Sparks - Kimono My House

1974, Island Records, ILPS 9272

A1: This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
A2: Amateur Hour
A3: Falling In Love With Myself Again
A4: Here In Heaven
A5: Thank God It's Not Christmas
B1: Hasta Mañana Monsieur
B2: Talent Is An Asset
B3: Complaints
B4: In My Family
B5: Equator

Kimono My House is the 3rd album for Sparks, but was the first of a trio of albums they made for Island Records in the mid 1970s when the brothers Ron and Russell Mael had relocated from Los Angeles to the United Kingdom, with a band they put together using British musicians.

This particular vinyl copy of the album was given to me a few years ago by a friend who had bought it in a car boot sale. The condition of the record is practically mint, both the record itself and the packaging. I don't think the record had even been played before. It just goes to show that there are excellent finds to be had at car boots, in charity shops, and the like.

This album is a classic. I already owned a copy on CD, but it was a real treat to hear it as intended on vinyl. The first track is Sparks' best known song, the fantastic "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us", a song that I never tire of hearing. I recall when the single came out, we thought, "Wow, what was that?" as Russell Mael's falsetto vocal performance and rapid lyric delivery was something quite special, and not like anything we'd heard before. Add to that the Top Of The Pops appearances during which Ron Mael on keyboards just looked bizarre, not just his appearance, all dapper with Chaplin-esque moustache, but also in his facial expressions which made it appear that he'd rather be anywhere else at that moment in time. They were certainly an act that caught the attention!

"This Town..." finishes and immediately "Amateur Hour" starts up. Those two songs just sound right together. "Amateur Hour" was another single and discusses teenage urges and fumblings, warning that to be accomplished sexually is something that has to be worked at, that "It's a lot like playing the violin / You cannot start off and be Yehudi Menuhin".

This is one of the reason I love Sparks so much. Their humour, witty lyrics, word-play, wicked observations and view of the world. And they aren't just lyrically brilliant, the tunes are first class too, with a lot of interplay between vocal lines and instrumental riffs and motifs. Ron Mael, Sparks' principal song smith, must be one of the finest composers that popular music has ever seen.

"Falling In Love With Myself Again" is typical of Sparks' sometimes absurdist humour. Sparks would later return to the theme of such narcissistic tendencies on their 2002 album Lil' Beethoven with the song "I Married Myself" - I guess it could be seen as a sequel to "Falling In Love With Myself Again". (In 2004, I saw Sparks play a show at London's Royal Festival Hall as part of the Meltdown Festival as curated by Morrissey, where they performed both albums Kimono My House and Lil' Beethoven in their entirety - I remember Russell's comment that we should "compare and contrast").

"Here In Heaven" is a tale of two lovers who have made a suicide pact, told from the viewpoint of the only one of the pair who had actually gone through with the act. Who else but Sparks could write and deliver a love song with lyrics: "Up here in heaven without you / It is hell knowing that your health will keep you out of here / For years and years and years"?

"Thank God It's Not Christmas" - an anti-Christmas song... Brilliant! As anyone who has worked in retail will know, having listened to endless loops of festive music at that certain time of year, a song with this sentiment is awfully appealing.

Side Two kicks off with "Hasta Mañana Monsieur", a Russell and Ron Mael joint composition celebrating wordplay, and which is also the source of the album's title. Considering at the time this record came out Sparks were popular with a pre-pubescent and young teenage audience, you have to wonder what these fans made of lines such as "You mentioned Kant and I was shocked / You know where I come from, none of the girls have such foul tongues".

"Talent Is An Asset" is the story of child genius Albert (Einstein?) and his over-bearing family. One has to wonder if this song may be partially autobiographical, the brothers Mael having been child actors/models. "Complaints" and "In My Family" are quite straightforward Sparks songs with no apparent hidden agendas, depths nor meanings, but are beautifully composed vignettes all the same, the latter delivering the delicious line "Gonna hang myself / From my family tree".

The album closes with "Equator", on which Russell really pushes himself vocally with the piece finishing with some acapella, almost scat-style singing.

Of course, CD editions contain bonus tracks: the single b-sides "Barbecutie" and "Lost And Found", plus live tracks on later CD reissues, but really the essence of the album is provided by the 10 songs on the original vinyl record. It's perfectly formed as it is. Standout tracks? All of them! They are all brilliant, the album flows naturally from one song to the next, they got everything right with this record, the tracklisting, the running order, the lyrics, the music, the quality of the musicianship. All is absolutely first class.