Eldritch wrote: I have a very good 2-cd compilation The Heaven Collection / The Hell Collection that picks out all the good stuff from the albums between 77-92.
I was bidding on that on ebay but it went up to 15 pounds sterling.
I'll take a trip down to my local HMV later, see what they have in stock.
Thanks for the recommendations guys.
My God that's a FINE picture of Dave Gahan in Acelera's avator. mmmmm....
Eldritch wrote: I have a very good 2-cd compilation The Heaven Collection / The Hell Collection that picks out all the good stuff from the albums between 77-92.
I was bidding on that on ebay but it went up to 15 pounds sterling.
Sparks are not a singles band, really, so you'd do better in picking up one of their albums than a compilation IMO. Plagiarism is an exception because the songs have been re-recorded which gives an 'album feel' to it.
It was a cough that carried him off. It was a coffin they carried him off in.
I'm a huge Sparks fan and their concert at the Royal Festival Hall last June was my favourite gig ever!! They played 'Kimono My House' in its entirety and it is probably their masterpiece. In order:-
Kimono My House (EVERY song is amazing)
Lil' Beethoven (Very ambitious for a band of 35 years!!)
Gratious Sax and Senseless Violins (Pure Pop, quirky)
Propaganda (Glam Classic)
Number One Song In Heaven (Moroder collaboration)
Plagiarism (The Hits reworked)
Balls (Hit and Miss although a few good tracks)
Much of their 80's work is a bit patchy and sounds very dated now, although their lyrics were as brilliant as ever. Sparks are legends and their forthcoming album should be fantastic, apparently it pushes the boundaries even further! They are going to work on a track with Franz Ferdinand soon (who worship them) for a Franz Ferdinand endorsed 'Best Of' that should attract young fans.
Eldritch wrote:I have a very good 2-cd compilation The Heaven Collection / The Hell Collection that picks out all the good stuff from the albums between 77-92.
It was very hard to get though! It doesn't seem like it was released at all in Europe, but I finally found it through a second-hand dealer on the web. I find it remarkable that there is - so far - still no great "official" Sparks collection released on the European market.
Let's face facts. Early Sparks were better and more consistent, but may not appeal as much to PSB fans. Later work (especially mid-80s) is synth, but often miss and miss. Balls has to be the right album for any PSB to start out with. It's a mix of PSB/Men Without Hats/Devo
And tryin' to figure out what happened to 'Germaine Propaine'
"He couldn't have fell off that hard" Ain't no way
"What happened to the way you was rappin' when you was scandalous
That Canibus turned into a television evangelist"
Plus he raps with his regular voice [BOOSH! BOOSH!]
[BOOSH! BOOSH!] (What was that?) Pet Shop Boys
If I'd started with Balls (err... where was that sentence going again?)
Yes... If I'd started with Balls then I probably wouldn't love them as much as I do now, but that may also be true of Plagiarism. If we start from the slightly unfair assumption that PSB fans are all closed-minded and unable to cope with something like Lil' Beethoven then I'd probably lean towards Exotic Creatures of the Deep as one of their more 'pop' works of genius.
rollo wrote:If I'd started with Balls (err... where was that sentence going again?)
Yes... If I'd started with Balls then I probably wouldn't love them as much as I do now, but that may also be true of Plagiarism. If we start from the slightly unfair assumption that PSB fans are all closed-minded and unable to cope with something like Lil' Beethoven then I'd probably lean towards Exotic Creatures of the Deep as one of their more 'pop' works of genius.
I'm much more comfortable recommending Exotic rather than Gratuitous Sax. Yes, the album from 1994 has When Do I Get To Sing My Way, which is perfectly brilliant, and another track which is a carbon copy of Yesterday When I Was Mad, and in that respect the album is very linked to "Very". But who in their right mind feels the later 2/3rds of the album is up to snuff songwriting wise? Some of the later songs on the album are downright bad.
I don't think PSB fans are closeminded. But that doesn't mean I think Lil' Beethoven is where I would start. Honestly, I think a complication is okay. I personally started with the comp pictured many posts ago, which lead me eventually to also buy some of the newer work. Perhaps the real answer is, listen to a "classic" album, and a couple newer albums on Spotify and see what you think.
And tryin' to figure out what happened to 'Germaine Propaine'
"He couldn't have fell off that hard" Ain't no way
"What happened to the way you was rappin' when you was scandalous
That Canibus turned into a television evangelist"
Plus he raps with his regular voice [BOOSH! BOOSH!]
[BOOSH! BOOSH!] (What was that?) Pet Shop Boys
From Gratuitious Sax, When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing) is awesome too, though one of the remixes is probably better than the original (I think it was done by the Beatmasters, from memory)
"Politics are too emotional now. Contemporary culture generally is too emotional, really... I'd rather people looked to the truth." (Neil Tennant)
Start listening to their albums from the era you're most interested in and work back/forward from that if they get under your skin. And yes, the "Profile" compilation is a solid overview of their 70s and 80s output.
No1 in Heaven is an absolute classic, it's the one with "Beat The Clock" and "Tryouts For The Human Race", from 78/79 and pretty much all electronic. Lots of Moroder sequencers and a pretty epic uplifting feel.
