Sparks Spectacular: Terminal Jive (1980)

Published on July 30th, 2008 in: Concert Reviews, Issues, Music, Reviews, Sparks Spectacular |

By Noisy Boy

I’m pretty sure that many Sparks fans would be of the opinion that anything following the euphoria from the No. 1 in Heaven show would be a letdown. And in some respects it was: the attendance was quite low and the sound mix was a bit fluid (too much guitar in one song, too much keys in another), but the whole experience was still wonderful.

Ron and Russell may have publicly stated that this is their least favorite album, but Ron’s beret (indicating the popularity of “When I’m With You” in France, I suppose) and Russell’s continued onstage enthusiasm would suggest otherwise. All songs were delivered with panache and vigor, and the smaller crowd responded in kind! Not as much dancing as the previous show, but plenty of shouting and approval.

The best song of the evening was probably “Noisy Boys” (for obvious reasons) and would’ve been slightly edged out by “Young Girls” (noted by Russell as being on Word Magazine’s recent list of inappropriate songs) had the keyboards been mixed slightly higher. Interestingly, John Thomas’s sterling keyboard work was a lot more to the fore than Ron’s, but the song was no worse for it. He took the solos on “When I’m With You” perfectly, and added some nice textures to the sound.

The surprise encore of “Singing in the Shower” was another highlight, and a nice dedication to the late Fred Chichin. As Russell noted, this was their final album of the seventies, and their decision to u-turn from Harold Faltemeyer would lead to their eighties output, which begins tomorrow. . . can’t wait!

By Miss Missy Tannenbaum

This album was a follow-up to the excellent No 1 In Heaven, but it has not been the most popular album among fans, something that the small crowd of about 150 people proved.

Knowing that the Mael Bros weren’t happy with the album, I was a bit unsure if some of the missing synth sounds were intentional or not. The band seemed to give the album a more rock sound approach.

On the night’s first song, “When I’m With You,” there were volume problems with the synth but it was quickly boosted. Unfortunately, there were a lot of disco elements from the synths that were either too low or left out of the mix, something that was also apparent in the performance of “Rock ‘n’ Roll People In A Disco World.” However, Russell’s vocals were prominent and clear through all the songs and the backing vocals were a joy to hear.

As Russell pointed out, Word Magazine had written that “Young Girls” was an inappropriate song, but having expected an awkward moment myself, I must say this was a good sing-along for the audience and the creepy edge was taken away from it.

There were some speculations about the possibility that the instrumental version of “When I’m With You” would be left out. I was actually surprised when it was played, but finally the synth was done justice with a loud, clear, crisp sound.

The highlights of this set were “In Stereo,” “Young Girls,” and “Noisy Boys.” All had rich sounds and interesting electronic elements added to the vocal performances. The evening’s last song before the encore, “She’s The Greatest Show On Earth,” made the audience clap through the whole tune and Jim Wilson’s guitar (together with Steven Nistor’s drums) rounded off a great ending to the show. The extra song, “Singing In The Shower,” seemed to be the big audience favorite. It was a nice homage to Les Rita Mitsouko and especially to the late Fred Chichin.