Search - Sparks :: Balls

Maturity and not mere Old Age

Robert H. Nunnally Jr. | Allen, TX United States | 11/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sparks ranks as the most idiosyncratic of the Los Angeles bands to emerge from the early 70s club scene. The Mael brothers--Russell on vocals and Ron on keyboards (as well as songwriting duties) began their careers fronting a band based on weird lyrics and a deep-seated love for 60s Britpop. Sparks undergoes periodic evolutions in style as the years go on. The loyal fan has encountered Sparks-as-Gilbert&Sullivan, Sparks as Ameripop band, Sparks-as-metal-act, Sparks as teen-pop band, complete with a Beach Boys satiric homage, Sparks-in-Giorgio-Moroder land, Sparks-as-simple-sythpop band, Sparks-as-dansmusik, and even Sparks as orchestral self-homage band. Through all the evolution, though, Ron Mael's lyrics have cut a consistent swath-satiric, incisive, and yet altogether detached, and Russell Mael seems as game a showman in middle age as he did at 24. Sparks is the sort of band that pops up with hits in France or Belgium,
makes its television appearances into living cartoons, and, like Zelig, seemed to be or influence all the right people in all the right places while not ever quite getting megafamous in the process. Balls is a CD by a band who have professionals longer than many of their fans have been alive, and yet the sound is contemporary and workable. This is keyboard driven pop, heavy on electronic sounds, frequently pounding to a dance beat.
The lyrics dwell on traditional Sparks themes--the absurdity of life, the mismatch between the people we idolize and life as it is lived, and, in some ways, the odd joy of not really fitting in at all. This is a band which is not trying to teach the listener anything, or share its inner thoughts, or even start a new trend. This is a band which is very comfortable in its skin, capable of a good dose of satire, and completely comfortable in the warm but distinct distance it has always kept from its audience. More importantly, though, Balls is a darn good listen. The album is more melodic than recent efforts, and the mix places the lyrics in just the right places [I'll never forget the first time, some twenty five plus years ago, I saw Sparks on a performance of the late night show "In Concert". Mix can matter with Sparks lyrics, as I could have sworn that the lyrics to "Talent is an Asset" were in fact "Terrence is on Acid". Many Sparks fans feel that Sparks first 4 albums as well as the early electronic dance albums are superior to
many of the other sounds adopted by the band. "Balls", though,
ranks right up with Sparks' best work, appealing, modern, and yet inexpressibly Sparks. This is previously plowed ground for this band, but they really seem to have found a sound that works."

Three decades later, and they still got it

Poor Napoleon | TX United States | 06/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Instead of going the direction of most bands who've endured more than one decade and slip away from the public eye until releasing a really duff reunion album or subpar followup to another subpar album, Sparks remains consistent with who they are while always discovering a new sound. On Balls, Sparks have fun while producing some very danceable songs that could serve as an example to any eighties band trying to cut it in the nineties - In short, they remain faithful to being who they are while still being cool in the here and now.The Mael brothers open with the ever subtle message "all you need are balls" which is filled with positive energy, delightful humor, and a sound so kinetic, you can't help but dance.Sparks find the peak of musical performance on "The Calm Before the Storm" and "More than A Sex Machine." The former is an indespensible Sparks gem filled with all the grandiose a Sparks record should have: Over the top string arrangements, tons of synthesizers, and great operatic harmonies ala This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us (especially in the bridge section of the song). The latter is a great dance romp that finds the Maels at their most humorous on the record. Here, the speaker is trying to explain that he's more than a sex machine and can be smart and sensitive too. What makes it so funny is that the music is so energetic and lively that this song sounds like it should be a big sexual stomper," when suddenly Russel recites such lyrics as "You never saw the sensitive side/all that you said was 'ride baby ride'" You know you're in for a treat.The other big treats on the album are Scheherazade, How to Get Your A-- kicked, and The Angels. The Angels is particularly good to those Sparks fans who found Sparks great in the eighties as it has an eighties tone to it with a simple production and the 'silly love song' quality of the lyrics.This is a surefire treat for sparks fance and synth-pop/technoy dance fans alike as it's fun music that you can easily dance to."