This weekend's debut of Pause Rewind Replay has been really enjoyable. We must return to it again some time. The reaction has been amazing, but I Don't Hear A Single is about new albums and artists and its back to the day job tomorrow. Maybe on another Bank Holiday Weekend?
So to close, a return to my beloved Sparks, probably the band closest to my heart over the past five decades. From being 11 to now hitting 60, they have never let me down, well perhaps once with Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat.
This 2006 release was their 20th studio album and their best selling since the 70s. Amazing because Hello Young Lovers is nothing like a lot of their heyday material. Where as now, the Mael Brothers are much closer to those Island Years, here was the continuation of the direction heralded by Lil' Beethoven.
Symphonic at times, minimal at others, orchestral and based on the repetition of multi tracked vocals. Melodic, yet more hypnotic, there is one exception. That is the splendid Waterproof, a song that would sit happily on Indiscreet.
There were more drums and guitar utilised, but not too much. This was never more so on Dick Around which is a song that everyone who listens to gets hooked on. A song that gets mentioned by newcomers as much as This Town Ain't Big Enough. It is a revelation with its Heavy Metal Guitar breakout.
The fondness for Dick Around is probably helped by the fan base which more so than any act of a similar vintage has brought along not one younger generation, but two and the youngest look to the more recent stuff than those Island classics.
Perfume is a strum along that borders on Lounge, Rock Rock Rock is nothing like Rock, it is more classical in soundscape. There's No Such Thing As Aliens is like an expanded Victorian Parlour tune. The Very Next Fight has an overtone of impending doom, madness maybe.
Included as a Bonus Track is the cover of We Are The Clash. Originally on an Uncut Magazine Cover CD of Clash covers, it is absolutely inspired. You can tell what the song is, but it is totally Sparks, nothing like the original as I wish more covers were on the endless compilations.
Also included is a version of (Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country? with alternate lyrics. Hello Young Lovers proves that there is nothing wrong with repetition if it is relevant and you know what you are doing. Sparks have a new album out in May. You won't necessarily know the direction of travel, but you do know it will be wonderful.
So the end of 2022 is reached. Two Top 5s. I Don't Hear A Single doesn't cover many of both these categories, primarily because it is a place that is about the new. Phew! I'm glad this is done. It is a major piece of work, but is incredibly popular. Onwards into 2023.
Compilations
01 : We All Shine On : Celebrating The Music Of 1970 IDHAS Review
Time to return to Sparks and the 21st Century Collection Remasters as we reach the 20th Anniversary of Lil' Beethoven. My previous review of Balls didn't get as many adverse reactions as I expected. I think most fans know it is a clunker and the disappointing reaction led to a complete change of direction. The Mael Brothers felt that a change was needed and in the previous 30 years, they had never been afraid of that. In 2001, Sparks were approached to write a track for an album celebrating German Sports Broadcaster Gunther Koch. The resulting Wunderbar was Koch's ecstatic commentary phrases backed by a Sparks Orchestral arrangement.
Both the reaction and the process led the duo to follow that way and style of recording for their upcoming album having junked what was to be the follow up to Balls. I heard feedback in the lead up to the release and was a little concerned. This was to be an album of piano, synth orchestration and multi tracked vocals based on Repetition. I recalled a conversation with Mike Oldfield in which he declared that there was nothing wrong with repetition and as a Prog fan, I wasn't concerned about that.
What I was confused about was why one of the great lyricists of the past 30 years wasn't writing the wit laden songs that I was used to. But we'd been here before with the two Virgin albums and anything must be better than Balls. So I approached the album release with a little, but not overwhelming reticence. The first couple of listens had me gobsmacked. Repetition was definitely the key word. But it was hypnotic. The Rhythm Thief opened the album and the first spoken line was "I am the rhythm thief, say goodbye to the beat" although it became more au revoir in future years, there was definitely no Rhythm and no drums.
Instead, there was massive synth orchestrated songs that were more Classical in style and layer after layer after layer of vocals. No 1 In Heaven had been minimal, but that was driven by beat, here was something symphonic. Repeated listens revealed an absolute masterpiece. No one was doing something as elaborate and left field as this and calling it Pop. But it was Pop and those repeated lines across the majority of the songs became earworms. Not a chorus in sight.
The song titles revealed the usual humour. How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?, What Are All These Bands So Angry About, I Married Myself, Your Call's Very Important To Us and Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls et al. But lyrics were minimal, sometimes just one or two lines. The musical arrangements were fantastic and the vocal arrangements simply wonderful, but this was a very different Sparks and it was to be continued throughout the Noughties. They were to go full circle eventually with the FFS collaboration with Franz Ferdinand and then the two most recent albums which provided a lot of similarities to the Island Years.
The sheer impudence of Lil' Beethoven. Seven of the nine songs are stand alone orchestral masterpieces. The two exceptions being the wonderful Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls adds Guitar and Drums and is a crazy 7 minutes of controlled noise with a spoken Russell Mael Vocal, lots of words and a nod to Dick Around on the next album. The closer is more traditional Sparks, if there is ever such a thing. Suburban Homeboy is wit and wisdom and sounds like something from a Yankee Doodle Doo show. There are five bonus tracks including the aforementioned Wunderbar from 2001 that kicked off this splendid album.
One of the reasons that I avoid band forums is that fans don't see any darkness in a band's career. If you are objective, it is as though you have become blasphemous. I love Sparks, yet I fully understand why many do not get them, in the same way people don't fall for XTC. I'm also not one for going on about albums that I don't like, I'd rather talk about the great.
I have come to realise that Sparks have been a large part of my life. Propaganda was the first album that I bought under my own steam. One of the first live shows that I saw was Sparks at Liverpool Empire on that tour. I was in Paris when the Whomp That Sucker singles became so big. I was in tears when the Mael's returned to the live scene on the Gratuitous Sax Tour, I never thought I would see them live again.
I was in Koln often with work when Balls was released and they were becoming so big there, due to the dance mixes of singles. I'm also a fan of Sparks most when they get weird. Indiscreet, Angst In My Pants, Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins and virtually everything after this album. I don't see too many artists as lauded in their 70s, Ian Hunter being another example maybe.
But the duo have released some clunkers. Terminal Jive, Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat, Interior Design and Balls. It was as though Gratuitous Sax had never happened. As I said, I don't want to dwell on what I consider to be poor albums.
There are positives in that this album marks the reissue of most following this. These are much better listens, considerably better. The use of repetition, wit and almost symphonic projects mark them out as one of the most inventive bands around. Almost classical at times.
I do believe that if Balls hadn't been released you may not have got what followed when it became less about songs and more about soundscapes. If you want to hear Sparks do Europop. go listen to the superb Music That You Can Dance To. That album is outstanding in its inventiveness. On Balls, the songs have little hooks and all sound a bit twee. Even listening back to the album now, there is the sound of nothingness.
More Than A Sex Machine is the one great song here. It's Educational gives a glimpse of what was to come, but most of the rest on show here is mediocre fodder. There are eight bonus tracks added for the completist, none essential. I expect the mail bag to be full, but at least I'm an honest Sparks fan.
It's been difficult to get these choices down to 100. I'm also not a believer in saying one album is better than another. Most of the time you are comparing Apples To Oranges. I'm not a List person, I just think what's the point.
However, for the last few years I have compiled annual Best Of 's because these posts seem so popular and the aim of this Blog is to get exposure (and Sales) for the artists. There is no meaning or judgement on an album that is Number 1, Number 100 or not on the list. Anything that I review on here, mention on Social Media or play on the Radio Show is as highly recommended.
I would also add that the Top 100 includes albums available as Download Only. To suggest that they are anything less than equal to a Physical release is grossly unfair, even more so in 2020 with all that has happened during the year. To qualify, an album has to be available for sale in any format.
For each album, I've posted a song from it and a link to where you can find further details on how to listen or buy the album.
Normally when I review an album, I try to give readers some idea of what the album sounds like by comparing songs to other artists. You just can't do that with Sparks, you can only maybe compare new songs to their songs or albums that have gone before. The first ever album that I bought was Propaganda as an 11 year old and I was already too young to have known that there had been three albums before it.
24 albums on, I can think of no other artist who releases new albums that are as good, if not better, than their main hey day. 2017's Hippopotamus, the closest thing to Propaganda, hit the UK Top 10. Fans can't understand how the Mael's aren't more popular, I have no idea why. Try listening to their albums objectively and then ponder how easily it is to get into them. Those who know, know and there are many of us. The greatest compliment that you can give them is that they keep appealing to a new generation of new fans.
The nigh on 50 year recording career has been joyous and apart from a blip with In Outer Space and Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat, it has been a massively inventive ride. The last five years have been every bit as good as those first five albums, if very different. The lyrical genius of Ron Mael is as present as ever, but it is matched by the realisation that repetition is nothing to be afraid of. Much has always been said about the wit and outlandish direction of Ron's songwriting, but Russell has come much more to the fore.
The younger brother is forever the front man, the voice of Ron's thoughts, but he is involved in far more. His work on the studio process and the multi layered vocal techniques have made Sparks even more outstanding during the past two decades. I have taken my time getting round to reviewing this album, it was out in May, simply because I like to concentrate fully on a Sparks album. There have been too many distractions before now.
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is everything that you would want a Sparks album to be. The subject matter is as weird and wacky as you would want it to be. Songs about a man obsessed with his Lawnmower, Stravinsky toning down a song for a major hit and resenting it and the wonderful Iphone about people who are constantly on their smartphone give you some idea. There are songs that can easily be related to different Sparks periods without ever sounding anything less than original.
All That could be the closest that Sparks have got to writing a mainstream single, it's a real sing along poptastic affair. Onamato Pia, a song that would easily fit on Indiscreet, is simply wonderful. During other songs you think of Whomp That Sucker, Balls and Lil Beethoven, on others you just marvel at the variation on offer. The closer, Please Don't Fuck Up My World is a splendid save the planet anthem, yet compare that to I'm Toast with its twists and turns.
This may yet become known as Sparks' best album. There's so much variety that newbies might think it is a greatest hits. The wondrous lyrics are still everywhere, counterbalanced by vocal repetition and there is never enough credit given to how great their choruses are. If you are new to Sparks, don't buy a greatest hits as it will confuse you more. Listen to this and one of the early Island albums and see how long it is before you want everything. A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is simply exceptional, no one but Sparks could ever be Sparks.
The album is available to listen and buy everywhere.
I Don't Hear A Single almost exclusively deals with New Album Reviews. I do sneak the odd Re-Issue or Compilation in and I also review them away from IDHAS. Therefore not as much fuss is made here about them here, but people do like to see recommendations.
So here are my favourites from 2019. That is it for last year now. 2020 Begins here.
01Ex Norwegian - Something Unreal : The Best Of Ex Norwegian (2 CD)
The first three albums that I bought under my own steam, as an eleven year old with a Birthday EMI Record Token, included Sparks' Propaganda. I knew every single word of every single song, even though I didn't understand what many of those words meant. I thought those lyrics were great then, looking back, I think they are a masterclass now.
I've been a real fanboy since. However, I am a music fan not suited to Internet Fan Forums and I have the scars to show it. I may adore a band. I will buy every album out of loyalty. But, I won't say an album is great when it isn't and the lead up to this 1994 gem hadn't been that pleasant to these Sparks infested ears.
The 80's hadn't been that great for Sparks. It started with the boring Terminal Jive and after two terrific band albums, it seemed to go down hill. In Outer Space seemed to be phoned in, Pulling Rabbits Out Of A Hat is dreadful and Interior Design was mediocre, if you could find it to buy it. This was all partially saved by the magnificent Danceathon that is Music That You Can Dance To, but by 1989, it looked like Sparks had seen their better days.
How wrong I was! The four year supposed hiatus wasn't that. They had spent most of their time working on a soundtrack for a Manga Film, Mai The Psychic Girl. Successive Big Name Directors were involved, but for one reason or another, opportunity after opportunity fell through and the soundtrack remains unreleased. I had no idea why I was watching The Richard And Judy show in 1993, but imagine my surprise when the musical guest were Sparks doing National Crime Awareness Week. Those boys were back.
I used to say that Sparks were at their best when they were at their weirdest. They took chances that were mind blowing and Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins was the third such example for me, following on from Indiscreet and Angst In My Pants. You cannot say that now, because from 2002 onward, every Sparks album is wonderfully inventive. But it's hard to describe how great it was to hear this album from first listen on.
It was also a little out of kilter with the times. Of course you had the likes of The Prodigy and The Orb, but the Guitar was back with a vengeance and Brit Pop strutted around like it invented music, but a killer single was ready to take on all comers, backed by a video that is a wonderful black and white homage. The tale of sibling rivalry that is When Do I Get To Sing My Way is magnificent. Hooks aplenty, the lyrical genius of Ron Mael and you can dance to it. It remains a fan favourite and rightly so.
The whole album is incredibly inventive, full of wit, charm and regular surprises. Big Choruses, inventive techno hooks and oh those song words! The fast talking verses to the big chorus on (When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing. The whimsical Now That I Own The BBC. The splendid Frankly Scarlett I Don't Give A Damn which could easily fit on Angst In My Pants. The angry I Thought I Told You To Wait In The Car. Sparks remained as different as ever, yet still more than slightly Anglophile.
There is a nod to that unreleased soundtrack on Tsui Hark, as well as a mod to those 80's albums with Let's Go Surfing, yet the stand out here is Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil. It's a sprawling hypnotic joy of a song, certainly in my Top 10 Sparks Songs. Even better news was to come. After a celebratory lauded return to the live stage at London's Shepherds Bush Empire. The all round reaction to that led to a UK Tour in 1995.
I'd saw the band on the 1975 Indiscreet Tour when it was all screaming girls and a minor Beatlemania. 1995 was very different. Grown Adults were crying with the emotion of it all, even Ron was in tears at the reaction at the end of the Manchester gig. Sparks were definitely back and in 2019, they seem even more relevant and loved, still picking up a new breed of younger fans.
Their current album, Hippopotamus is a magnificent offering. Songs that are a development of the past 20 years, but also songs like Missionary Position that could easily fit on Kimono My House. I can't think of a band as groundbreaking and modern who have been releasing albums for approaching 50 years.
So what of the three discs here? The first is a top notch remaster of the original album. Disc 2 is largely B Sides from the original CD Singles. Ideal if you missed these first time round and including a BBC Session, things like She's An Anchorman and mixes from the National Crime Awareness EP. It is the third disc that will light up the eyes of the fan.
Disc 3 contains unreleased songs. 17 of them including the unreleased EP from Live Drummer, Christi Haydon. These demos are more than interesting and a collector's delight. There's even a version of Mid-Atlantic with Ron's demo vocal.
Sparks remain in a field of their own. No other band are like them. No other band offer such a career wide variety of music. No other band have such a wide range of fans of all ages. Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins wasn't just a return to what they do best, it remains one of the finest albums of the last 25 years. If you don't have it, remedy that now. If you do, marvel at the additions on this third disc.
You can pre-order the album here. It is released on Friday 15 November. Full track details can also be found via the same link. For those new to Sparks, you will also note today's release of Past Tense, a new career covering Best Of that is available in 2 and 3 disc versions. Details are again in the link.
Just over six months, I branched out into Radio. I'd always wanted to, but hated the sound of my own voice. I'd been asked in the past and refused, but KOR Radio convinced me to give it a go. I explained my doubts and these were catered for. I could do an hour long show that would be no talking apart from an intro and outro and had complete freedom to choose what I wanted to play.
No playlist, all the songs come from me, not a computer generated list. The success of the show has been heartwarming and opened up 2018 opportunities to do something talky with sessions and interviews which is currently in Pilot stage.
The show has currently broadcast 28 Episodes and two Christmas Specials. I was asked to compile a Top 10 songs of 2017 by KOR and so I have. This Top 10 is different to what I would choose for I Don't Hear A Single's year and I'll explain why.
Firstly, I set myself the restriction that the artist had to have had the song played on the Radio Show. Secondly, things evolve via feedback etc and the IDHAS show has primarily developed a Power Pop / Pop Rock theme. Not always the case, but the majority has.
So this Top 10 Songs Of The Year for KOR would vary from my own. My favourites do change daily, but the show buts my Psych, Prog and Indie adventures on the backburner. So this piece is intended to tell you why I chose these songs for the show and in My Top 10.
I'd also note that there have been songs played that have not yet been released. Daisy House have previewed not one but two songs that could appear in this Top 10 if they had been unveiled to the public yet.
Sparks - Missionary Position
I reveal my age when I tell you that the first album that I bought under my own steam was Propaganda. I love that album as much now as I did then, I still know all the words. That developed a love of the Mael Brothers which is now into it's fifth decade.
There was a ropey decade after the Angst In My Pants album, but largely this has been one of the most interesting rides for me musically. I'd compare it to the career of XTC, although that only lasted half of the Sparks duration.
Sparks have always carried the fans along, but as time has developed. new fans have joined the gang, people who wouldn't have heard a lot of the Island stuff, loved the multi layered vocal albums of the Noughties.
FFS, the collaboration with Franz Ferdinand, hinted that Sparks were back in the band mix and those songs hinted at the wit and sheer joy of those earlier albums and Hippopotamus confirmed that with balls on. There will still hints at what had gone on in the decade before, but the lyrical with came back to the fore.
No song underlines that more than Missionary Position. It's lyrics are risque and underline what a songwriting genius Ron Mael is. It's a testament to Sparks to note that the song sounds so fresh and different, but it could also easily have appeared on Propaganda and not been out of place.
The Sunset Spirit - To Have It All
Last year the Pop Rock revelation was Somerdale and they've enhanced that reputation this year. This year it is The Sunset Spirit, who I'm delighted to tell you are currently recording the follow up to From The Top.
As I Don't Hear A Single has developed, I still bemoan the barrenness of the UK Pop Rock scene. The Indie and Psych scene is currently fantastic, but great Pop songs are hard to find. The Sunset Spirit are a big exception.
Hailing from Fife in Scotland. there's a real energy in their chorus heavy songs. They come across as a popped up Crowded House or perhaps the nearest example are Squeeze, they certainly have the same strength in creating a hook.
To Have It All enforces that Squeeze comparison. The swirling Farfisa like solo could be Jools Holland in those early Deptford Adventures. The Sunset Spirit feel like my very own secret, I'm convinced that's about to change.
Ian Person - Whatever It Takes
Ian Person is a constant revelation to these ears. It's infuriating that he remains unknown to the masses. Some may remember him from The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, but his solo work should aid a break out from Sweden.
Exit : Highway Of Light is a fantastic album. It's influences take in Psych, Pop, Power Pop, New Wave and Pop Rock. But all of it is from left field. Guitar Runs and Riffs that re unexpected, songs that twist and turn.
Whatever It Takes is a great example of what Person does. The guitar hook absolutely grips you. I defy you to listen to the song and not want to put it on again. There is so much contained within it's three minutes, so many ideas fighting to get out.
A lot of what I cover is obviously also covered elsewhere, I don't see as much about Ian Person, that should change. He is one of the great unrecognised talents and deserves to be listened to by a much wider audience.
Nick Heyward - Perfect Sunday Sun
Nick Heyward is beloved in the UK and I've only recently realised how far that expands elsewhere. The Haircut 100 days and the Woolen Jumpers are remembered and he lit up Brit Pop providing a Jangle that tempered down the pomposity of a lot of that genre.
So after waiting so long for his return, it's pleasing to say that he released what could be his best album ever. Woodland Echoes is very pastoral and beautifully low key, but there are also glimpses of that Jangle Pop that lit up Brit Pop.
Both Baby Blue Sky and Perfect Sunday Sun are great examples of this. The latter trumps it for me. It's 60's film references and visions of lazy sunday afternoons are enhanced by the sheer wonder of the song. Heywood is on as top form as ever.
Mothboxer - Get It Right
If you were to ask me which bands I get frustrated with because far far more should know about them two spring to mind. Spygenius, who I have a big feature planned for at the start of next year and Mothboxer.
Maidenhead's Mothboxer is essentially Dave Ody and they have a stellar back catalogue now dating back to 2010. There were signs that the deserved success would come when they blitzed IPO Liverpool's 2013 Extravaganza, but sadly, the delights still remain in the shadows.
Kent seems to be the centre of some fantastic Psych at present, but Mothboxer are of a different template. The Psych Pop feel is there, but the songs are far more hook led. Big Choruses arrive unexpectedly.
This Year's The Secret Art Of Nothing is a fantastic album, cementing the band's reputation. No greater example of the songcraft can be found away from the album's opener. Get It Right has two choruses and is an absolute joy.
GospelbeacH - Hanging On
In those halcyon Anything Should Happen Days we were all Beachwood Sparks fans and nodded thankfully for Brent Rademaker. That band were a sort of Country Rock, Gram Parsons inspired calmness that was a pleasant change from all the noise around at the time.
The Beachwood Sparks songs always seemed a bit sad though, melancholic, so the GospelbeacH albums are a marked change, particularly this year's Another Summer Of Love. There's a more Power Pop or AOR feel to the songs, very much like UK Mid 70's Pop Rock.
It's also great that so many in the UK are getting them, because this is music that deserves a wider audience. Rademaker also comes over as one of the nicest guys ever, a lover of music and appreciative of any attention.
Hanging On is as good an example as any of what the band are about. Catchy, concise, melodic, harmonic, say what you want to in two and a half minutes then move on. A great Summer Guitar solo is included too.
Pink Beam - Wrote Me A Letter
I see a lot of Bloggers and DJ's who put out requests for band Tags or videos etc and I always think that's a bit of a cop out. I suppose now that I'm more fortunate in that people know what I do, what I like and so I get sent a lot. I listen to everything, but don't review the vast majority of it. I also spend a lot of time discovering stuff for myself.
There are exceptions, Music Submit is one. This is an Internet thing that sends you songs you may like, very much like an Indie Play MPE. The vast majority of stuff that I get from them doesn't appeal.mainly formulaic, but in 18 months or so there has been about half a dozen exceptions.
Pink Beam are one and it was after delighting in their submission that I discovered that my good Ice Cream Pop Friend, Wayne Lundqvist Ford was a big supporter. Pink beam are far from Rockford, home of Cheap Trick.
There's a lot of similarities with Da Trick, the band focus on the meatier end of Power Pop, the songs are ratcheted up rather than jangle. It's incredibly appealing. Wrote Me A Letter is still one of my most favourite songs of the year.
The song rocks and has been an earworm for the past six months. If there's one band that I can't wait to hear more from it's this lot.
Pugwash - What Are You Like
I'm a massive Thomas Walsh fan. That likeability started well before rejoicing about Pugwash. We knew each other as big fans of The Move and ELO and Thomas happened to mention that he was in a band and would I like to hear some stuff. I was hooked.
Pugwash as a live act were probably my favourite live band, it was the mix of the Walsh's songs coming to life, but also the humour and camaraderie of the four piece. I don't get out and about as much these days, but I rarely missed a Pugwash show.
Silverlake is Thomas solo with Jason Falkner, but you wouldn't know. As a long time admirer of Falkner, I was bursting to hear that album, a sort of marriage made in heaven. It doesn't disappoint, it's full of hooks and although you'd expect to have Jeff Lynne comparisons, I hear more Jon Auer and Posies comparisons.
Silverlake is a bit more understated than previous Pugwash albums which allows the songs to breathe, The best example is the killer second single, What Are You Like, great Summer Pop that showcases Walsh's superb voice.
The Stanleys - Amy
I'd been waiting for The Stanleys album to appear for quite some time. It doesn't disappoint. Australia's contribution to Power Pop has been much less so in recent years, The Stanleys rectify that at a stroke. This is as fine an example of the genre as there as ever been.
The self titled album is a chorus heavy, high riff count affair that will underline to all Power Pop fans the reasons why they love the field. It just doesn't let up from start to finish. This is Guitar Pop at it's finest.
The lead off single, Amy, tells you all you need to know about the band. Very reminiscent of the best of UK New Wave. A time when these sorts of songs were all over the charts. A two and a half minute joyful romp. Felix Hagan And The Family - Attention Seeker
Although I'd love to claim I Don't Hear A Single's success as being all down to me, it's not the case. Just as Mick Dillingham was a big part of Anything Should Happen, Nick Fletcher plays a similar role on I Don't Hear A Single.
Mick and Nick's taste is impeccable and Nick's part in the 18 months of IDHAS shouldn't be underestimated. As well as being an expert on the Scandinavian scene, he feeds a lot into here. Our tastes meet in the middle. I veer off into Psych and Prog, he into Country and AOR, but it's the middle ground that hits the ink.
Nick has been praising Felix Hagan for quite a time and with the new album I see what he's been on about. It's such an accomplished debut, a real treat. I compare their impact to that of The Killers debut and on my first hearing, Foxy Shazam.
This is Theatrical Rock, but it doesn't rely on the dressing up, the song quality is high, high enough to make them the next big thing. They also have an incredible Live reputation. If Deaf School were starting out now, they'd be this lot.
Attention Seeker opens the album and reveals all you want to know about the band. Lyrically adept, constant changes and a splendid romp that previews all that they do, encapsulating it in the one song. It's a corker of a song.
First up I am a Sparks fan, when the Queen Of Burtonwood grumbles about the amount of music here, I blame Ron and Russell Mael. 43 years ago the first album that I bought was Propaganda, so for four fifths of my life, Sparks have been close by. I'm also a little different to a lot of similar aged Sparks fans who think everything has always been fantastic and hunky dory. The 80's were not very kind to Sparks, there are some real clunkers away from Whomp That Sucker and Angst In My Pants.
Ron Mael should be celebrated as one of music's great lyricists, rather than the weird guy on the keyboards, no one writes lyrical couplets like Ron and that's why most of the 80's output irritates me because an album like In Outer Space sounds so twee and is lyrically banal. It's as though the songs were phoned in.Sparks have always moved in whichever direction they pleased and they've took a lot of the fans with them, but what they've also managed to do is bring the young along with them, appealing to a student audience whatever the year is.
There's also an irritation here concerning some reviews from people who are putting up Sparks as National Treasures who have always been beloved, they treat Jeff Lynne and ELO the same way, there were times when both couldn't get a decent hearing. The thing I love about the band is that they treat every album as though it was a debut and the people who buy it are assumed to be hearing Sparks for the first time.
This has been a fine approach and meant that the history isn't what brings a lot to the party, the listeners hooked at listening to Dick Around would listen to an album like Indiscreet, one of my Top 10 albums ever in bemusement if they heard it before Hello Young Lovers. This is their first song based studio album in nine years and the three before have been incredibly inventive, so how would Hippopotamus compare to their recent form and general back catalogue.
Well, the album is wonderful, truly so, no two songs are the same, it even closes with a duet with Operatic Soprano Rebecca Sjowall. The collaboration with Franz Ferdinand, FFS, revealed that Sparks were writing three minute pop songs again and there's plenty of that here with the likes of What The Hell Is It This Time?, A Little Bit Of Fun and the magnificent, Missionary Position with it's piano riff. The latter could be one of their best songs ever, praise indeed, it sits happily here and could sit just as well on Kimono My House.
Ron Mael's lyrics are at the top of their game, as are the song subjects which are as left field as you could ever want. The wonder of Ikea, people and their petty prayers and the title track asks how so many things got in the pool such as a Hippopotamus, a woman with an abacus and a Volkswagen Campervan. I can only think of one person with such lyrical depth about banal subjects and that's Randy Newman.
There's plenty here for those who, like me, like their Sparks weird and enough for those who like the dance and a host of great great Pop. Whatever stage you joined Sparks at, it is catered for and the album as a whole stands up alone beautifully, so you feel free to get hooked. The upcoming live tour promises much, particularly with the marvellous Mini Mansions in tow. Live you can expect lots of Hippopotamus in the set, 8 of the 15 songs I believe and all the favourites, plus a couple of surprise inclusions.
How many bands have survived 45 years and have a new album out that sounds as fresh as the first? Sparks don't rest on their greatest hits, they are interested in the now but are grateful that you like their past. Without doubt, this band changed my life and showed what music can mean to you. I wouldn't want to be the 11 year old me again, but thank goodness I've still got the Mael Brothers.
