Squeezing Out Sparks + Live Sparks (1979)
Righteous 1996 Reissue With 1979 Live Show
In the mid-to-late 70s, Graham Parker & The Rumour’s righteous pub/rock/R&B excellence was quickly being eclipsed by Elvis Costello’s nerd/pop appeal in the public’s consciousness. Apparently, there was only so much room on the radio for two Brits with a similarly snarling vocal style (three, if you count Joe Jackson), and Costello was winning the war of words. So Parker jumped ship from Mercury Records (see “Mercury Poisoning,” below) and producer Nick Lowe (also Costello’s producer) and headed for Arista Records. The label boys there decided Parker’s sound needed further streamlining (along with the band’s moniker on the front cover) to appeal to the masses. Whattya know? For once, the bean counters were right. Squeezing Out Sparks helped Parker & Co. break through a radio blockade resistant to the group’s bar band, R&B-based toughness, positioning Parker for world domination. Which… sadly, never happened. That’s why Parker always had two sets of fans, those smitten with those first two outstanding LPs (Howlin’ Wind and Heat Treatment) and those who discovered him on the radio via Squeezing Out Sparks. Being a fan of both Costello and Parker, I enjoyed the latter’s “new wave” mechanics (produced by the great Jack Nitzsche) almost as much as the early stuff. But, appealing to radioheads, and losing track of what once made one great, is a tough minefield to navigate… and Parker later lost his legs when he lost The Rumour in that fickle pursuit. The 1996 reissue of Squeezing Out Sparks included an outstanding 12-track live show – a track for track album recreation – first released as a promo LP. Criminally, Sparks‘ 2001 remaster canned the live tracks and offered only a few bonuses. Check comments for more Parker links courtesy of Don From Oregon. Find this version at Amazon HERE. There’s loads of solo Rumour in the archives HERE.
SQUEEZING OUT SPARKS
Discovering Japan (3:32)
Local Girls (3:44)
Nobody Hurts You (3:42)
You Can’t Be Too Strong (3:21)
Passion Is No Ordinary Word (4:26)
Saturday Nite Is Dead (3:18)
Love Gets You Twisted (3:02)
Protection (3:55)
Waiting For The UFO’s (3:09)
Don’t Get Excited (3:09)
LIVE SPARKS (Recorded April 1979)
Discovering Japan (3:37)
Local Girls (3:41)
Nobody Hurts You (3:52)
You Can’t Be Too Strong (3:45)
Passion Is No Ordinary Word (4:27)
Saturday Nite Is Dead (3:27)
Love Gets You Twisted (3:08)
Protection (4:15)
Waiting For The UFO’s (3:28)
Don’t Get Excited (3:40)
I Want You Back (3:16)
Mercury Poisoning (3:09)
33 Comments
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Ahhhh! I still have all my GP vinyl incl the PinkParker, some of his later stuff on CD (I love Acid Bubblegum) and I had a copy of Live Sparks on cassette…
maybe I’ve said this before, but why isnt this guy a big as Springsteen and Costello?!? for the longest time, John Hiatt was in that underrated, under appreciated category as well, but he seems to have got out of it…
Parker is one of the guys on my bucket list of concerts…
thanx for this Willard.
Al
thanx 4 GP, used to have it all, happy to hear it again. bring it.
Thank you, Willard! I never upgraded from my cassette version of SOP, so haven’t heard it in years, and have never heard the live version. DLing now … can’t wait!
Thanks. Just got tix at noon to see the GP reunion show with the Rumour in April. Thanks again
Many thanks, W.
The Live Sparks (and Marble Arch) is so much better than the Parkerilla.
Thanks@ Willard for the Graham Fest, and per the Good Captains instructions, a couple of nuggets, “The Mona Lisa’s Sister” ( Listen to “I’m Just Your Man”- why does it sort of remind me of a Warren Zevon tune?…Oh the possibilities..), and then there is the anthology “Passion Is No Ordinary Word”. One of the best compilations I have ever heard. Please note that “I Want You Back” (SOOOO much better than the J5) claims to be live, but it is actually some sort of a studio version. Either way, I am grateful we have been on a GP kick lately, because I sometimes forget how amazing he really is, until he (and the Rumour) are discussed by fellow muso’s. You guys always remind me of the things that are good and righteous about music, and you never cease to amaze me by bringing new viewpoints to the table, which force to me to look again at these treasures in a new light. And guess what? I start to see them YOUR way, and find new ways of appreciating them. And that is magic in and of itself.
Mona Lisa’s Sister: link
Passion Is No Ordinary Word 1: link
Passion Is No Ordinary Word 2: link
Heat Treatment: link
Thanks Don.
Big thanks from me, too, to the both of you – and it that all wasn’t enough: here’s a very fine early GPTR FM broadcast, a live show at the Savoy San Francisco, Nov 1976, in the Heat Treatment heydays; http://bbchron.blogspot.de/2011/06/gram-parker-rumour-1976-11-07-san.html. Best, TC
Nice!. Thank you TC!
Thanks Don and Chairman for adding to Willard’s bounty.
I find that when I’m nuts about the artist in question, even if I already have the music that’s posted, I go ahead and download a link anyway. I guess it’s either a show of support or perhaps I’m in need of some therapy.
Either way, it is gratifying to have the validation that you’re (meaning me) isn’t the only one who loves (insert name of artist here.) In that regard Willard, I find that you have the highest batting average out of all the music places I visit daily – that is that much more often than not, the music that is featured is either from an artist whose music I love or that the specific album you post is one that I feel is essential for someone who wants to have a killer collection.
And the people who comment are almost always fellow travelers -not in the political sense, but that it’s obvious that to them, music (rock and roll music) is as integral a component of one’s life as is breathing.
Again, the validation that I’m not the only one who feels that this rock and roll thing of ours has an essential value, or that, specifically these wonderful artists who may have been overlooked or under-appreciated have always had much more value than they received.
Jeff McKee
Richmond, Virginia
Sure would like to find The Mona Lisa’s Sister someday. Just sayin’. :)
Don From Oregon kindly posted a link above.
Cool, I didn’t see that. Thanks to Don!
Thanks for the GP! Had the vinyl but here it is – at 320! I’ve never heard the live stuff, so that’ll be an added treat. S.O.S was a favorite LP… especially “Discovering Japan”.
Much appreciated.
Thanks for all the GP.
Unfortunately the link for Passion Is No Ordinary Word 1 is not working.
Hi John
I will see about fixing the link later on today. Sorry for the hassle
Hi John
Here is the new link for CD1:http://www54.zippyshare.com/v/88449049/file.html
Sorry for the hassle!
Many thanks Don. I replaced the one up top with the new one.
Thanks to you both. Great stuff!
I have this already, but it’s nice to see it here for everyone. It was great to see Graham Parker in “This is 40,” too. I’ve pulled many interesting things from here over the years, so thanks for all that!
Reading about Parker’s role as a washed up star in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 is what got me digging out the music in the first place. How was his acting?
The trailer for This is 40 didnt look like a movie I would normally pay attention to, but I’ve watched a couple movies and prime time TV shows just becuz of artists I like (ie Lyle Lovett).
Taking advantage of Don’s offer on Mona Lisa, thanx
Finding The Real Macaw would be a treat!
I have the following which I could share…Acid Bubblegum, Human Soul, Another Grey Area, Howlin Wind, Imaginary Television, Stick to Me, The Up Escalator and Three Chords Good. But at this point I could only share via GDrive.
If someone would like to send me an email, I could share to them and they could post a link here or another convenient sharing location.
Al
Hi Al,
Here’s The Real Macaw. It’s the 1991 reissue with “I Want You Back” included. LINK
I see that Parker is scheduled to appear on “Late Night w/Jimmy Fallon” on 1/31/13, for those who are interested. Eric friggin’ Burdon is due to be on one of the late nite shows around then as well, BTW!
– mnw
Thanx for Macaw W!! It’s one of my fave post Rumour albums…but holy shit…GP singing songs about love and life getting better?!? The worst thing about this album is the Linn Drum, and I dont think that would have been GP’s decision.
My favorite track is Sounds Like Chains though!
Al
It was always a favorite of mine, too. Though all my pals dismissed it at the time. No Rumour, though Brinsley was aboard.
And speaking of Brinsley, this recent spate of GP affection made me drag out this nugget@320, with Nick Lowe, Ian Gomm and (drum roll) Brinsley! All of them together in the same band. This was the last album they did together, and you may recognize the very first song as being a staple in many of the set lists of certain Stiff artists in the 70′s!
Brinsley Schwarz-New Favourites Of Brinsley Schwarz
Someone’s not checking the archives.
Ouch! Mea culpa! I really didn’t notice that you has it also. I found mine at another site awhile ago, I apologize for that Willard. Wow – see you keep pointing things out here that I continually over look!
Well, the best if intents was there!
Don
No prob. I had the same experience a couple of hours ago. I didn’t even know I had that Big Star CD (the one I just posted) sitting on my shelf, until 3410 asked for it. TOO much music isn’t really a ‘problem.’
Thanks Capt.