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Squeezing Out Sparks + Live Sparks (Remastered)

Graham Parker

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Album Review

Arista remastered Graham Parker's masterpiece, Squeezing Out Sparks, for CD reissue, adding the previously promotional-only live album Live Sparks as an added bonus. Though it is somewhat disconcerting to hear the same songs in the same order in a row, it's an excellent addition for hardcore collectors, especially since the sound on the original album is considerably improved. And, Live Sparks is a nervy, energetic live recording, especially with the addition of "I Want You Back (Alive)" and "Mercury Poisoning."

Customer Reviews

Underappreciated

This is one of the classic albums of the new wave era. Few songs match the emotion of "Passion Is No Ordinary Word" and "You Can't Be Too Strong." "Protection" remains a personal favorite with lines like "It ain't the knife through your heart that tears you apart, it just the thought of someone sticking it in." Indispensible.

Now That the Smoke Has Cleared

A generation later, it seems clear that critics overhyped the dickens out of this album. Largely inferior to the Costello/Lowe axis it arises out of, what starts as a potentially decent hook in "Passion Is No Ordinary Word," "Nobody Hurts You" or "Discovering Japan" quickly wears out its welcome in repetitive monotony. Competent but forgettable pop growing progressively obscure now that the smoke has cleared.

No Ordinary Album

"Passion Is No Ordinary Word", and the same sentiment applies to what many feel is Graham Parker's finest work. While he was never as popular as Joe Jackson, nor as acclaimed as Elvis Costello, his early albums have stood the test of time as well as "Look Sharp" or "This Year's Model", and he matched their subsequent ability to segue from youthful rock rage to mature genre experimentations. Of course, Jackson and Costello owed some credit to their excellent backing bands, and the same is true for Parker, who benefitted from the tight musicianship of The Rumour. The centerpiece of "Squeezing Out Sparks", and the track that provides the album's title is "You Can't Be Too Strong", which is, ironically, a ballad among rockers. Yet the details of an unexpected pregnancy/abortion from the perspectives of him, her, and the doctor is stunning. A cheerfully innocent melody resembling a baby's lullaby is juxtaposed with disarmingly candid lyrics as Parker's cynical sneer fails to disguise his underlying guilt and shame. The more mainstream (though no less biting) side of Parker is exemplified by "Local Girls", an FM-radio favorite that still can stir memories of the era as well as bigger hits of the time. Other peaks include the exasperated "Protection" and the wistful "Waiting For The UFO's" (even if it sometimes sounds as if Parker is saying "U-Boats" instead). A reissued version of "Squeezing Out Sparks" with bonus live tracks is overkill, but the original album is worth discovering as much as Japan.

Biography

Born: November 15, 1950 in East London, England

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

Stereotyped early in his career as the quintessential angry young man, Graham Parker was one of the most successful singer/songwriters to emerge from England's pub rock scene of the early '70s. Drawing heavily from Van Morrison and the Rolling Stones, Parker developed a sinewy fusion of driving rock & roll and confessional folk-rock, highlighted by his indignant passion, biting sarcasm, and bristling anger. At the outset of his career, his albums crackled with pub rock energy, snide witticisms,...
Full Bio

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