Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Sparkle
It's funny how your opinion changes over time.
Way back in the Seventies, I remember watching Sparks doing 'This Town Ain't Big Enough' and being unimpressed to put it mildly. Who were these guys? A camp man in frills and flares with a high voice and a weirdo looking like Hitler. They never went away either, the Eighties came and they were there again, with 'Best the Clock' and 'Number One Song in Heaven'. I was still unimpressed.
Then, back in, I think 2000, I was round a friend's house and he played me 'Plagurism', their album of re-interpretations of their old stuff and I just couldn't believe how wrong I'd been all these years. This re-appreciation continued and Ian and I saw them debut the 'Lil Beethoven' show at Festival Hall and it was without a doubt one of the greatest shows of the year. Two years ago Morrissey invited them to perfrom their debut album 'Kimono in my House' and 'Lil Beethoven' in their entirety at his Meltdown, it was a highlight of the summer and needless to say both albums are on constant rotation for me at home now.
The new album 'Hello Young Lovers' comes out Monday and we are seeing them live mid February. I can't wait, Sparks are great.
