Although mired in a rut of merely "good" albums, Sparks had offered occasional glimpses of their old greatness on each, fanning the dim hope that they might climb again to previous heights. The faithful were rewarded with Angst in My Pants, the first album in years (and, sadly, the last) that puts their pop genius to good use. The differences between this album and the inferior Whomp That Sucker are subtle but important. First, the material is much better (OK, that's not so subtle). Second, the    [ read more ]

CD $15.18

Los Angeles legends and music innovators Sparks, best known in the States for their '80s hit "Cool Places" with Jane Wiedlin, has actually been around for nearly 30 years, consistently putting out records and developing a cult following. Precursors to electronica, synth-pop, and new wave, the brothers Ron and Russell Mael have inspired such varied acts as Ween, Fear, and They Might Be Giants. With an ironic, irreverent way of looking at the world reflected in their wordplay and drama   [ read more ]

CD $25.63

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael have carved out a unique niche in the annals of pop music. Their ambitious brand of deviant candy has always straddled the line between sophistication and sleaze, reveling in its own cleverness while simultaneously infecting the listener with nihilistic bliss. Repertoire's The Best of Sparks, like the title suggests, is a career retrospective of the duo's work, albeit through 1984 -- this little tidbit should have been revealed somewhere on the outside packaging    [ read more ]

CD $15.18

The third and mercifully last of Sparks' mid-'80s dance pop albums, the frankly disappointing Music That You Can Dance To delivered just two standouts: a remake of Russell Mael's European "Modesty Blaise" 45 and the epic 1985 single "Change" (replaced on British pressings by "Armies of the Night"). Indeed, "Change" isn't merely the album's most provocative number; it ranks among the duo's finest performances of all time, a shifting soundscape of sonics and moods through which {$Russe   [ read more ]

CD $5.68

Most of this album finds Sparks doing what they do best: spewing out clever, mile-a-minute lyrics over solid-rocking accompaniment (this time, provided by a superior group of studio musicians). Drummer Hilly Michaels and guitarist Jeffrey Salen lend the Mael brothers' songs considerable rock & roll authority. Standouts include the opening blast, "Big Boy" (which was featured in the film {#Rollercoaster}), the propulsive "Fill-Er-Up," and the falsetto-delivered proclamation {&"I Like Girls,   [ read more ]

CD $48.43

Most of Big Beat finds Sparks doing what they do best: spewing out clever, mile-a-minute lyrics over solid rocking accompaniment (this time, provided by a superior group of studio musicians). Drummer Hilly Michaels and guitarist Jeffrey Salen lend Ron and Russell Mael's songs considerable rock & roll authority. Standouts include the opening blast "Big Boy" (which was featured in the film {#Rollercoaster}), the propulsive "Fill-Er-Up," and the falsetto-delivered proclamation {&"I L   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

VINYL FORMAT. "Dick Around" is the first US single from Sparks' latest album Hello Young Lovers The brothers Mael insisted from the get-go that the track was their choice for a single and In The Red are honoring their wishes, releasing a radio edit that pares down the seven-minute album version to a three-and-a-half-minute bombastic rocker. The track is featured on a seven-inch vinyl edition -- backed by a live version of "Hospitality On Parade" recorded May 20 at The Avalon in Hollywood   [ read more ]

7" $4.56

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The swingin' single "Perfume" was the record company's choice, the epic "Dick Around" was Sparks', and the duo backs up their choice with a great set of extras on the U.S. single. Just about as big and as tricky as "Bohemian Rhapsody," the version of "Dick Around" is the same as found on Hello Young Lovers, but the album's "(Baby, Baby) Can I Invade Your Country" appears here with different lyrics, safer ones that remove references to the American national anthem. Three chestnuts played   [ read more ]

CD $10.43

Bookended as it is by Russell Mael's wordless chorale vocals that help kick off the opening "Intro" and which recur in the soothing but strange conclusion to the final song, "Likeable," not to mention similar moments throughout the album, it's almost too easy to summarize Exotic Creatures of the Deep as Sparks' most involved tribute to the Beach Boys, late-'60s version. But as with nearly everything the band's ever done, one can't sum up an album quite as simply as that, and {^Exotic Creat   [ read more ]

CD $15.18

Thirty-seven years after their debut LP, Sparks release Exotic Creatures of the Deep, their 21st studio album. Recorded in their Los Angeles studio, brothers Ron and Russell Mael once again display their extraordinary ability to create, to challenge, and to confound. Should it be possible for two people to be so fresh, so vital, so unpredictable, and so incomparably individual? The result of a year spent in near-isolation, Exotic Creatures of the Deep could, perhaps, be seen as a nat   [ read more ]

CD $14.99

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Bookended as it is by Russell Mael's wordless chorale vocals that help kick off the opening "Intro" and which recur in the soothing but strange conclusion to the final song, "Likeable," not to mention similar moments throughout the album, it's almost too easy to summarize Exotic Creatures of the Deep as Sparks' most involved tribute to the Beach Boys, late-'60s version. But as with nearly everything the band's ever done, one can't sum up an album quite as simply as that, and {^Exotic Creat   [ read more ]

CD $28.48

VINYL FORMAT. On their incomparable new album, Sparks protest predictability, obliterate the ordinary and demand utmost respect. Hello Young Lovers is cinematic, bold, and lyrically liberal, with moments of sheer beauty, dissonance and harmony. It may not win a Grammy, but an Oscar's not out of the question. Never, never, has there been an auditory assault of such magnitude presented in the realm of pop music. When Sparks' last album Lil'Beethoven hit the streets critics lauded and applauded,    [ read more ]

LP $10.99

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