It’s A Sparks Show Tonight!

Murfocakes

Murfocakes

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On the day the VMP forum announced its closure a few members expressed their love of Sparks, the rock/disco/Electronica/alternative brand led by brothers Ron & Russell. I’m a pretty hardcore fan and our conversation on them was cruelly cut off by that forum closing. Just wondering who here are into the band, which records from their discography you have/love, and any opinions or thoughts.
I think they have one of the most interesting discographies in rock.
 
Murfocakes said:
On the day the VMP forum announced its closure a few members expressed their love of Sparks, the rock/disco/Electronica/alternative brand led by brothers Ron & Russell. I’m a pretty hardcore fan and our conversation on them was cruelly cut off by that forum closing. Just wondering who here are into the band, which records from their discography you have/love, and any opinions or thoughts.
I think they have one of the most interesting discographies in rock.
Click to expand...
I was there!
And thanks to that thread I was made aware of the 40th Anniversary Vinyl reissue for “No. 1 In Heaven.”
Guess what arrived to today to replace my wellllll-worn copy :)
 
Ron tried to Be emotionless to prevent himself from being a wacky keyboardist. Note: This is actual irony Alanis Morrisette
 
I really like Sparks. They cover so much ground musically across their career. The "Angst In My Pants" album is probably my favorite overall, but they have great songs sprinkled across all of their stuff I've heard. I really liked this single off of their recent "Hippopotamus" album. Felt very much in line with their pop work from the 70's.

 
MadLucas said:
I was there!
And thanks to that thread I was made aware of the 40th Anniversary Vinyl reissue for “No. 1 In Heaven.”
Guess what arrived to today to replace my wellllll-worn copy :)
Click to expand...


It’s a very nice reissue. The bonus disc is surplus to requirements of course. All you need is the original.

Bohnjaggs said:
I really love this version of "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" with Faith No More...

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That album, Plagiarism, is one of two that never saw a vinyl release. It started off as a various artist tribute album but ended up a tribute to themselves. There’s another great link up with Faith No More In it.



Aron said:
I really like Sparks. They cover so much ground musically across their career. The "Angst In My Pants" album is probably my favorite overall, but they have great songs sprinkled across all of their stuff I've heard. I really liked this single off of their recent "Hippopotamus" album. Felt very much in line with their pop work from the 70's.

Click to expand...


Hippopotamus was their biggest album since the 70s in the UK. They’ve had a few comebacks before then and I guess the collaboration with Franz Ferdinand helped them reestablish themselves in the public consciousness but to me their comeback started with Lil Beethoven. When I first heard it I was gobsmacked, a mixture of almost Steve Reich minimalist classical, dance based repetition, lyrical cliche/genius and pure pop, with some thrash metal stuck on one of the tracks for good measure. Nothing sounds like it.

 
Jan said:
And would the soundtrack be a good introduction for a newbie
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The soundtrack is pretty expensive but covers their career (thus far) pretty nicely. This collection came out a few years ago and is cheaper

www.discogs.com

Sparks - Past Tense (The Best Of Sparks)

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2019 Vinyl release of "Past Tense (The Best Of Sparks)" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com
 
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I have the above mentioned comp and it's great.

g3hst6.jpg


I also ordered the soundtrack because I buy most releases from Waxwork anyway...but it is a bit expensive.
 
That documentary was a blast. Probably 20 minutes too long but honestly a super cool topic I had no idea on. Dan Murrell said it felt like a Borat prank at times which I felt like...did Edgar Wright just invent a band and is leading me down a mockumentary hole.

May have to find a copy of Past Tense.
 
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