Not that I need an excuse to post anything by Sparks, but at the end of October they released the original 2013 recordings of Annette, the film musical starring Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard and Simon Helberg that finally saw the light of day in 2021.
To celebrate, a couple of days ago Sparks shared the 2013 version of Girls Love A Man Who Makes Them Laugh on YouTube. As it's an audio only clip, I've preceded it with an outtake of Annette's opening scene/song, So May We Start.
The day before, the extras from the 2019 deluxe reissue of Sparks' 1994 album Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins were also posted to YT. I bought - and loved - the album at the time of it's original release and haven't invested (yet) in the expanded edition.
Which I will now reconsider, not least because I will miss Sparks' Europop cover of Boris The Spider by The Who, featuring Christi Haydon on lead vocals.
The obvious choice of video to pick from this album would be When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'. So of course I'm picking a different single, at the time arguably a bit of frivolous whimsy, but now something I'd fully get behind if it could become a reality...
And for your extended listening pleasure, I've reactivated the link to my Dubhed selection, A Shower Of Sparks, originally posted in September 2021.
Is that Mael enough for you?!
I didn't take the Sparks seriously for a long time. Thanks to The Vinyl Villain and his guest contributors, that has changed. Today I'm answering the question of which concert I would have most liked to have gone to when I was young: Devo with the Sparks as the opening act. Of course the other way around would also be good.
ReplyDeleteFor the first time, I added a song to my best_ever playlist immediately after listening to it ("When do I get to sing...").
Thanks [sk]
That would be some double bill, [sk] I was fortunate enough to see Sparks in 2013, just the Mael Brothers, no band, and they were incredible.
DeleteI've been captivated by them and their music since childhood, so I'm biased, but I'm very happy that the blogosphere has given them a second chance, even more so that you've added a Sparks song to your best ever playlist.