Brothers Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks have just released their 25th studio album, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip. William Dart checks it out along with a recent re-release of their 1994 album Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins.
Sparks - A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (cover image) Photo: BMG Records
A timely reissue of Sparks’ 1994 album. Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins reminds us that laughs can sometimes be rather thin on the grooves in today’s music scene: a shortcoming that Ron and Russell Mael have positively toiled to put right for almost half-a-century.
This reissue is an unexpected joyride. Not only has the original album has been remastered (featuring the two title tracks and others such as "When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'", "(When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing", and "Now that I Own the BBC"), but there are two bonus CDs of remixes, B-sides, demos and unreleased tracks.
Russell and Ron Mael have not totally retrenched themselves in the land of arcane archives, reliving their triumphs from another century. They’re busy with the here and now.
To start with they’ve written the concept and score for the new Leos Carax film Annette, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, which has most of the movie being sung rather than spoken.
There’s a new CD as well, their 25th studio outing. Determined not to take it easy after the unexpected success of 2017’s Hippopotamus album, this latest release, titled A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is almost relentless in its energy.
Ever ready to twist the love song genre, the Maels have concocted one with a domestic grass-cutter as the object of the hero’s amatory attention. The song 'Lawnmower' presents a man who, after a shattered relationship, transfers his affection to his friendly and reliable Masport.
The song 'Stravinsky’s Only Hit' strides along, with Russell sporting the vocal equivalent of seven-league boots, navigating lines that would have made him the King of Arpeggios, had he been an eighteenth-century court composer.
The only disappointment with the new album is not so much with a song itself but rather with its title. If we were to change just one letter, we could get away with talking about 'Please Don’t Muck up my World'. But, in the singing of it, that title line with its powerful but problematic word recurring in high rotate prevents us from putting its timely eco-message on air.
Music Details
'Song title' (Composer) – Performers
Album title
(Label)
'Senseless Violins' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'Gratuitous Sax' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'(When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker Playing' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'The Ghost Of Liberace' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'When Do I Get to Sing "My Way”' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'National Crime Awareness Week' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'Now that I own the BBC' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'The Angry Young Man (Ain't Angry No More)' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'Boris the Spider' (Entwistle) – Sparks feat. Christi Haydon
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'Katherine Hepburn' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins
(BMG)
'All That' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
(BMG)
'Lawnmower' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
(BMG)
'Stravinsky's Only Hit' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
(BMG)
'The Existential Threat' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
(BMG)
'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth' (Mael, Mael) – Sparks
Profile: The Ultimate Sparks Collection
(Rhino)
