SPARKS

[phdave that afternoon]

Late with my reactions this week due to a week of travel. I have been listening to the album a lot.

My immediate reaction was like my usual negative reaction to 80s synth pop. I didn't like it at the time and retreated into Classic Rock during the 80s and then got into punk/grunge/alternative. Now when I hear music from that era it all sounds so dated and I generally avoid listening to it. So this album by album exercise is the reason I am giving these Sparks mid-late 80s a thorough listen.

I like it a lot more than I expected. After getting past my aversion to the 80 synth sound, I enjoy the songs. The lyrics and songs are much simpler than what I like about Sparks songs, but there is something about the songs that continues to hold my attention even after repeated listens. The simplicity might be the thing that makes this album stand out a bit in comparison to other Sparks albums.

I was familiar with Cool Places, Popularity, and Looked a Little Better from Past Tense. I did not like Cool Places much at first but it has grown on me. The duets were always fun, but I enjoy the song now. Same with Popularity. It seemed so basic at first, but I really enjoy it now Popularity is the song I find myself playing on repeat the most. It reminds me a lot of a Postal Service song.

Looked a Little Better is probably my favorite with the most Sparks-like lyrics. I agree with Oscar about the best lyric of the album. Hilarious. I also like "I went to Balboa Island and laid in the sand. I may be ugly as sin. But at least now I'm tan" mainly because shortly after I started listening to Sparks I did actually go to Balboa Island and had that lyric running through my head. I also enjoy All You Ever Think About is Sex and Lucky Me, Lucky You.

Many of the songs remind me of other Sparks songs as if they were continuations of the stories of the subjects of those songs. Please, Baby, Please makes me picture the guy asking "How Are You Getting Home?" over and over and Rockin' Girls is from the same perspective as Young Girls. Those are both from the perspective of men who look at women as objects to be possessed, so that detracts a bit from the enjoyment of these songs. I like Rockin' Girls as a song better than Young Girls, both music and lyrics. My wife is not a Beatles fan and does not like Hey Jude, so this line makes me laugh consistently:

[waterloosunset]

When I saw The Sparks Brothers, I knew absolutely nothing about Sparks. While watching the film, I was completely intrigued by the first 6 albums, and then enjoyed the documentary as it went along. Enter Jane Wiedlin (of whom there was a bit too much in the film for my liking) and Cool Places. I was astonished. The band that I was preparing to follow to the ends of the Earth gave us Cool Places. It was the only Sparks song that I knew from when it was originally on the radio a lot, and I HATED it. When I got In Outer Space (I only do physical music, so I waited for it to arrive in the mail), I was hoping that the rest of the album would have more songs like the ones I loved from Whomp. Sadly that wasn’t true. It seemed to be “dumbed down for Amurrica” Sparks; Prayin’, All You Ever, Rockin’ Girls (with tiny bits of Elvis), Please Baby Please all fit the bill. Ron had gone lyrically backwards and was living an adolescence that he’d missed the first time. I like Popularity and Lucky Me, Lucky You. The melodies are good, and the lyrics contain the irony missing from the rest of the album. I think Dance Godammit and A Fun Bunch of Guys are funny and easy to listen to. Musically, All You Ever Think About Is Sex is rather good, but the lyrics, like those from I Married a Martian on Whomp, are juvenile. “I’m still not recovered from Saturday’s faux pas, When your father came home, saw us, and dropped dead”. Really? A bunch of 8th graders could have written that…and it doesn’t even rhyme!

I have Sparks pals on Twitter who are all about 80s Sparks, so I thought there might be a lot of positive commentary here. It’s comforting to learn that I’m not alone in my sentiments. I don’t dislike this album as much as Terminal Jive, but it belongs to a string of albums in the ‘80s that appear to be a mailed-in effort. MUCH better awaits, but we will have to be patient.

Favorite Song - Lucky Me, Lucky You
Least Favorite Song - Prayin' for a Party
Score: 4/10
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better drop the requirement that everything be great

[highersynth]

After reading @PhDave's thoughtful review, I felt a bit uncomfortable about my rather dismissive one of earlier this week! It's the first album in this discussion that in truth I've not even attempted to give a fair hearing.
So, last night in a wakeful interval, I reviewed all the lyrics in an attempt to spot the missing thread of genius that could lead me back in, sufficiently to forgive the banal 1980s pop.

I could not spot that thread. What I did find, or project anyway, was a hint of cynicism or even despair at the hedonistic superficiality of the "culture" for want of a better word, of the early 80s. Sequel movies, lack-lustre charts (broadly) and the rise of (frequently overly-sexualised) aerobics videos contrasted starkly with the early Reagan / Thatcher years in which world politics was pockmarked with power-struggles, massacres, international upheaval, air-crashes and notable murders.

Great art holds a mirror up to life. Maybe that's what R&R were attempting here; maybe they were bewildered and angry, or disillusioned. I find myself wondering whether "Dance Goddammit" actually spells this out -
"It's the sound
Of today
Played so loud
You're in pain
I feel good
Really great
As I talk
To my feet
Dance godammit
Dance godammit
I get scared
When I'm alone
So I don't
Stay alone
I like clubs
I like girls
I like music
And that's it
Dance godammit..."

Or maybe, just maybe it's simply not a very good album. The guys are human after all.

Still 2/10.
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Tomorrow I'll find out all I should know...

[highersynth]

Welcome to Week 13 of Album Club - w/c 2nd October - Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat

You can find a link to the album on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1jm7p4XGLPwVZ6Q8LnnQFY?si=XANhij7kQfGEB5VUdaIfAA

Prompts for discussion, if needed, and scores for previous albums, at the top of the thread.
_________________
Tomorrow I'll find out all I should know...

[Andy M]

Sparks in the dark. Alas.

Pulling Rabbits . . . is the fourth and final “teenage pop” album from this incarnation of Sparks, though the band would go on to make the much better Music That You Can Dance To. It starts strongly with the title track; alas, this is as good as it gets. With All My Might is catchy and pleasant enough, as is Kiss Me Quick, but the remaining songs are (to me at least) entirely disposable whilst the two instrumentals remind me of the instrumental filler on Terminal Jive.

The cover is the last of the comic run where one brother is top dog; this time it’s Ron.

I seem to remember this was a tough one to track down at the time as it – perhaps understandably - didn’t get a UK release.

2.5-3/10. Ah well, changes – or at least Change – was to come.

[highersynth]

Many thanks to @Buckeye Randy our scorekeeper-in-chief.

Our league-table after 12 weeks:
Propaganda - 9.6 (8 votes)
Kimono my House (reissue has extra tracks) - 9.5 (10 votes)
Indiscreet - 9.1 (8 votes)
No.1 in Heaven - 8.5 (9 votes)
Angst in my Pants - 7.8 (9 votes)
A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing - 7.8 (5 votes)
"Sparks" - 6.8 (8 votes)
Whomp that Sucker - 6.7 (8 votes)
Big Beat - 6.6 (8 votes)
Introducing Sparks - 6.6 (9 votes)
In Outer Space - 3.8 (9 votes)
Terminal Jive - 3.5 (10 votes)
_________________
Tomorrow I'll find out all I should know...

[Oscar]

I've always thought of this as a slightly lesser album than its stylistic partner In Outer Space, but revisiting the two of them now, I'm wondering if I've had it backwards. I'm surprised to be finding Pulling Rabbits more solidly enjoyable than its predecessor, at least at this moment. In terms of the songwriting, it's almost like they were trying to make this a more "mature" album, with "With All My Might" and the other romantic ballads prominently featured, but then the production just made the whole thing sound like a cheap, shiny kids' toy. And that combination works for me! It probably wouldn't work so well if the songs weren't actually pretty decent, but there's enough drama in the chord progressions and just enough personality in the lyrics that someone could perform them with an acoustic guitar at an open mic night and I would probably still like them. I wouldn't necessarily buy that album, but build up the songs with all happiest, chirpiest sounds you can fill your bag with in the candy store at the mall, and I'm in.

"A Song That Sings Itself" is one of the great Sparks deep cuts -- through the years I've listened to that song many more times than anything else on the album, and it's still my favorite. I didn't pay much attention to the title track until I heard the Plagiarism version, which is amazing. That's still my preferred version, but I appreciate the original more than I used to. "Love Scenes," "Kiss Me Quick," and "With All My Might" are genuinely romantic/sexy without being too corny. The "Stay with me" backing vocals on "With All My Might" are one of the most plainly emotional bits in any Sparks song, and they sound great. Not a lot of overtly funny lyrics on this album, but "Sisters" has that classic Mael sense of humor. "Pretending to Be Drunk" is obviously funny too, but my main thought when I first heard it was hey, that's just good life advice.

I could do without "Everybody Move" and the "Sparks in the Dark" instrumentals, but they're pretty easy to ignore. Let's get crazy and give this one a 6/10.

[waterloosunset]

[flimbar]

Pulling Rabbits is a great album, is Sparks in the Dark the only instrumental they've ever done?

[SteveBoyce]

[dinky]

Big Brass Ring

[phdave that afternoon]

I feel like I have absorbed this album enough to give some thoughts.

At first I was going to rate it below In Outer Space, but I think they are about even 5/10. The music in both is not my type of music usually. Both evoke too much 80s sound. If I heard songs from these albums in the soundtrack of a movie I would instantly know it was from the mid-80s. If I was not trying to learn about Sparks I probably would have given up listening to this after a try or two. If I heard these albums in the 80s I probably would have given up on Sparks also.

But after a bunch of listens, Rabbits grew on me. Now I like many of the songs and can ignore the synth 80 sounds that usually turn me off and enjoy the parts I like.

Pretending to be Drunk is my favorite. It is a classic Sparks song IMO. In the documentary they talked about it like it was some bizarre song with no comparison. I think it is hilarious in the usual Sparks way. The John McFerrin Music Reviews calls it (along with Progress and Everybody Move) a blatant Prince ripoff, which was meant as a criticism I guess but made me like it more. I started hearing echos of Let's Go Crazy, which came out the same year as Rabbits I believe. Hilarious thinking about Prince covering this song (or at least a Prince cover band these days). And a funny commentary on the challenge of classifying Sparks when one reaction is that a song of theirs sounds like nothing else whereas another reaction is that the same song sounds like a blatant ripoff.

I enjoy a few other songs mostly for the music being full of unusual/interesting sounds and chords and less the lyrics. The title track is over the top dramatic which I guess works with the topic. Love Scenes, Progress, Everybody Move, With All My Might are OK and have been stuck in my head over the past few days. A Song that Sings Itself has really grown on me and I'm looking forward to hearing the Plagiarism version.

Sisters is the most lyrically entertaining after Drunk. It is a funny Sparks twist on a love song. I'm not sure if it is about a relationship with two actual sisters or polygamous Sister wives. Both are funny in the context of the song.

I could do without the Sparks in the Dark part 2. Part 1 works fine as an intro to Everybody Move. I thought initially it was part of the same song until I checked the track list. Kiss me quick is also on the bottom of the pile. enough of a nice melody to stick in my head but nothing too exciting lyrically or musically for me to enjoy.

I would like to see Pretending to be Drunk live. They had a few clips of Russ dancing around to that song and it would have been fun to see that live, especially in the cactus jacket.

I'm happy to gain an appreciation of these albums that I would not really have absorbed without this thread, but I am also looking forward to Sparks post 1980s. These albums seem to be trying too hard to be widely accessible, which in many ways is the opposite of what I like about Sparks. I don't blame them for trying as I think this music is just as good as other music at the time that was popular. If I heard these songs on regular rotation on the radio or MTV at the time they would have fit in and been enjoyable in the way that overplayed top 40 songs can be. Who knows why this album fell flat relative to other bands/albums that became popular.
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I don’t have time to fill out questionnaires.

[waterloosunset]

This album gets a bad rap, but I think it’s an OK album with a number of good tracks, not great ones, with the exception of the title song. The song PROOAH has an interesting melody and doleful lyrics that remind me of the lyrics to How Do I Get to Carnegie Hall. I enjoy Love Scenes, With All My Might, A Song That Sings Itself, and Sisters. These aren’t knock-me-out-genius Ron Mael songs, but this is 80s Sparks, and I’ll take it.

Favorite Song – Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat
Least Favorite Song – Everybody Move
Score: 5.5/10
_________________
better drop the requirement that everything be great

[Alex Robertson]

I think when this album came out, I had moved back to north London again...I must've been a nomad in a previous life...and if memory serves right, I came across it by sheer accident whilst perusing a great little record shop in West Hampstead. As I lived in walking distance from this shop, it didn't take me long to get home and get it on the record player but as I missed out on the bus ride "lyric and artwork devouring", it was one of the few albums I read the lyrics for the first time as the album played.
I loved this album at the time, still do, however I did feel something was lacking, still to this day can't honestly say what. Perhaps I thought there might be a "newer" direction/sound but that's a hindsight idea.
I'd say title track and With All My Might are really great tracks but the humour in Pretending To Be Drunk and the hint at sexual and tactful acrobatics required to satisfy Sisters pip them as my favourite tracks. And while I'd say that Sparks instrumentals add nothing, it's a view I'd be forced to alter some years later....but that's to come.

7.5/10

[Toughest Girl In Town]

Pulling Rabbits is an album I always enjoy listening to, even if I think it aged quite badly. The songwriting and the singing are excellent as always, but I'm really not a fan of the arrangements throughout the whole album. It can really make a huge difference (good or bad) and turn a really good song into something quite "standard".

To me, "A song that sings itself" is a good example of a pure gem that's been ruined by poor arrangement choices. It remains my favourite song on the album because I hear its huge potential (beautiful melody & harmony, poignant lyrics), but still I find the result rather disappointing.

On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of "With all my might" with its corny lyrics and I'm not even mentioning the video (no further comment)... but hey, that was 1984 after all

5/10 seems fair to me.

[Buckeye Randy]

[highersynth]

My one-word review would be "teflon".

I've listened a few times this week, and for starters have difficulty holding my attention right through the album, and afterwards, with the exception of about 3 tracks, find it's left an indelible blank. That said, I don't hate it. It doesn't get on my nerves like Outer Space does, but it lacks the Sparks x-factor, and I concur with many of the foregoing comments in this conversation.

Having read the lyrics right through, it seems like all but 3 tracks (Sisters, Everbody Move, A song that Sings Itself) are on the theme of not quite measuring up to the expectations of a lover. (Even Sisters, in which our protagonist seems to have landed every man's fantasy of a pair of sisters to bed, manages to sound disilluioned!) Alongside the unremarkable, mid-80s synth-based tunes, the whole thing reeks of disappointment to me.

My stand-out tracks (the ones that I can at least remember 2 minutes after listening) are: Pulling Rabbits (applause! applause! applause! applause!); Pretending to be Drunk (I don't get it, but it's catchy) and A Song that Sings Itself (oh, Ron IS alive and kicking!) To a lesser extent, the trite-but-sweet With all my Might gets a mention because, well, Russell singing a rare romantic song - who could resist!

What puzzles me about this album and its predecessor, is that Sparks, since the very outset, have been all about being different, not quite fitting, weird, quirky. Coupled with their lyrical and musical genius and Russell's remarkable voice, that's a winning formula for me. These two albums sound like unsuccessful attempts to be the opposite, to conform, with musical adventurousness and Russell's vocal prowess dialled right down. Lots of the "sounds" (arrangements if you like) are derivative, reminiscent of LOADS of 80s bands, and the overall effect is lack-lustre.

Just don't get it. But for all that, overall score for this one 4/10. It's not actively awful.
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Tomorrow I'll find out all I should know...

[Toughest Girl In Town]

[Buckeye Randy]

[highersynth]

Welcome to Week 14 of Album Club - w/c 8th October - Music That You Can Dance To

You can find a link to the album on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3tdBAM9lc8nCPGpCoLEGsA?si=spTWgjSiSaanS6QXP3wjig

NB Further to the first post (next page) - here's a link to "Change" - https://open.spotify.com/track/61Lz4rOeLEGJD2nQLiPfDv?si=2fbdc372436446d1

Prompts for discussion, if needed, and scores for previous albums, at the top of the thread.
_________________
Tomorrow I'll find out all I should know...