Sparks - Lil' Beethoven

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Welp, I just bought this yesterday, and am curious about what everyone thinks.
I found heaps of positive reviews (and "user opinions"!) about this, but my one listen so far wasn't all that exciting.
I guess it's arguably another one of their dance-albums, except they've removed the beat (though not the rhythm, I don't get what the rhythm-thief stuff is about) and keep repeating things over and over, doing small changes here and there, changing key etc.

Maybe I just have to adapt myself to listening to that sort of thing, I do after all like things like "In C" which the same could be said about.
Also, the way the whole albums is hardly anything but keyboards (often lousy-sounding string-patches) and vocals made it sorta dudlish.
Are they trying to get hit singles or something? As if nothing else, all that repetition made it easy to remember most of the melodies after a single listen.

Damn, I originally planned to say nothing about it, and just see what others felt and chime in after I've given it more listens (and taken peoples thoughts into consideration too) but what the hell, now you know where I stand at the moment!

I do like their early stuff a LOT, and some of the late70s and early80s material have been neat, but I'm not too hot on anything since then, except the single "When do I get to sing 'my way'"

― Øystein Holm-Olsen (Øystein H-O), Friday, 5 September 2003 14:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I think there are "Classic or Dud"/"Search and Destroy" threads on Sparks in the archives. Search 'em out. I never see their stuff anywhere, apart from a bargain 12" of 'Number One Song In Heaven' I bought last month and I wanna hear more.

― Barima (Barima), Friday, 5 September 2003 14:18 (twenty-one years ago)

You should hear more. Everyone should. ;-)

I think it's a good contextual album ie, knowing a lot about Sparks' other work helps to make this one stand out a bit more rather than being a strange vocal/orchestral combination (but on that front it also works pretty damn well!).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 September 2003 14:44 (twenty-one years ago)

The rest of my interest's based on the Moroder connection, the description of Kahimi Karie's genius 'Le Roi Soleil' described as a great unwritten Sparks song and an mp3 of 'My Baby's Taking Me Home' I once heard.

― Barima (Barima), Friday, 5 September 2003 14:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Uhm, I have heard quite a lot of their other work, sorry if that wasn't clear. Only the mid80s and up through the 90s material I've only heard less "properly" (ie a couple of listens through albums here and there etc)
The biggest surprise for me was how much I liked the work with Moroder, as I'm generally not too excited with things he was involved with back then.

― Øystein Holm-Olsen (Øystein H-O), Friday, 5 September 2003 15:09 (twenty-one years ago)

I wasn't commenting directly to you, good sir, merely thinking out loud!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 September 2003 15:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I like Sparks quite a bit (at least relative to their usual standing in Rock History), but I found this album just fucking unlistenable. My favorite album of theirs is #1 in Heaven, because it balanced their innate astrigency off against Moroder's burbling naivete. But the new one is like licking an Oxy10 pad.

― Jesse Fuchs (Jesse Fuchs), Friday, 5 September 2003 15:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Have never licked any Oxy pad :-/
P'haps should try? See, I rather like Lil' Beethoven.

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Friday, 5 September 2003 15:52 (twenty-one years ago)

It's a subjective timbre thing, to at least some extent. I mean, my mom once had a parrot whose squawk would drive a steel spike into the middle of my brain, whereas it didn't bother her at all. When I said unlistenable, I meant like that: there are frequencies the strings hit that feel like they're actually destroying my white blood cells.

― Jesse Fuchs (Jesse Fuchs), Saturday, 6 September 2003 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Some frequencies that Russel Mael hits can do you some damage!

― Sean (Sean), Sunday, 7 September 2003 01:10 (twenty-one years ago)

On second thought, I wouldn't have to lick more than just a half of an Oxy pad.

The lickable oxy's:
How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall; I Married Myself; Ride 'Em Cowboy; My Baby's Taking Me Home; Suburban Homeboy.

The rest being not-to-be-licked poxies.

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Sunday, 7 September 2003 01:49 (twenty-one years ago)

seven months pass...

Just got this. Currently listening to 'Suburban Homeboy' for the sixth time in a row. It's ridiculous and hysterical.

"I'll pop a cap up some fool at the Gap." I mean, LOL.

― retort pouch (retort pouch), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Though I did enjoy it, I found that seeing the album live -- which Sparks did last Saturday in LA, with a fairly extensive (for four people) stage production -- made it work much better. "Suburban Homeboy" there really became the Gilbert/Sullivan singalonga it is at heart, and other songs like "My Baby's Driving Me Home" and "Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls" stood out all the more as well.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 18:52 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

I agree Ned. I saw the Kimono/Beethoven turn a few nights ago in London at Mozzer's Meltdown, and it was terrific. I enjoy listening to Lil' Beethoven alot more now.

― kinski (kinski), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 20:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I say "yo" to my pool guy.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 15 June 2004 20:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Heheh. By all accounts the show was a blinder, aside from muddy sound -- or so the attendees on my Sparks list said! But otherwise fantastic.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 20:53 (twenty-one years ago)

wonder if morrissey likes it

― de, Tuesday, 15 June 2004 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm not sure—word was that he had asked them to perform just Kimono My House but that they worked out a compromise.

― Mary (Mary), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 21:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, that's pretty much what happened -- Moz just wanted Kimono and Ron and Russ said, "Uh, no -- we've had thirty years' of albums since then, for a start." Probably more kindly than that, but they were clear about doing their recent material in some capacity.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 21:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Morrissey in only liking something he liked when he was 15 shockah

― Patrick Kinghorn, Tuesday, 15 June 2004 21:51 (twenty-one years ago)

twelve years pass...

what a cool record. I feel like the hooks on a lot of these songs could be the basis of hip hop tracks -- pretty amazing how well Sparks songwriting translates to now (or ever)

― Dominique, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 13:28 (eight years ago)

hard to think of another band who put out something this unique and strange after (let's face it), two decades of following trends and general mediocrity.

― frogbs, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 13:34 (eight years ago)

I wouldn't go THAT far, thank you. (Certainly there were some patches but the early 80s KROQ run and Gratuitous Sax remain highlights.)

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 13:42 (eight years ago)

idk Gratuitous Sax kinda sounds like a middling Pet Shop Boys album to me, outside of a few really great tracks of course

― frogbs, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 13:45 (eight years ago)

that said I forgot "I thought I TOLD you to WAIT in the CAR!" was on this album so I guess I gotta relisten now

― frogbs, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 13:58 (eight years ago)

checked out Propaganda and Kimono My House bc Jim O'Rourke listed them on some Amazon guest list thing from a million years ago, pretty sweet.

― flappy bird, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 17:27 (eight years ago)

Balls has some of their most PSB moments - one of those albums when a band starts to sound too much like the bands that they influenced. There's some Devo in there too. But about half of Plagiarism is really brilliant imo. Pulling Rabbits, Something for the Girl with Everything, When I'm With You (which really does sound like the Petshop Boys), Angst in my Pants & a few others are really good and the whole album is a lot of fun.

― everything, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 17:56 (eight years ago)

Could probably make an excellent 40 minute mix of tracks from the Gratuitous Sax, Plagiarism & Balls years.

― everything, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 17:59 (eight years ago)

I was absolutely floored by the new version of "Pulling Rabbit Out of a Hat", I always thought that song was absolute garbage but the '97 version is so massive.

― frogbs, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 18:06 (eight years ago)

Yeh it's crushing isn't it, haha!

― everything, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 18:08 (eight years ago)

Yeah lots of great stuff on those albums. Not sure when the two decades of mediocrity are supposed to start but I have a soft spot for music that you can dance to also

― samovars are trying to steep (wins), Tuesday, 28 March 2017 18:11 (eight years ago)

I'd say from Terminal Jive to Balls

Granted they put out a lot of pretty good material in that stretch, I dig Whomp and Angst a lot, but they didn't really sound ahead of the pack from that point on, and quite frankly their production values really slipped through the 80's

― frogbs, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 18:13 (eight years ago)

My personal chronology: I never learned to like Terminal Jive at all. The next 4 are all good to great. MTYCDT is extremely patchy, Interior Design is worse than that, and Gratuitous Sax is better than that (but I still don't like it much.) I never bought Balls. And yeah, Plagiarism is a ton of fun.

― You're going to see a lot of love. Okay? Thank you. (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 28 March 2017 18:45 (eight years ago)

I agree with that! (though I haven't listened to some of that 80s stuff in the longest time). xpost Whomp That Sucker is one of the good ones! Awesome production imo but maybe it sounded dated at the time, I dunno. "That's Not Nastasia" is in my top 5 Sparks songs.

― everything, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:15 (eight years ago)

For me everything on Whomp gets overshadowed by "They call it THE WILLIES!!!!" *BWOOOOOOOMP*

― frogbs, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:17 (eight years ago)

The whole album has a cool fake Roy Thomas Baker sound - halfway between The Cars and Oh No It's Devo.

― everything, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:21 (eight years ago)

it does, but it also sounds like it was recorded in a shoebox

― frogbs, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:31 (eight years ago)

Maybe you're listening to it on a shoebox?

― everything, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:33 (eight years ago)

frogs comment was the one made me listen to it just now -- and it does have a very similar sound as Queen's The Game. Which was co-produced by Reinhold Mack as well!

― Dominique, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:36 (eight years ago)

Compared to Terminal Jive it sounds like Remain in Light!

"Upstairs" is the asskicker on Whomp...

― You're going to see a lot of love. Okay? Thank you. (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:37 (eight years ago)

I would have loved to have been at the gig where they performed Whomp in its entirety

― samovars are trying to steep (wins), Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:38 (eight years ago)

"I Married a Martian" is also a real stormer

looking through the tracklisting now, how did I forget about "Wacky Women", that's kind of the ultimate Sparks tune there

― frogbs, Tuesday, 28 March 2017 20:39 (eight years ago)

Anyone like the Franz Ferdinand collab they did a couple years ago? I just heard it for the first time, and as someone who is more or less a fair-weather fan of both bands, I thought it played surprisingly well to both of their strengths.

― o. nate, Tuesday, 4 April 2017 01:16 (eight years ago)

We sure did like it.

FFS (aka, Franz Ferdinand and Sparks)

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 4 April 2017 01:28 (eight years ago)

Ah, nice. I discovered it recently on an airplane. Listening to the albums that are featured in the in-flight entertainment is a good way for me to listen to things I might normally not try (and pass the time).

― o. nate, Friday, 7 April 2017 01:10 (eight years ago)

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