File Under: music, does that guy really have a Hitler mustache?
Everyone has a guilty pleasure band. One of those bands you listen to that seems to fall outside of your usual musical taste. One of those bands that you are sometimes a little embarrassed for liking so much. For me one of those bands is Sparks. When I first heard their album Angst in My Pants I instantly connected. Like any good music geek I immediately researched their back catalog and found a lot of weird yet compelling music with a guy singing in a falsetto. There was also the time in High School that I tried to pass off one of their songs as one of my own so our hardcore band could get the gig to play the prom, but that is a long story. Obviously I tell you all this because I wanted to relay how excited I was to have been sent this book.
If you have not heard the earlier work of Sparks you are missing out on some first class weirdness. The very trebly music and weird falsetto used in so many songs is just bizarre. It is interesting reading the early years of Ron and Russell Mao to hear how planned out this weirdness is. They had a vision early on that they have followed through on their more than twenty albums.
Basically this biography follows them album to album and discusses the creative process that went into the album and interviews the mostly former band members about that time frame. It is very interesting to read how a band could stay fresh and keep to their vision over a period of 30 years. The research that Easlea did for this book is exhaustive and well documented in the back of the book.
I must say that I find it odd that the mid 80s period of Angst in My Pants, Whomp that Sucker and Sparks in Outer Space are all covered in one chapter because for many in the United States (myself included) these were the access point to the Sparks. The book is written from the point of view of the English charts, etc. where these albums were less significant, so it makes sense in a way, but I had hoped for more here.
Talent is an Asset is a very complete telling of the story of the Sparks it gives a very full account of their growing up and the vision and formation of the band. Even if you are not necessarily a Sparks fan (although you should be) it will give you a great story of a band that refused to compromise on their vision and still achieved success even though they could not fit in any of the boxes.
BONUS MATERIAL
This is the song my band tried to pass as our own to gig a gig in high school. We came a vote away from being the only hardcore band to ever play the prom.
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