Sparks Spectacular: Indiscreet (1975)
Published on July 30th, 2008 in: Concert Reviews, Issues, Music, Reviews, Sparks Spectacular |By Noisy Boy
My excitement for this show was piqued when I ran into Jim Wilson and Marcus Blake wandering around Islington, and they told me to “expect some surprises tonight,” and surprises there were aplenty.
First off was the wonderfully charismatic support act Phillipe Tasquin, who had the courage to start his set with a piano/vocal cover of “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us.” With a vocal range and style similar to Russell Mael he pulled it off, much to the delight of the crowd. The rest of his set was just him and his string quintet, and jolly good it was, too.
For the first five songs, this was the best Sparks gig yet—the enthusiasm was high, the crowd roared louder than I’d ever heard them, and they simply ripped through the high-energy first few songs. Similarly, “Without Using Hands” was tremendous and note-perfect, and when the brass section came back out for “Get In The Swing,” the place went wild, especially during the “I’m happy! so happy!” bit, then Steve’s drum roll back into the chorus. Actually, on reflection, it’s probably the best single performance so far. To be then greeted with the string quartet and Phillipe Tasquin conducting and playing his recorder solo for “Under The Table With Her” (my favorite on the album) was simply heavenly, and it was nearly impeccably performed. However, my heart sank when Ron’s vocal didn’t come through on the “dinner for twelve, thank you” line, which is a favorite part, and slowly, after that, the gig sort of unraveled.
Maybe it was my vantage point up above the stage where it’s impossible to generate the same atmosphere as on the floor because it’s simply not crowded. The guitars were all but inaudible, especially Marcus’s acoustic guitar. Maybe it’s just that things weren’t rehearsed as well, which is understandable seeing as this included the first new musicians for one gig only. At any rate, it sort of felt like a balloon slowly deflating.
I was willing “Looks, Looks, Looks” to go right, especially as Russell had said it was the song’s debut performance since Top Of The Pops in 1975. But the horns weren’t given a count in and missed their cue and Russell’s autocue broke just before the final verse, which is why they kept repeating the lyrics a bit too often. It was amusing to see Steve McDonald laughing his ass off at this while the prompter tried to flash up the right lyric, but for a few seconds I genuinely thought it was going to fall apart. However, it’s a testament to the band (and the crowd’s enthusiasm) that they managed to patch it up and end it relatively flawlessly.
Speaking of flawless, the final two songs certainly made up for any flubs—both were beautiful, and “Gone With The Wind” was a nice surprise (albeit one I’d spotted on the setlist from up on high). So, not the best gig technically, but still a wonderful experience, and one that will have to endure until No. 1 In Heaven, which is my next one.
By Craig Irving
Since I arrived in London, everything was an emotional build-up to this show. It’s always been my favorite Sparks record and I never thought I would get to hear it played up close and in person. There isn’t a single track on the album I wasn’t dying to hear live.
I heard about their plans to bring in musicians for the show that night to play strings and horns and I was very excited. I heard that it was a last-minute decision, but the musical prodigies they hired came and just destroyed it. . . seriously. Everything altogether sounded utterly incredible. “Without Using Hands,” “Get In The Swing,” “Under The Table With Her,” “How Are You Getting Home,” “Pineapple”. . . it was almost too much to handle. It’s exhausting really; hit after hit after hit, and everything played to perfection.
My favorite of the evening was definitely “In The Future;” that’s always been my favorite song off the album. I always dreamed of how loud, crazy, and quirky those keyboard lines would sound live and I was right; Ron played them wonderfully. I can’t imagine how “Looks, Looks, Looks” would have sounded without the extra musicians they brought in. I guess Ron would have just programmed everything into his keyboards, which obviously wouldn’t have had a tenth of the impact it did.
My only disappointment that night was that I was hoping they would play “Looks Aren’t Everything” as the encore, but instead they played “Gone With The Wind.” Oh well, I got to hear it on their webcast later.
At the end of the show it was clear to me this would be the peak of my trip. Even though I had the privilege of seeing Sparks three more times after that night (Big Beat, Introducing Sparks, and, No. 1 In Heaven), Indiscreet was the height of my Sparks Spectacular experience. To top things off, I had the pleasure of meeting Ron and Russell after the show
. . . another dream come true.
As my trip to London was winding down, I thought I would get depressed pretty quickly. But after having the privilege of seeing Sparks play eight concerts in a row, I knew I had no reason to feel unfulfilled. Even better, I knew I would be seeing Steven McDonald play with Redd Kross two weeks later in Toronto. Who wouldn’t be thrilled?
. . . and as Ron writes, “wanting more than what I have might appear as greed.”
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