Wednesday, February 12, 2020

The 1986 Listening Post - Sparks - Music That You Can Dance To

Sparks - Music That You Can Dance To




#408/2087
September 1986
Sparks
Music That You Can Dance To
Genre: Dance Pop
2 out of 5



Requisite 80s cover:
“Fingertips” by Stevie Wonder

I loved Sparks. 
For about 3 months. And not in consecutive order. For a few weeks at a time. 
Mostly during Angst in My Pants. Because they were cheeky. They didn’t take themselves too seriously. And I went back into the catalog to discover that they were funnier than that and also glam prog and really edgy. 
And then they discovered drum machines and that exposed their limitations through that freedom to be autonomous and their music sounded canned and boring. 
So, We are left with this. Sometimes it borders on actually trying to achieve something bigger than themselves “Rosebud” (which actually bites too hard on “Life During Wartime” by Talking Heads to be ignored)  or “Fingertips” and the other times it’s hackneyed and aims too low (“Armies of the Night”.) A lot of this record would be better off withOUT Russell. I know that’s weird but it feels like Ron is feeling his dance floor oats and the words are detracting. 

This is the kind of Eurotrash that gets you tossed off the list, Maels. 


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