VINYL FORMAT. "Arguably one of Sparks' best albums, 1974's Kimono My House finds the brothers Mael (Ron wrote most the songs and played keyboards, while Russell was the singing frontman) ingeniously playing their guitar-and keyboard-heavy pop mix on 12 consistently fine tracks. Adding a touch of bubblegum, and even some of Zappa's own song-centric experimentalism to the menu, the Maels spruce up a sleazy Sunset Strip with a bevy of Broadway-worthy performances here: as the band expertly revs up the g   [ read more ]

LP $17.99

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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

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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CD $43.68

What better way to promote Sparks' spinning blender of demented pop than Propaganda? The band's fourth album (and second with producer Muff Winwood) is chock-full of great ideas, including the overseas hits "Something for the Girl with Everything" and "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth." With Russell Mael delivering the lyrics in his rapid-fire falsetto, the lyric sheet is a necessary compass, as the clever wordplay is a key to discovering what these pranksters are up to. Ron Mael   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

In the 1970s and '80s, Sparks' American fans couldn't understand why Ron and Russell Mael weren't as big in the United States as they were in England. "Why don't more of our fellow Americans realize just how great these guys are?" was the question that Sparks addicts in the U.S. often found themselves asking. Whatever the reason, British audiences really connected with Sparks' goofy, insanely clever lyrics -- and the fact that Russell Mael sings like he could be an eccentric upper-class En   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

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

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

Arguably one of Sparks' best albums, 1974's Kimono My House finds the brothers Mael (Ron wrote most the songs and played keyboards, while Russell was the singing frontman) ingeniously playing their guitar- and keyboard-heavy pop mix on 12 consistently fine tracks. Adding a touch of bubblegum, and even some of Zappa's own song-centric experimentalism to the menu, the Maels spruce up a sleazy Sunset Strip with a bevy of Broadway-worthy performances here: as the band expertly revs up the {   [ 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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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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