Mel Hutchwright Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 This threads going far better than I expected. It's tantalisingly close now, and below you'll find a sneak preview of a new song to tie in with the show... My dancing shoes are buffed to a high shine in readiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans_Husband Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Like clearly hundreds of other Pie & Bovril users, I will also be at the Sparks gig on Sunday. There isn't a shadow of doubt it will be a night of humour and brilliance. I'm a little bit frightened of his trousers though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Looks like I'm now going to have to re-think my wardrobe for the evening, lest onlookers accuse me of being a shameless Russell copyist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustOneCornetto Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Good to see that Sparks are still going strong, That is a gig that will be worth seeing. Russell's vocal range is amazing and I would put all my money on Ron to out stare anyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans_Husband Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I see I'm the first person to comment after the gig. Truly superb tonight. Russell Mael is an unbelievable singer. Hopefully they'll return with a full band in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Russell was indeed just incredible, with the sparser arrangements really highlighting what an astonishing singer he is. To dance around the stage the way he does, and then hit every note pretty much perfectly, is verging on the freakish. He's a 64 year old man for crying out loud. Here's them performing Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth, with bonus footage of Ron's wee dance during Beat The Clock, from the actual night in question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 Extravagantly coiffeured Lancastrian journalist/musician John Robb has written what is, ostensibly, a nice review of the Manchester show, but is really more of a discourse on the Mael brothers enduring majesty. For us believers, it's preaching to the converted... http://louderthanwar.com/sparks-manchester-live-review/ As the demand's clearly there, I've changed the thread title to reflect the fact that a platform for discussing all things Sparks is now necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Where is the best place to start for the still to be converted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Was also at the gig on Sunday, cracking performance! Talented band, Dad got me into them. Saw them in 2006 last time they were in Scotland, was my first gig too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Where is the best place to start for the still to be converted? I would probably say that Kimono My House would be your best bet as a starting point. It's arguably their best known album and contains two of their their biggest 'hits' in This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us and Amateur Hour. It also has Hasta Manana Monsieur and Talent Is An Asset which are amongst my favourite songs of theirs. The follow up album Propaganda, which was released in the same year (1974), is probably my favourite album of theirs though, not least because it has the sublime Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth, and the equally wonderful Something For the Girl With Everything, sequenced one after the other. I'd consider No.1 In Heaven, which is oft described as their 'disco' album, as a bit of a must have as well. It contains the quite brilliant Number One Song in Heaven, along with Beat The Clock and, in Tryouts For The Human Race, has one of my favourite opening tracks on any album. It's produced by Georgio Moroder to boot, which is quite clearly a very good thing. As for their later albums, it's a bit of a coin toss between Lil' Beethoven and Hello Young Lovers, but I'm finding myself listening to the former more at the moment. It was a pretty remarkable return to form when it was released in 2002 and is maybe best representative of the kind of stuff they're doing now. I'll leave my fawning over the brilliantly eclectic Indiscreet for another time, as it's maybe not the best one to start with, but that's one eccentrically marvellous album. Doris Day should be very proud of her boys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaffenThinMint Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 The Mael brothers have always been very much the Marx Brothers of music. I've never seen Ron do an interview on TV where he wasn't taking the total piss, usually with something about a fictious hobby like paper plate collecting & the interviewer swallowing hook, line & sinker. I remember the Glasgow artist Lucy Mckenzie when she was struggling for fame & fortune claiming her ultimate sexual fantasy was having a wrestling match with Ron in Glasgow's Mitchell Library to get some column inches! Now she's a University professor in Dusseldorf, think Ron should go round to one of her lectures next time Sparks are in town, burst straight in & shout "RIGHT YOU, OUTSIDE - NOW!" ...and call it "art!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 Russell is quite simply everything a man should be in the following clip... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-PqFIx_X6A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 The Revenge Of Two Hands One Mouth shall be hosted by The Arches, Glasgow on Monday 25th of November.On hearing this news I fell to my knees and ululated to the skies in celebration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 Russell's not going to feel the benefit of his woollens when he goes outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted September 10, 2013 Author Share Posted September 10, 2013 Everything about this is wonderful... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmouth Strikes Again Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Patterson Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 This one is a belter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hutchwright Posted September 12, 2013 Author Share Posted September 12, 2013 I've been meaning to post some of their more recent songs, as their albums from the last 10 years or so have been truly fantastic, but I'm pleased to have been beaten to the punch. This, in particular, is one of my absolute favourites... It was one of the real highlights of their most recent Scottish concert, as it's pared back arrangement worked brilliantly well. Hopefully it's still in the set when they return in November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Patterson Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Very much considering tickets for the Arches show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.