SPARKS Forum Index SPARKS
Discussions about the band SPARKS
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

What's your favourite Sparks period?
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    SPARKS Forum Index -> General Sparks Discussion
View previous topic :: View next topic  

What's your favourite Sparks period?
Girl From Germany days
5%
 5%  [ 3 ]
Amateur Hour years
38%
 38%  [ 20 ]
The Number One Song in Heaven time
11%
 11%  [ 6 ]
I Predict era
3%
 3%  [ 2 ]
When Do I Get To Sing My Way period
21%
 21%  [ 11 ]
The Angels time
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Other
19%
 19%  [ 10 ]
Total Votes : 52

Author Message
Janice
Fan-in-Training


Joined: 13 Jan 2002
Posts: 19
Location: Denmark

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2002 6:04 pm    Post subject: What's your favourite Sparks period? Reply with quote

Although most of us really like most Sparks music, we all have our favourite period. Thought it might be fun to see a breakdown.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BabyLeroya
Fan-in-Training


Joined: 12 Jan 2002
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2002 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My first time I listened to SPARKS was at the end of the 80s when I bought the Black Rain soundtrack. I loved the movie and the music, so I bought that album and listened again and again to my favorite 2 songs on it: Sparks/LRM and Iggy Pop. I really don`t like Russell`s hair cut from that period [...] 8O , but the music! My vote for the period 1989- ... (?)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dubiousdave
Groupie


Joined: 12 Jan 2002
Posts: 134
Location: Earth

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2002 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

well i shave and so dont have periods, i dont believe i listen to Sparks more at the end of the month :lol:
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Yahoo Messenger
Fidel Christos
Guest





PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2002 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The "Blue" period.
Back to top
Loes Martens
Groupie


Joined: 13 Jan 2002
Posts: 139
Location: Heerlen

PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2002 2:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The first year I became fan because that time I did not have any idea how many albums they already made, so every time I went to the recordstores I had a surprise, yes another one!
Plus the periode since August 2000, when I saw them on television (Fernsehgarten) with the same surprise affect, they have a new CD! Since then I am a member of the fanclub and know the internetsite!
2000 was also the year that I visited my first Sparksconcert.
Loes Martens
_________________
Hope does live
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Karin Woywod
Junior Groupie


Joined: 15 Jan 2002
Posts: 46
Location: Berlin

PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2002 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

  • I canīt decide - One year ago, Iīd have written : "The Gratuitous Sax" period, but since then, you all "initiated" me and treated me to / made me check out lots of their earlier works - and it turned out I found something I liked in every period ! ! !

_________________
- Karin.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
Janina
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2002 4:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's really hard to decide for one special period.
As Karin already mentioned I could pick out some songs out of each period which I like a lot.
So my vote was for the earlier years, but "GSASV" as well as "Balls" or the 80'ies have their highlights, too.
So my vote for all periods! :D
Back to top
jill
Sub-Deity


Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Posts: 1281

PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's interesting to see such a poll in retrospect. And I wonder how the answers would look now.

I know that there are people who loved Sparks in the '70s or in the '80s, but now declare themselves fed up by the "repetitions" or "lack of danceable melodies" from the latest three albums. Having listened to "Exotic Creatures", a guy said: "Enough is enough, give me back something like 'Calm Before The Storm'!"

But hehe, precisely what the Maels were predicting in "Calm Before The Storm" came true. The period starting with "Lil' Beethoven" is the best so far imho, with maybe the most refined music and lyrics (and visuals too).

I discovered Sparks in the great period of "Gratuitous Sax" - so I also wonder if there are people who enjoyed Sparks in the '90 and now dislike somehow the period since "Lil' Beethoven".
_________________
Entertainment or art - one should know from the start
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Engine Joe
Fan-in-Training


Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 23
Location: Brooklyn, NY

PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not sure how to respond to the poll - I would put "The Angels" era (i.e. Balls) together with the "My Way" (GS&SV) stuff - I definitely think that there is more in common between Balls and GSSV than between Balls and the last three albums. I think the LB to present era is their best, but don't really see the way to vote for it.

I think I'm lucky to be a relatively recent convert to Sparks (2003 or so), even though the first material I got into was from the 70s. If I had gotten into their early stuff and heard what they were doing in the 90s, without knowing that the LB renaissance was upon us, I'd be pretty displeased with their output and consider writing them off as washed up.

But getting into the group when it was clear that there was ambition still in them (witness LB and subsequents), I can listen to what the Maels were doing in the latter 1980s and the 1990s and enjoy it for what it is: pretty decent -- knowing that while the material may be "lesser Sparks" (IMO), there was better stuff to come.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
Girl With Everything
Fan-in-Training


Joined: 31 May 2008
Posts: 19
Location: New Zealand

PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How strange to go back in time! I believe it was me who posted the poll in a previous guise. In retrospect, Balls and GSASV probably do belong together in one category. It didn't feel like it at the time though. It felt like a long gap between 1994 and 2000 (soothed a little by Plagiarism in 1997 admittedly). I don't think Sparks played any gigs between the two albums either, certainly not in the UK, so fans were gasping for something new from them. Balls has its highlights but I don't think it's anybody's favourite album. It was just enough to sustain the fans at the time though.

As for the next phase, on the message boards we had very little inkling of what Lil' Beethoven was going to be like only that it was going to be different. I have to say, regardless of personal prefences, the change in direction was just what Ron and Russell needed to get their creative juices going. If Lil' Beethoven had turned out to be another Balls (no pun intended), I'm not sure they would still be making records and performing today.
_________________
Sparks do it in the dark!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
rainbow
Power Groupie


Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 372
Location: holland

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I voted for the early '70s, because then I heard Sparks for the first time, it was my imprinting period. I still love those songs. But the latest 3 are at least as good, though different.
_________________
Stop, there's gotta be a million girls like her, though
I can't think of one
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lady Is Lingering
Sparkologist


Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 482
Location: Dublin, Ireland

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jill wrote:


I know that there are people who loved Sparks in the '70s or in the '80s, but now declare themselves fed up by the "repetitions" or "lack of danceable melodies" from the latest three albums. Having listened to "Exotic Creatures", a guy said: "Enough is enough, give me back something like 'Calm Before The Storm'!"

But hehe, precisely what the Maels were predicting in "Calm Before The Storm" came true. The period starting with "Lil' Beethoven" is the best so far imho, with maybe the most refined music and lyrics (and visuals too).



Yes, there are Sparks fans who just don't like their later works or at least think they are inferior to their previous work. But Sparks have gone through so many musical transformations. Look at the difference between Woofer and No 1 Song in Heaven for example!

I think they're doing some of their most exciting and inventive work in the 2000s. And though it's very very different from earlier stuff I can still see it has connections both lyrically and musically. Personally, I can't understand people not liking Sparks' last 3 albums. On the night of Lil' Beethoven at Islington I heard someone in the queue say it was their least favourite Sparks' album and that My Baby's Taking Me Home was the worst song ever!

I think this is a minority opinion though, judging by the rapturous reception it got that very same night.
_________________
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Physicality
Sparkologist


Joined: 20 Jan 2006
Posts: 541
Location: Dublin

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lady Is Lingering wrote:
On the night of Lil' Beethoven at Islington I heard someone in the queue say it was their least favourite Sparks' album and that My Baby's Taking Me Home was the worst song ever!


I think they just don't get it

I think their recent stuff is their best. But that's mainly because I found Sparks through these new albums. Hearing 'Dick Around' completely altered my taste and my perception about music. It had such an impact on me. It made me realise that what I love is pop music. I couldn't listen anyone who I was listening to at the time because I realised how awful they were!

I can see why older fans don't prefer their new stuff to the old stuff, it's because they have their own special attatchment to the Island Era, The disco era etc because that's when they were young too and when they first found Sparks. And I'm sure it's very hard to re create that freshness and magic from that time for many people.

I just love Russell's vocals on all of these albums. Ron's arrangements are fantastic as are his lyrics and I ljust ove Dean Meanta's guitar sound.

I really can't wait for the 22nd.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message MSN Messenger
Engine Joe
Fan-in-Training


Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 23
Location: Brooklyn, NY

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Physicality wrote:
Lady Is Lingering wrote:
On the night of Lil' Beethoven at Islington I heard someone in the queue say it was their least favourite Sparks' album and that My Baby's Taking Me Home was the worst song ever!


I think they just don't get it


Clearly not. They must have been quite bemused when "My Baby's Taking Me Home" got the longest ovation of any single song of any during the entire 21 show run.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
Lady Is Lingering
Sparkologist


Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 482
Location: Dublin, Ireland

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Physicality wrote:


I just love Russell's vocals on all of these albums. Ron's arrangements are fantastic as are his lyrics and I ljust ove Dean Meanta's guitar sound.

I really can't wait for the 22nd.


I'm 100% with you on all of the above.
_________________
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lady Is Lingering
Sparkologist


Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 482
Location: Dublin, Ireland

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Engine Joe wrote:
Physicality wrote:
Lady Is Lingering wrote:
On the night of Lil' Beethoven at Islington I heard someone in the queue say it was their least favourite Sparks' album and that My Baby's Taking Me Home was the worst song ever!


I think they just don't get it


Clearly not. They must have been quite bemused when "My Baby's Taking Me Home" got the longest ovation of any single song of any during the entire 21 show run.


Yup, I think they were. I couldn't help but give them a quick glance as the roars of appreciation lifted the roof.
_________________
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Alex Robertson
Sparks Guru


Joined: 11 Jan 2002
Posts: 38905
Location: Crawley,West Sussex

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Physicality wrote:


I can see why older fans don't prefer their new stuff to the old stuff
Not this "older fan"...I absolutely love the new stuff as much as the old...and like you I'm already eagerly anticipating no. 22.
I don't think Ron's creative juices ever stop flowing even when he sleeps(assuming he sleeps...lol)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message MSN Messenger
Lady Is Lingering
Sparkologist


Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 482
Location: Dublin, Ireland

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Physicality wrote:


I can see why older fans don't prefer their new stuff to the old stuff, it's because they have their own special attachment to the Island Era, The disco era etc because that's when they were young too and when they first found Sparks. And I'm sure it's very hard to re create that freshness and magic from that time for many people.


I think this is an interesting point. You simply can't underestimate how the meaning music has for you is effected by when and where you first heard it and fell in love with it. But, from what I can gather, on this forum there are plenty of people who have enjoyed Sparks' music for many years and love the new stuff too.

I'd like to think that liking Sparks in itself suggest one's willingness to appreciate a whole variety of musical forms. Though, of course, this isn't always the way it works.
_________________
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
The Librarian
Certified Fan


Joined: 16 Jun 2008
Posts: 66
Location: Canterbury, UK

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lady Is Lingering wrote:

I'd like to think that liking Sparks in itself suggest one's willingness to appreciate a whole variety of musical forms.

I agree. I first got introduced to Sparks when Gratuitous Sax came out. I therefore have discovered their main body of work retrospectively. Although I like some songs more than others, I'd be really pushed to say which period I prefer. I like their 'old stuff' and what they have done recently equally.
(Lil' Beethoven blew me away, for example, but so did Kimono...)
_________________
- My word, she's from Germany -
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
E-Clect-Eddy
Sparks Guru


Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 7555
Location: Amsterdam

PostPosted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

dubiousdave wrote:
well i shave and so dont have periods, i dont believe i listen to Sparks more at the end of the month :lol:

LOLTOTF
_________________
"Somebody's been putting pineapple juice in my pineapple juice!"

www.last.fm/user/E-Clect-Eddy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    SPARKS Forum Index -> General Sparks Discussion All times are GMT - 4 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
Page 1 of 3

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group