Search - Graham Parker :: Real Macaw

Finally available again

Passionate About Music | 08/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Way back when, Parker gave Elvis Costello a run for his money. Just like Costello, he could not sustain his angry-young-man persona. This album was made after Parker's early pub rock sound period with Mercury Records and before he became an "indie" artist. Basically, it's a polished, glossy rock record that was made in the hope of getting a radio hit. So it's not as raw or exciting as Squeezing Out Sparks (from 1979). Instead, it's mostly an album of sunny optimism and happiness. With songs like "Life Gets Better" and "Anniversary," it is an essential purchase for anyone who likes Parker's music."

Free as a bird

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 03/28/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

""The Real Macaw" picks up where Graham Parker's Another Grey Area left off in that Parker was maturing away from the "Angry Young Man" persona that fueled the classic Squeezing out Sparks but was beginning to fizzle come The Up Escalator. This time, a more sympathetic producer helps actualize the songs, with David Kershenbaum having a better hand in these songs than Jack Douglas did on AGA.



Parker also seems in a better groove here. The Dylan-esque wordplay on "Just Like a Man" and "Sounds Like Chains" rate among Parker's best. Domesticity finally suits him, with the sweet-but-spiky "Our Anniversary" and the downright blissful "Life Gets Better" and "Last Couple on The Dancefloor" pointing towards the direction his RCA albums like Struck by Lightning eventually ended. There's also the obligatory industry slam in "Passive Resistance," blasting researched playlists that excluded people like Parker and Elvis Costello in the 80's.



Better than AGA and on a par with Escalator, "The Real Macaw" is probably my second favorite Parker album from his tenure at Arista. It was also his last before jumping to his next label for Steady Nerves, his last uniformly decent album and back in print after a long absence."

My favorite of his 80's albums

Tankery | New Orleans | 01/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was a great album at the time and has some of Graham's best songs on it. Anniversary is beautiful. Lyrically, he was at a happy place and wrote wonderful relationship songs (Then he got bitter again on the next two releases! funny..)

My beef is with these new re-releases with the dance mixes on them. What a waste. No need to add value to brilliance.

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