SPARKS

[Andy M]

Just received this cd today. I think I'm correct in saying that Chelsea Spear - aka TwB - is the first artist to have covered an entire Sparks album on disc, and great fun it is. (Think Kelley Stoltz's lo-fi cover of Echo and the Bunnymen's Crocodiles, but ramp up the lo-fi.) At just under 20 minutes running time it's really a mini-album but it's a must for the collector of esoteric Sparks-linked material.

As I understand it, Brindle is the name of CP's ukulele, an instrument i know next to nothing about, aside from George Formby & Peter Sellars's guest appearance on Steeleye's New York Girls. I guess there's two ways you can produce a good cover version - faithful reproduction (e.g. TLDP on This Town..) or putting an individual skew on it (e.g. Gemma Ray on Eaten...) TwB definitely goes down the second route!

[Spyke]

Thanks for the heads up. I listened to a few of the tracks, and I enjoyed her version of Tryouts For The Human Race in particular - I see what you mean about 'lo-fi'! She's got an original slant, and quite different to Mr B's take on Sparks (although doesn't he play a banjolele rather than a ukelele?)
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