly puts me in diabetic shock.

Fav tracks:
*This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
*White Women
*(No More) Mister Nice Guys
*The No.1 Song in Heaven
*Nothing Is Sacred

[Mister Triscuits]

The Island trilogy of Kimono My House, Propaganda, and Indiscreet is unbeatable. Indiscreet is notable for its extravagant production and crazy, eclectic arrangements, from snooty string quartet to '40s big band to hoedown fiddle, and is probably the most fun Sparks album of all. The first two albums (including the one originally released as Halfnelson) are also excellent, but darker in feel, and Russell's voice is less ebullient. The later '70s period is uneven, but there's still plenty worth hearing. They made a bit of a comeback in the early '80s (Whomp That Sucker, Angst in My Pants, Sparks In Outer Space), but I mostly lost track of them after that.

[adap2it]

Agree about the triligy, however, you just have to see SPARKS live!

A Woofer in Tweeters Clothing is good too, not quite SPARKS that we love, but still worth having.

[Progbear]

I'm just now discovering Sparks on Spotify and I especially like"kimono My House." Any fans here and is their catalogue of releases worth going through?

There never has been, and never will be, another band like Sparks. I think the only one that even came close was Gleaming Spires, and they were protegés.

Up through Indiscreet they’re golden. That first album (a.k.a. Halfnelson) is a mindblower; nobody was making music like that in 1971! I thought Big Beat and Introducing Sparks were come-downs, quality-wise, and I didn’t care for their collaborations with Giorgio Moroder (yes, pioneering I suppose, but EDM is one of my least-favorite music genres).

OMG! I love Sparks. Definitely worth investigating further. My favorite is Indiscreet. As with a lot of bands, you may want to skip their 1980's output, but their last few albums from the 2000's are quite excellent, as is most of their 1970's stuff.

I’d say that Angst in My Pants and Sparks in Outer Space are worthwhile albums; their return to rock after serving their time in disco purgatory. Their 1984-1997 output can definitely be safely skipped. Balls and Lil’ Beethoven are for sure returns to form, though. I have heard nice things about subsequent albums and definitely need to hear The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman (at least) at some point.

[GuitarGeek]

The first Sparks song I remember hearing was Cool Places, the track they recorded with Jane Weidlin of The Go-Go's. It's very much a synth pop track, it was only later that I found out that had this long career stretching back a decade. But the funny thing is...

When I was a little kid, I narrowly missed being able to see a movie called Roller Coaster at the drive-in. It was the second half of a double bill, with Star Wars, which is what we were there to see. Most likely, I'd have probably fallen asleep during Roller Coaster, anyway.

So like a decade later, I get to see Roller Coaster on cable TV. Not a bad movie, it's about a police detective trying to track a lunatic who travels the country, blowing up roller coasters. Besides being a good movie, with a good cast (including, I believe, Steve Guttenberg's big screen debut), you know who else is in it? Sparks! They're the band entertaining at the opening of a new coaster at Magic Mountain, which the antagonist plans to blow up on it's maiden run. They're shown on camera miming two songs, Fill 'Er Up and Big Boy (the latter including Ron's pretend onstage hissy fit, where he smashes a piano bench). Reputedly, Russell later said it was the worst mistake of their entire careers, but I don't see why. It's a decent movie, and it did get me to buy (eventually) Big Beat, though I get the impression a lot of fans don't like that one.

[JKL2000]

Huh, I've seen Rollercoaster a few times but don't remember Sparks in it! Love the song "Pineapple," that's the only one can remember but I know whichever album that's from.

[GuitarGeek]

Huh, I've seen Rollercoaster a few times but don't remember Sparks in it!

They play near the end of the movie, when the police are searching for the bomb on the Magic Mountain coaster.

[spacefreak]

Hippopotamus was on my top 5 list of 2017 albums.

[JJ88]

It was with 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us' that they made a big splash in the UK. It seems to have been the striking Top Of The Pops performance which did it. They had a run of hit singles/albums for a few years then.

[jlneudorf]

Acquired the new one recently. First time hearing them. Dig it alot.

[Mister Triscuits]

you just have to see SPARKS live!

Saw them around the time of Angst in My Pants, with Gleaming Spires supporting. I remember getting a laugh from the altered logo on Ron Mael's keyboard.

[adap2it]

Lot's oat and aboats...

[Rarebird]

I always loved This town ain't big enough for both of us.
Have a DVD, with the 5 man line-up of those old albums on the cover but it's just the Mael brothers and a female drummer playing the concert.

[Superfly]

This one is from the Hello Young Lovers album...proof that the old boys still have a knack for humor that rocks.

[Kretz]

I laughed out loud listening to "here comes bob", and"tits." Great band!

[Duncan Glenday]

We discussed them a while ago. See here, for several comments:
http://www.progressiveears.org/forum...imono-My-House

[FrippWire]

The aforementioned recommendations are accurate. I'm a big fan of #1 Song In Heaven which is Sparks produced by Georgio Moroder. It's full of glorious disco/dance sequenced keyboards.

[Crawford Glissadevil]

Sparks 2017 album Hippopotamus is my favorite Sparks album. If you like Sparks, you've got to give Hippopotamus a spin.

[miamiscot]

Excellent band. Kimono is 10/10 but the Propaganda and Indiscreet are almost as good. And the new one, Hippopotamus, is excellent too.

But stay clear of the collaboration LP they did with Franz Ferdinand, FFS.

[Superfly]

Excellent band. Kimono is 10/10 but the Propaganda and Indiscreet are almost as good. And the new one, Hippopotamus, is excellent too.

But stay clear of the collaboration LP they did with Franz Ferdinand, FFS.

Unless you like Franz Ferdinand, which I do, that FFS album has some excellent stuff on it as well.

[viukkis]

There are male vocalists who sound like women, and there are female vocalists who sound like men, but Russell Mael is the only man I know who sounds like a woman who sounds like a man. A great band.

[iguana]

This one is from the Hello Young Lovers album...proof that the old boys still have a knack for humor that rocks.

i saw them on the tour for that album. set 1: “hello young lovers” in its entirety with the band (featuring dean menta of FNM and josh klinghoffer of RHCP – then pj harvey on guitars and tammi glover on drums) behind a screen for projections. set: at least one song from each and every SPARKS album ever recorded – of which there are many – and the full band revealed and rocking. to the max.

hands down, one of the best gigs that i had ever had the pleasure to witness. clever boys.

[everyday]

It's a decent movie, and it did get me to buy (eventually) Big Beat, though I get the impression a lot of fans don't like that one.

I love that album!