Introducing Sparks

Introducing Sparks
Studio album by Sparks
Released	October 1977
Recorded	1977
Length	35:58
Label	Columbia (US), CBS (UK)
Producer	Terry Powell, Ron Mael, and Russell Mael
Sparks chronology
Big Beat (1976) Introducing Sparks (1977) No. 1 in Heaven (1979)
Rear cover
Singles from Introducing Sparks
"Over the Summer" b/w "Forever Young" Released: August 1977 (US) "A Big Surprise" b/w "Forever Young" Released: 30 September 1977 (UK)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Christgau's Record Guide	B

Introducing Sparks is the seventh album by the American rock band Sparks, released in 1977 by Columbia Records.

Release

At the time of its release, Pete Makowski in Sounds suggested that the album was "probably the most adventurous musical outing yet" from Sparks, suggesting that Ron Mael "is one of the most underrated and original lyricists in the galaxy.". However, the album proved to be a commercial failure, and many other very negative reviews claimed that the band had adopted a new East Coast "American sound" despite the fact that the Mael brothers are indeed Americans. The title is also rather ironic -- Introducing Sparks was not only not their first album, it wasn't even the first for their label, Columbia (it was their second, and last).

Introducing Sparks was no more a success in terms of chart performance than their previous album Big Beat. It did not chart in the UK or US. The singles "Over the Summer" and "A Big Surprise" each backed with "Forever Young" were released singles but failed to gain any significant sales or radio play. For decades the album remained obscure, in part because it remained unavailable on CD until 2007. However, in recent years the album has enjoyed a certain critical reassessment leading to a very belated appreciation of Introducing Sparks as a much overlooked album.

The Mael brothers next would team-up successfully with Giorgio Moroder in 1978 to record a very different album from Introducing Sparks.

Critical reception

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote, "On its five albums for Bearsville and Island, this skillful brother act compounded personal hatefulness with a deliberately tense and uninviting take on pop-rock. But with their Columbia debut, Big Beat, they began to loosen up, and here one cut actually makes surf music history, in the tending-to-hyperconsciousness section. This is tuneful, funny, even open. But the fear of women and the stubborn, spoiled-teenager cynicism is still there, and it's still hateful."

Re-release

Apart from its initial release in 1977 Introducing Sparks was unavailable for many years. For a time it was previously the only Sparks album only released on vinyl (though bootlegs were available on CD). This was in part because Columbia Records held the rights, and while they had released Big Beat, that album had been released by Island Records in the UK and they had since taken up the option of re-releasing it in 1994. Therefore, there was little impetus for Columbia to release just one album rather than a number which could benefit the sales of one another like Island had.

Due to its commercial and critical failure, Introducing Sparks faded into obscurity. This was rectified in November 2007, when the album was officially re-released on CD on Sparks' own record label, Lil' Beethoven Records. However, the CD was not remastered from the original studio master tapes owned by Sony, but was mastered from a vinyl LP because of rights issues preventing access to the original masters. The album was later re-released again in Japan on SHM-CD, touted as a superior sounding CD format, the same vinyl remaster was still used.

In 2014, a fan posted online that they had inadvertently discovered a 1/4" 4-track 7-inch 7.5ips reel to reel tape of a quadraphonic mix of 'Introducing Sparks' which revealed a possible early incarnation of the album. The tape contained 8 songs, including two fully produced unreleased songs ('Kidnap' and 'Keep Me'), but excluded three songs from the final album release ('Forever Young', 'Girls On The Brain' and 'Over The Summer'). All songs had countdown intros and cold stops instead of fade outs. This version also appeared to be an early mix, as some sounds were either missing from the songs or mixed differently. In particular there is the addition of background conversation opening, closing, and running throughout the song, 'Goofing Off'.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ron Mael and Russell Mael

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Big Surprise"	3:42
2.	"Occupation"	5:17
3.	"Ladies"	3:06
4.	"I'm Not"	3:26
5.	"Forever Young"	3:27

Side two

No.	Title	Length
6.	"Goofing Off"	4:26
7.	"Girls on the Brain"	3:41
8.	"Over the Summer"	3:50
9.	"Those Mysteries"	5:03

Imperial Records (Japan) bonus tracks (2009)

No.	Title	Length
10.	"Breathe (Unreleased Demo)"	3:14
11.	"Fact Or Fiction (Unreleased Demo)"	3:26
12.	"Those Mysteries (Demo Version)"	3:40

Personnel

• All songs written by Ron Mael & Russell Mael
• Lead & Background Vocals: Russell Mael
• Musicians: Ben Benay, Alan Broadbent, David Foster, Ed Greene, Ron Mael, David Paich, Mike Porcaro, Reinie Press, Lee Ritenour, Thom Rotella
• Background Vocals: Tom Bahler, Al Capps, Stan Farber, Jim Haas, Ron Hicklin, Mark Piscitelli, Nick Uhrig

Production

• Recorded at Larrabee Sound, Los Angeles
• Producer: Terry Powell, Ron Mael, and Russell Mael
• Engineer: Lenny Roberts
• Assistant Engineers: Betsy Banghart and Randy Tominaga
• Arranged by Al Capps and Ron Mael
• Mastered at Allen Zentz
• Management: John Hewlett
• Licensed from Island Records Limited, London
• Photography: Bob Seidemann
• Design: John Kehe, Tommy Steele

Production

• Recorded at Larrabee Sound, Los Angeles
• Engineer: Lenny Roberts
• Assistant Engineers: Betsy Banghart and Randy Tominaga
• Arranged by Al Capps and Ron Mael
• Mastered at Allen Zentz
• Management: John Hewlett
• Licensed from Island Records Limited, London
• Photography: Bob Seidemann
• Design: John Kehe, Tommy Steele

Release details

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	1977	CBS Records	Vinyl	CBS 82284
	2007	Lil' Beethoven Records	CD	LBRCDRON	Slipcase with Ron Mael on the front
	2007	Lil' Beethoven Records	CD	LBRCDRUS	Slipcase with Russell Mael on the front
United States	1977	Columbia Records	Vinyl	PC 34901
Netherlands	1977	CBS Records	Vinyl	CBS 82284