Kimono My House

by

Sparks

Edit

Ron and Russell Mael tried a curious experiment with their third album. Sparks had established itself in Los Angeles in the very early 1970s as a club act based on their deep appreciation for the early sixties Britpop acts, and in particular the Kinks. They had developed a following at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go, they had released two effective albums with their fellow bandmates the Mankey brothers (yes, the producer and later the Concrete Blonde member), they had had a very minor hit with "Wonder Girl", and they had made some initial media breakthroughs. They had not, unfortunately, sold enough records to earn a living--remember, this was years before new wave bands like the Jam made a living from such homage to an era only eight to ten years removed. The Maels reacted with a daring gambit. They had not impressed America with their Britpop sound--so why not sell their Britpop to Brits? They promptly moved to London, hired a Britpop backing band, tilted the lyrics decisively into rapid-fire Gilbert and Sullivan territory, and changed the sound into, of all things-- guitar-pop Kinks-drenched, ringing guitar, British 19th Century music hall singalong. The band used Russell's fantastically melodic and piercingly high falsetto as the centerpiece and principal driving weapon of the affair. Kimono My House is the first of two resulting records based on this sound. The whole thing improbably works, making this one of the great underappreciated acts of pop genius released in its era. Ron Mael's lyrics are laden with light opera humor, and are intelligent, contemporary, and indelibly odd. Lyrically, Sparks in this era sounds like the Residents might sound if the Residents wrote songs targeted at 12 year old girls. Russell Mael's falsetto is one of those unforgettable things--never critically appreciated, and yet absolutely unique (an analogy might be made with Keith Emerson's live work on keyboards spinning in mid-air during this time period). Kimono My House defies description--the Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" had a similar glampop sound, but Sparks was an altogether different thing. This album is as listenable 25 years after its release as it was when it made the Maels perhaps the most unlikely teenybop idols that Melody Maker ever produced. If you're considering whether you might like Kimono My House, ask yourself the following questions: do you enjoy a band that knows how to parody itself and everything about it? do you like melodic power pop that does not take itself too seriously? do you enjoy an amusing lyric and a band that is willing to try something odd and fun? If your answers were "yes", this is the CD for you. In hindsight, Cheap Trick soon thereafter sorted out how to take the Sparkseque humor and meld it into a wonderful cartoon-metal sound. But nobody did Kinks-as-music-hall-vaudeville as well ever again....

When you think of quirky, or eccentric musicians, there's a tendency to think of British artists, That's not to say England has a monopoly on the odd - witness the Mael brothers ... If you've poked around my website you'll quickly see that I like quirky, but no matter how hard I try, the Maels remain an acquired taste that's largely alluded my ears.

Having toured the UK in support of 1972's "A Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing" the warm reception they received in the country was enough to convince the Mael brothers to relocate to London. The rest of their band wasn't particularly happy with the decision, leading the Maels to go out and hire a new British backing band in the form of drummer Norman Diamond, bassist Martin Gordon, and lead guitarist Adrian Fisher. Produced by Muff Winwood, 1974's "Kimono My House" wasn't a major departure from their earlier releases, but there were some subtle differences including a distinct Brit-pop edge to their glam sound. Inexplicably the end result was actually one of their better ventures. Largely written by Ron, material such as 'Falling In Love with Myself Again', 'Hasta Manana, Monsieur' and 'Complaints' offered up a weird blend of glam, lyrically sophisticated and occasionally funny UK pop, with an odd show tune move added in for the hell of it. Propelled by Russell's shrill falsetto (check out the stratospheric notes he hit on 'Equator'), these guys were simply unlike anything else around ... imagine 10cc at their weirdest following a weeklong bender on helium whippets and you'd get close. The LP proved a big seller in the UK, where 'This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us' and 'Amateur Hour' were both big radio hits., but in the States it was just too strange to be a major seller (it peaked at # 101 on the US charts).

- Wow, where to even start with 'This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us' .... Imagine Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' sung by a guy with his balls in a vice while wild west sound effects are splashed in the background (yeah, I know the Queen song came out after this one) ... Nah that doesn't even come close to describing how weird this one was. Frankly I have no idea how to even begin to describe this one. Wikipedia actually has an entry for the song and here's a bit of the write-up: "The original idea for the song was that after each verse Russell would sing a movie dialogue chiche, one of which was "This town ain't big enough for the both of us". They dropped the idea of having different phrases and instead used only the one in the title." As for the strained vocal, Russell's quoted as saying "When he wrote [the song], Ron could only play it in that key [A]. It was so much work to transpose the song and one of us had to budge, so I made the adjustment to fit in. My voice ain't a "rock" voice. It's not soulful, in the traditional rock way; It's not about "guts". It's untrained, unschooled, I never questioned why I was singing high. It just happened, dictated by the songs. Ron has always written Sparks' lyrics and never transposed them into a rock key for me to sing. He always packed each line with words and I had to sing them as they were." So after all of that you're still left wondering what it was about, let alone how the song hit # 2 on the British charts (impossible to imagine that in the States) ... And thanks to YouTube which has a 1974 Beat Club television performance of the track, you can judge it yourself:

[...] rating: *** stars

- Musically 'Amateur Hour' was certainly more accessible than the opener with a pounding beat that was perfect for mid-1970s AM radio, though lyrically it was as dense and enigmatic as anything else in their catalog - I'm guessing it was about 1.) frustrations associated with first love, or. 2.) frustrations associated with a strip club ... Gordon turned in some great bass on this one. Again, courtesy of YouTube you can judge it for yourself:

[...] rating: *** stars

- Hum, imagine Sparks playing um pa pa (complete with a tuba) at a Octoberfest bier garten and you'll get a feel for what this one sounded like ... The self-pleasure lyric was funny and catchy too boot ! rating: **** stars

- I remember hearing this one and thinking it sounded a bit like Geddy Lee having decided to abandon progressive rock in favor of British glam. rating: ** stars

- Wow, 'Thank God It's Not Christmas' may simultaneously be the most anit-Christmas song and the most fey glam song ever recorded. Not that there's anything wrong with fey ... and it had one of those melodies that snuck into your head and simply would not leave. rating: *** stars

- Kind of funny hearing 'Hasta Manana, Monsieu' again since our seven year old starts Spanish class tomorrow ... hopefully he'll be more proficient than the Maels. Another quirky pop track that should appeal to 10cc fans out there. Great one to hear Russell using his best British accent ... you'd never have guessed he was originally from LA. rating: **** stars

- Musically 'Talent Is An Asset' started out with the album's most conventional melody, though it quickly turned typically Mael quirky. Once again Gordon's inventive bass carried the day. rating: **** stars

- Everything I said about the previous song applies to 'Complaints' ... Actually, this one had a better chorus which for some reason has always reminded me of something The Sweet might have recorded. Adrian Fisher also used the song to turn in his best solo. rating: **** stars

- The first couple of times I heard it 'In My Family' irritated me beyond description. Still not my favorite, but it's better than 'Equator'. rating: ** stars

- 'Equator' has always struck me as the album's weal link - I can deal with the pseudo-cabaret feel, but this time around Russell's falsetto was outright painful and the acapella chant at the end of the song seems endless, almost like there's a skip in the vinyl .... How could anyone sing that high ??? rating: * stars

In the UK the album spun off two big radio hits:

- 1974's 'This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us' b/w 'Barbecutie' (Island catalog number WIP 6193)

- 1974's 'Amateur Hour' b/w 'Lost and Found' (Island catalog number WIP 6203)

Yeah, there's no way this one's going to appeal to everyone, but if you're willing to try something a little bit different ... this is definitely a good place to start checking out Sparks.

"Kimono My House" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us (Ron Mael) - 3:00

2.) Amateur Hour (Ron Mael) - 3:24

3,) Falling In Love with Myself Again (Ron Mael) - 2:59

4.) Here In Heaven (Ron Mael) - 2:40

5.) Thank God It's Not Christmas (Ron Mael) - 5:00

(side 2)

1.) Hasta Manana, Monsieur (Russell Mael - Ron Mael) - 3:23

2.) Talent Is An Asset (Ron Mael) -

3.) Complaints (Ron Mael) - 2:45

4.) In My Family (Russell Mael - Ron Mael) - 3:11

5.) Equator (Ron Mael) - 4:38