I watched my beloved Boston Bruins lose in
Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final last night. It still hurts. It helps that we
won it all in 2011 but losing in the final is a worse feeling than missing the
playoffs altogether. Falling only a single game short is about as bad as that
feeling gets. Argh.
Anyway, I can now gear up to watch football
where my beloved Miami Dolphins have next to no chance to lose in the Super
Bowl. Given how I’m feeling right now, that’s probably just as well.
Disc 1270 is… Squeezing Out Sparks
Artist:
Graham Parker
Year of Release: 1979
What’s up with the
Cover?
1979 was equally unkind to haircuts, wardrobes and fonts.
How I Came to Know
It: I
heard about this record through a Paste Magazine article titled “Top 30 albums
of 1979” where it came in at #23. I already owned 10 of the albums they chose
but four more caught my attention. One of those was “Squeezing Out Sparks”.
How It Stacks Up: Graham Parker has 23 albums and I did check
out a few other ones, but so far “Squeezing Out Sparks” is easily the best.
That said, since I only own the one record, there is no official stacking to be
had.
Ratings: 4 stars
Late seventies British New Wave is not my
usual thing, but the universe throws out incredible records in every style to
make sure you keep paying attention. “Squeezing Out Sparks” tested my resolve,
with its cheesy album cover promising lots of overwrought anxiety rock.
Once the music started, I was pleasantly surprised
by a record that has all the frenetic energy of New Wave but with a purposeful
rock and roll heart at the centre of it all. The result made me want to get up
and dance but never felt contrived. “Protection” in particular has a
killer rhythm that will make it hard to decide if you want to cut some of your
best moves on the side of the floor, or leap into the middle of the slam and bounce
around.
Even slightly kitschy songs like “Discovering
Japan” had their moments, and when Parker slows it down for tear jerkers “You
Can’t Be Too Strong” you get a great combination of tough and sensitive. It
won’t make you cry, but it might have you staring pale and wan out a window.
I felt drawn in by the acoustic guitar strum
on “You Can’t Be Too Strong” with its mournful down strokes. While these songs don’t challenge the
players at a technical level, they do require everyone to sit artfully at the front
of the pocket where this music sounds best. The band not only does this
masterfully, they also play with emotional intention, which is too often given
short shrift in this genre.
Parker’s vocals reminded me a bit of Elvis
Costello, only he wasn’t annoying and pretentious like Costello sometimes
sounds. Parker even adds a bit of a rock and roll snarl to his delivery like
Joe Jackson. He’s not just sitting back and putting on an art show, he’s
climbing into the stories of his songs and getting beautifully lost.
Those stories are pretty basic, not having
much to say beyond the chorus. Even this is often little more than the title
repeated. But hearing Parker sing “You Can’t Be Too Strong” or “Passion
Is No Ordinary Word” over and over again is surprisingly affecting.
The record has grade A production, reminding
me favourably of another 1979 album, “Damn the Torpedoes.” It isn’t at the same
level as that masterpiece, but it has the same crisp clean production and
metallic bite that lets you feel the visceral energy of the tunes.
The only song that let me down was “Waiting
for the UFOs” which Parker pronounces as “you-foes.” It is an
irksome affectation that is intended to add energy, but the album already has
plenty to spare without such silliness.
My copy of the album was a remastered version
that includes a live version of the entire record called “Live Sparks”. I could
have lived without this bonus material, which is on the same CD and makes the
playing time an unwieldy 78 minutes. The live versions of the same songs are
sometimes a bit better, sometimes not, but failed to give me any additional
insight into the record either way. Parker also does a version of the Jackson 5
classic “I Want You Back” which is OK, but not essential.
Fortunately this record is so consistently brilliant
that I was able to overlook my usual pet peeves and just enjoy hearing the
record play one more time, live or otherwise. “Squeezing Out Sparks” is a hidden
gem that deserves to be recognized as one of 1979’s best – thank you Paste Magazine
for making sure I learned that.
Best tracks: Local Girls, You Can’t Be Too Strong, Passion Is No
Ordinary Word, Protection
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