smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Mike Bennett <mrhonorama@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | My Sparks list |
| Date | Sun, 8 Jun 2008 23:57:13 -0500 |
[Part 1 text/plain iso-8859-1 (4.0 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
Hey Rick --
My Internet handle comes from "Fletcher Honorama".
Here's my choronological take on Sparks' music:
Halfnelson/Sparks
(retitled when band changed name): Excellent debut -- mixing twee
psychedelic influences with other types of weirdness, the firm of Mael,
Mael, Mankey, Mankey and Feinstein is truly original.
A
Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing -- takes the oddness of the first album
and adds all sorts of dimensions, including the high drama that would
serve them well later. A classic.
Kimono My House -- Can be
compared to Eno-era Roxy Music, but the Maels clearly have their own
direction. Practically sounds like a greatest hits album.
Propaganda
-- The most rocking Sparks album, Ron Mael ups the complexity ante,
leading to two minutes songs with enough words for five minutes, with
Russell Mael singing to the stratosphere. Brilliant.
Indiscreet -- Tony Visconti joins the party, strings and horns and all sorts of wackiness ensues. Another winner.
Big
Beat -- The attempt to go hard rock is stymied a bit by the least rock
producer around -- Rupert Holmes?!? A live recording of this era shows
the material in a better light.
Introducing Sparks -- This time,
session musicians come into play. A good batch of songs, but the album
doesn't fully have the Sparks character.
Number One In Heaven --
Groundbreaking collaboration with Giorgio Moroder sets standard for
synth duos and hi-energy dance music. Great album.
Terminal
Jive -- Moroder turns over production reins to Harold Faltermeyer.
Blandness ensues. At least "When I'm With You" is great.
Whomp
That Sucker -- Moroder turns over production reins to Mack. Maels get
L.A. backing band and play simpler new wave tunes. Sparks is
reinvigorated. Very good stuff.
Angst In My Pants -- Part two of Sparks and Mack. This is giddy pop, silly beyond belief. A truly great album.
Sparks
In Outer Space -- The Maels run the show, go to more of a synth pop
sound, searching for a hit. They almost get one with Jane Wiedlin
("Cool Places"). A few songs are kinda obvious.
Pulling Rabbits
Out Of A Hat -- Some good songs, but the Maels lose their sense of
direction. The new wave was dying out, this was sort of dancey, and it
failed to follow on the last album's success.
Music That You Can
Dance To -- An ambitious failure. Three good songs and one great one,
"Change", which foreshadowed the baroque turn they'd in the next
century. Cover of Steve Wonder's "Fingertips, Pt. 2" held in contempt
of court.
Interior Design -- Russell built a studio in his own home. The effort expended leads to an album with very little character.
Gratuitious
Sax And Violins -- A return to dance music finds the batteries
recharged. Mixing experimental tracks with some darned good singles.
They get back on the UK and German charts.
Plagarism -- What
started as a tribute album is part-tribute, part retooling of old
material. Most of it works, especially the symphonic songs produced by
Tony Visconti.
Balls -- An attempt at a heavier synth-dance
sound that has aged better that I would have expected. The songwriting
is inconsistent.
Lil' Beethoven -- An audacious statement. The
classical themes, the massive choral vocals, the repetition and the
biting wit. One of their best.
Hello Young Lovers -- Taking
some of the ideas of the last album to logical extremes. Ron Mael also
shows that he can still right great pop tunes, whether contemporary
sounding ("Perfume") or reminiscent of Sparks' '70s heyday
("Waterproof").
Extreme Creatures Of The Deep -- As I wrote
yesterday, a similar approach to the last two albums, but the songs are
very direct and catchy. Makes their recent ideas more accessible, but
without devaluing them.
Mike Bennett
Blog: http://blog.myspace.com/mrhonorama
_________________________________________________________________
Enjoy 5 GB of free, password-protected online storage.
http://www.windowslive.com/skydrive/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Refresh_skydrive_062008
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.