Disc of the day
Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement
From Sheffield, synth pop and funk to stick it to Thatcher. Currently being played live!
Features Disc of the day
Sparks
Indiscreet
(Island,1975)
The fabulous freak brothers' finest moment? This MOJO messageboarder thinks so...
Out of the three classic records the Mael brothers recorded in Britain, Indiscreet is a strong contender for the best. While precise, theatrical rock songs like Happy Hunting Ground and In The Future wouldn't feel out of place on either of the previous two albums - 1974's ace brace of Kimono My House and Propaganda - it's the tongue-in-cheek arrangement (partly thanks to Bowie/T. Rex producer Tony Visconti) of the remainder that marks out Indiscreet's peculiar genius. The marching band sound of lead single Get In The Swing, the jaunty hoedown of It Ain't 1918 and the campy swing band pastiche Looks Looks Looks take Sparks into territory that even Kimono... might have thought outré. Ron Mael proves himself one of the most overlooked lyricists in rock, falling somewhere between the narrative style of Ray Davies and the mordant wit of Cole Porter; in fact "The canopy over the main doorway of the Ritz hotel / Had served as a very large umbrella when the May rains fell" could even be Noël Coward, if it weren't for the bit where the hotel manager's hands are blown off in a bomb attack. In Ron's world, everyday scenarios and facets of the human condition are played out in a surreal, disturbingly comic fashion. Indiscreet? Perhaps. Audacious? Absolutely.
Shearnster
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 03/08/2009
Further Listening
Queen – A Night At The Opera (Parlophone, 1975)
The Kinks – Ultimate Collection (Sanctuary, 2002)
Cole Porter – The Very Best of Cole Porter (Hip-O/UTV, 2004)
Previous Disc of the day
-
Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement
From Sheffield, synth pop and funk to stick it to Thatcher. Currently being played live!
6:00 AM GMT 18/03/2010
-
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River
Essence De Choogle from John Fogerty and crew. Badass!
9:54 AM GMT 17/03/2010
-
The The - Soul Mining
Matt Johnson's self-excoriating - but tunepacked! -classic.
6:00 AM GMT 16/03/2010
-
-
Various Artists - Axe Attack Vol II
Metal Britannica inspires MOJO metal amnesty. Studded leather wristbands aloft!
2:32 AM GMT 12/03/2010
-
The Pop Group - Y
For connoisseurs of pop-as-rupture-in-the-space/time-continuum
6:00 AM GMT 11/03/2010
end of body content back to top
Footer
Join us on:
© Copyright Bauer - all
rights reserved.
Reproduction of this
website, in whole or in
part, in any form or
medium without express
written permission from
Bauer is prohibited. All
use is subject to our
Terms of Use
|
|
Comments
Comment on this post
Comment on this post