Sparks Spectacular: Introducing Sparks (1977)

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

By Janina

I wanted to see this album live mainly because I’ve not seen it done before. My favorite Sparks opus will probably always be Propaganda. However, unlike say, Big Beat or Music That You Can Dance To, I still like all the songs on Introducing.

I “prepared” for the gig by talking about it with new-found Sparks “friends” in the pub beforehand—we’re a dedicated, “fine bunch of guys.”

For Sparks’ 1977 album, Introducing, which was a third of the way through their mammoth past repertoire, the small Islington venue was just over half-full, but it was not a bad turnout of clearly hard-core Sparks fans for what Russell Mael himself said was “one of the lesser known albums”. He stated it was “a real treat that” we came out and made them feel “all warm inside”. Aah. The fans were very conservative-looking guys—none of the Goth and Bohemian crowds seen in larger venues when the band has showcased a new album. Although there wasn’t a lot of movement on stage, it was hard to see everything clearly.

The guitarists, drummer, and the roadies were all wearing T-shirts with Ron’s face from the album cover. It’s a reminder of what a mammoth undertaking this was to plan, since the T-shirts change for each gig, as does the stage’s only decoration—the screen backdrop with the album covers rotating. Such attention to small (and as always, tongue-in cheek) details is definitely appreciated.

The line-up onstage was similar to the previous six gigs: goatee-bearded Jim Wilson, a Sparks fan, was on guitar; apparently he’s been amazed that he’s actually on stage with the Mael brothers. Curly-haired Steven Nistor was on drums, but for this show Marcus Blake pitched in on bass, doing a sterling job—as did the entire quintet. Russell wore a black suit with red stripes and tie. Ron sat in his white shirt and played away without engaging for the entire hour. It’s been said he doesn’t like Introducing at all, but with his deadpan expression on stage we’ll never know if he does hate it or whether having performed it live in front of an appreciative audience changed his mind.

“A Big Surprise” opened the show, with the crowd already singing along. If there’s one thing that could niggle with these concerts it’s that since the order of the songs follows that of the albums, you’re not necessarily opening, or closing, on the strongest, rockingest number, but this “Surprise” still came across well, with Russell even managing a bit of bopping on the small stage. Was it my imagination, or did he look tense at the start and then relax as the songs went on?

“Occupation” rocked, with Russell ironically checking with the audience for the lyrics at the “we pilots” point and subsequent verse. “Ladies,” a song about flights of fancy involving famous women, came and went without so much impact, but still got the crowd singing along. However, I wonder how close to bland some tracks on other albums may sound live. . . I always preferred the upbeat, fast numbers. “I’m Not” and “Forever Young” were punchy numbers with the guitar screech section in the latter song coming across perfectly—”just like the album,” everyone said. “I’ve broken every rule,” sang Russell, and musically Sparks certainly have done that.

“Goofing Off,” the song like a Cossack dance, was definitely the sharp rocking highlight—with the crowd shouting out “hey!” when needed, and the guitars allowed free reign to go into a long frenzy. Alas, whereas for Indiscreet strings had appeared, Sparks had decided not to bring on a violinist for the start of this number, so Russell spoke the first verse with no background music and then, like a train chugging off, the pace built up into the sledgehammer chorus.

“Girls on the Brain” and “Over the Summer” could be Beach Boys tracks, one of Sparks’ cited influences from L.A. Jim and Marcus gave a perfect rendition of the backing harmonies for these, especially as the album itself has seven backers. For “Girls on the Brain” did Ron nod his head when Russell sang “. . . my brother, who is kind of thick?” How far from true. The songs, while more muted and less frenetic generally than the more familiar previous albums, still carry the same Sparks chuckle-inducing lyrics.

A few times Russell seemed to mispronounce words—”menopause” in “Girls on the Brain,” for example—but otherwise the performance was flawless. The low-key “Those Mysteries” had grown men waving their arms and swaying.

The encore was a mid-seventies b-side—”Alabamy Right”—where Russell had to revert to his trademark of singing fast and very high so it was quite a contrast to the Introducing songs. The bass guitarist on the previous concerts, Steve McDonald, was brought back for this one song which was “so complicated” that it required an extra hand on stage.

The overall sound could have been a little less booming and the clarity of the backing vocals turned up a notch (though I’m no techie), and there was perhaps less enthusiasm, but generally—although Introducing is a short album—it was another fine Sparks night for me. The short concert left me wanting more, so had to rush off to buy tickets for two others.